Turlocker advances further than any other county golfer in 52 years

DALY CITY — Sam Smith will enter USC this fall with a nifty title on his biography — semifinalist at the 98th California State Amateur.

It just wasn't the title he had in mind.

Smith, the 18-year-old Turlock High graduate, ended his historic run by losing 2 up to the top-seeded Cal Poly senior Geoff Gonzalez of Diablo on Friday afternoon at Lake Merced Golf Club.

"I'm a little disappointed but pleased with how I played the whole week," Smith said. "It was pretty intense. I'm a teenager. I can handle it."

Smith reached the semifinals earlier Friday by winning the final four holes, capped by a clinching 10-foot putt for eagle, for a dramatic 1 up victory over Jason Bittick of Ladera Ranch. The ex-Bulldog closed with birdie, par, birdie, birdie and eagle.

The win marked the furthest advance in 52 years at the State Amateur by a Stanislaus County golfer. Dick Giddings, a Modesto mortgage banker and seven-time champion at Del Rio Country Club (he died in 2002 at age 89), reached the final in 1957, losing to Tal Smith 7 and 6.

Smith could have equaled Giddings' feat if he had beaten Gonzalez, 21, an All-Big West Conference selection this spring and the State Amateur co-medalist. The twosome reached the 17th tee all-square, but Smith fell behind after he flew a gap wedge over the green en route to a bogey.

On the 556-yard par-5 18th, Smith pulled his second shot partially behind a tree. After he played safely for his third, he lipped out a chip from about 15 yards with the ball finishing about a foot from the hole. Gonzalez ended it by holing a 12-footer for birdie.

Gonzalez's putter carried the day. Smith led 2 up after 11 holes when Gonzalez jarred back-to-back 30-footers at the 12th and the 13th to draw even.

"I was impressed," Smith said. "Those putts changed the course of the match."

Smith reclaimed the lead at the 14th but bogeyed the 15th to set up the exciting finish.

"My speed (on putting) has been exceptional all week," Gonzalez said. "They finally started falling."

Smith summarized the week as a crash course on match play and a coming of age against the state's best. His summer schedule includes the Pacific Coast Amateur and the U.S. Amateur (he qualified for match play in 2008).

"I hit the ball better in the afternoon but didn't convert the putts I needed to," he said. "I didn't have high expectations this week. It was good to see how my nerves would handle everything. In match play, things happen faster than you can click your fingers."

Today's 36-hole championship match brings together veteran Jeff Wilson of Fairfield against Gonzalez. Wilson, 46, won his semifinal on the 19th hole after the 19-year-old Nick Delio of Valencia — the defending champion — drained a 40-footer at the 18th.

It will mark the first all-NorCal State Amateur final since 2004. Gonzalez could become the first medalist in 15 years to win the championship.