In the end, Mats Ege was able to hold off a hard-charging Jonathan Kang for a fall win at a time when competition has been few and far between. Ege, a freshman at California State-Northridge, was steady all week at the Golfweek Moorpark Amateur at Moorpark (California) Country Club. Despite rounds of 66-69-68, Kang caught him at 13 under on the final day with help from nine final-round birdies.
Kang, a graduate student at UC Irvine, effectively played his way into extra holes that way. His birdies on his final two holes, Nos. 14 and 15, were key.
Ege ended it quickly with a birdie on the first hole of a playoff. The player from Norway has made a handful of starts at home the past few months, and also recently finished fifth in an event in San Diego sponsored by the Golf Coaches Association of America.
“It really great to see my college friends again and I look forward to the spring season,” he said of being back stateside.
Scores: Golfweek Moorpark Amateur
Ege and Kang were in a different zip code by the end of the week at Moorpark. The next closest players, Santa Clara’s Alex Conley and Fresno State’s Tommy Stephenson were tied for third at 7 under. San Diego State’s Youssef Guezzale was solo third at 6 under.
In the women’s division, USC junior Katherine Muzi prevailed at 2 under. Rounds of 72-70-72 left her one shot out of a large group at 1 under that included San Diego State’s Fernanda Escauriza, Illinois’ Isabel Sy and Yael Berger, who will be a freshman at Arizona.
Muzi was in the top 20 at the SCGA Women’s Amateur and inside the top 10 at the California Women’s Amateur over the summer.
“This is my first victory in a long time,” she said. “I’ve worked very hard. Just playing in these conditions was very tough. I stayed consistent and played my own game and had a positive mentality which I felt was very important to this win.”
