Santa Barbara’s Niall Platt shot a six-under 65 on Tuesday that propelled him to second place in the 36-hole stroke-play portion of the California Amateur Championship being played at La Cumbre Country Club.
Defending champion Bhavik Patel finished with the best two-day score in stroke play, following up his 64 on Monday with a 65 on Tuesday.
Platt started the day two strokes behind the leaders, a group of three that included Ronnald Monaco, Patel and Kevin Marsh.
One hundred and fifty six golfers competed in stroke play, with the top 32 now moving on to match play. A state champion will be crowned on Saturday.
Marsh, who grew up in Santa Barbara, slipped to fifth place while Monaco dropped to 8th.
Another Santa Barbara local, Jack Perry, was in the mix, claiming third place with a round of 67. His two-day score of 135 match Valencia’s Max Homa.
Other local Santa Barbara golfers to make the cut were Shane Lebow (141), Brett Silvernail (142), and Brandon Gama (139).
Wednesday will see the field of 32 reduced to 16 for Thursday. The final two will decide the championship with a 36-hole match-play competition on Saturday.
