Steinberg’s Win Fuels Walker Cup Aspirations

Craig Steinberg’s dream of earning a berth on the United States’ Walker Cup team received another boost last weekend when he won the 89th Southern California Amateur Championship.

In June, he made it to the quarterfinals of the California Amateur at Pebble Beach.

With those two efforts, the Studio City optometrist’s name has probably been introduced to the proper circle of Walker Cup advisers and committee members. Along with the names of hundreds of other amateur golfers.

Steinberg says that two tournaments in August will determine his fate.

The first comes next week in Denver, when the finest golfers in the West compete in the Pacific Coast Amateur. And during the last week of August, the finest amateurs in the nation tee it up in the U.S. Amateur Championships. The 10 Walker Cup representatives will be selected from those two tournaments.

“If I can play very, very well in those, then I think I have a chance,” Steinberg said. “No one has contacted me, but I know I’m in the hunt if I do well in those tournaments.”

Steinberg, 30, began the final round of the 72-hole Southern California Amateur, at the Annandale Golf Club in Pasadena on Sunday, just two strokes off the lead. But there were three golfers tied for that lead, and four others in addition to Steinberg who were within two shots.

“Going into the tournament I felt I had a chance to win it,” Steinberg said. “I always feel like I’ve got a chance to win a tournament. But going into the final round, with so many guys right there at the top, I definitely didn’t feel sure that I was going to win. I thought I’d need a round of 68 to win.”

He was wrong. He only needed a 69 on the par-70 course to post a one-stroke victory over James Camaione of Upland and Dave Sheff of San Marino.

“It was the most important win for me in a long time,” he said. “I won the Southern California Public Links tournament earlier this year, but this was bigger.”

For Steinberg, who played on USC’s 1980 NCAA championship team, the win did not kick off any dreams about making a living at golf.

“The fact is I won this tournament, but I was 6-over-par,” he said. “If this was a PGA tournament, 6-over-par leaves you 20 strokes out of the lead. It was nice, but I can keep it in perspective. This is not Tour golf. This is amateur golf. I have a lot of respect for Tour players. It’s a whole different world. They don’t play the same game.”

Brain Gaddy of Pasadena and John Pate of Santa Barbara, brother of PGA Tour player Steve Pate, finished at 288, two strokes behind Steinberg. Mitch Voges of Simi Valley shot 289.

Others included: Mike Haney of Glendale (296); Buz Greene of Thousand Oaks and Don Parsons of Santa Barbara (298); and James Kim of Van Nuys (302).