Chico resident Jackie Lucena brought some hardware with her to Florida, while Concord resident Bobby Bucey kept climbing up the all-time NCGA win list.
Lucena, a fifth-year senior at University of Florida, became the second winner of the annual NCGA Women’s Amateur, defeating runner-up Lauren Sung, 2-up, at Spyglass Hill.
"I'm excited to have my name on the new trophy," Lucena said. "It's awesome that there's now a Women's Match Play event. It's a nice way to head back to school and start the season."
Bucey, meanwhile, not only found redemption, but won one for the old guys.
A year after a tough runner-up loss at the 2022 NCGA Amateur that continuously gnawed at him, Bucey returned to take the title, defeating runner-up Davis McDowell, 5 and 4.
For the 34-year-old Bucey, who became the oldest Amateur champion since Darryl Donovan in 1999, the win marked his seventh career title. Other victories are two Mid-Amateur Four-Ball titles, one Stroke Play, one Mid-Am, one Four-Ball and one California Amateur. He joins a group of only five players (Casey Boyns, Randy Haag, Nick Randazzo, Tal Smith and Scott Hardy) with seven or more NCGA titles.
"It means so much to me to have my name up there with those guys. Growing up, I remember playing in the Amateur at Spyglass with guys like Casey, Randy and Scott. I was starstruck playing with them," Bucey said. "I believed that one day I would be as good as them. That belief became one win, and then it just kept growing."