Thanks to a new swing, a hot start to match play and a 10-foot putt on No. 16 to seal the deal, rising senior Joey Vrzich won the 109th California Amateur Championship at Torrey Pines Golf Club on August 1. Vrzich was not only the fifth Wave to win the California Amateur, but also the second straight Pepperdine player to pull off that feat. His teammate, rising sophomore William Mouw, became the youngest player ever to win the California Amateur last season.
 
The California Amateur is a marathon, not a sprint. Vrzich played eight rounds of golf in six days — all on a 7,802 yard setup, which was the longest in the history of the event. After stroke play, Vrzich finished tied for 11th place with a 5-under total, then proceeded to go on a tear in match play. All told, Vrzich either had the lead or tied for all but two of his 97 holes in match play.
 
We caught up with Vrzic before he travels to Bandon, Oregon, for the U.S. Amateur Championship, where he and many of his teammates will compete from August 10-16:
 
Q: It's been a couple of days since you won the California Amateur. How does it feel to be the fifth Wave to pull off that feat?
 
A: It feels really good to me. Right after I won, the next day I flew up to Tahoe. Right now I'm just chilling up in Tahoe, enjoying it and resting a little before I head up to Oregon.
 
Q: How have the past few months gone leading up to your win at the California Amateur, and how have you been keeping busy since last season ended?
 
A: I put in a lot of work over quarantine when we didn't really have much to do. It felt good to see some results and see what I could do.
 
I was kind of mad at first that our season got canceled — I know everyone was on our team because we had a lot going for us. I actually didn't play golf for a month or two right after the season ended, and I ended up putting on 20-plus pounds of muscle. Then I decided to play golf again and re-learn my swing. In that month off, I was trying to do that to get a more consistent body and mental space, so it feels good to have that decision work out.
 
I thought about playing a lot of golf while adding a lot of weight to my body, but then I thought I would develop some bad habits doing both at the same time. So I decided to wait until I got to a weight where I was comfortable playing golf again. Adding muscle is going to change your golf swing and change how you move, so I decided to put golf out of the way and re-learn my swing once I got to the spot I wanted to be.
 
Q: Was there a specific hole or moment at the California Amateur when you felt your new swing work?
 
A: I'd say hitting the first fairway. Growing up, I used to never hit that fairway, but then I actually hit it. It's a 457-yard hole and I hit 130 yards in; I was getting a lot of yards in and getting good distance. Then the second hole was 390 yards out, I hit 20 yards in, then I thought, "all right, this feels great." I added a lot of distance and actually started hitting straighter, so that's when I realized the new swing felt great.
 
Q: You either tied or had the lead for 95 of the 97 holes in match play. What allowed you to start well so often and keep the lead?
 
A: When I was in the lead, I liked it. It cut out all the stress — I just got to go play golf and do what I was doing in stroke play for the rest of the tournament. I wasn't worried about trailing or not trailing, I just wanted to play.
 
Q: Even though you did play ahead most of the time in match play, what would you say was the biggest challenge?
 
A: I think the most difficult part is to have the energy to keep playing, because you're playing eight rounds in six days. I think I walked 64 miles throughout the whole tournament. I actually lost 8-10 pounds while playing because I was constantly moving. It's all about trying to survive through it.
 
Q: Dylan Menante, Joshua McCarthy and incoming freshman Caden Fioroni all played the California Amateur, and now you and many of your Pepperdine teammates will play at the U.S. Amateur Championship next week. What has it been like to compete with the team again?
 
A: I actually got paired with Dylan for the first two rounds at Cal Am and the practice rounds, so it was fun to play with him again. It was also fun to see Josh again, just to see his smile all the time. It makes me feel a little better.
 
Q: What keeps the team going amidst so much uncertainty?
 
A: A lot of it is wanting to beat each other. I don't think any of us like to lose to each other, which gives a lot of motivation to work. Whenever I'm playing against Dylan or Josh, I think we get more upset if we lose against each other than anyone else.
 
Q: How do you keep that balance between competing with each other and competing as a team?
 
A: We all have pretty steady heads. We'll throw some shade at each other or try to get into each other's heads, but all of us know that normally, we're kidding. We're always in competitive modes, so I wouldn't say any of us is taking it easy on each other.
 
Q: Finally, your sock game was also on point during the California Amateur. What kind of patterns and designs do you usually look for in your gameday wardrobe?
 
A: I just wear the socks my mom goes and buys for me. Whatever I find in my drawer, I throw on. I'm not the one buying them. But I hate when I wear ankle socks and they ride underneath the back of the shoe and run up against my heel, so I need high socks. That's when she started getting me those. She started buying me some crazy ones and I was like "all right." I don't really care what people are saying, so I'm going to wear them. They're comfortable.