Gojuangco plays in NTO alongside top pros

Senior golfer Bobby Gojuangco was chosen to play in the Northern Trust Open Collegiate Showcase held Monday at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades. He shot a 5-over-par 76, playing a difficult course set up for the professional tournament.

The event was set up so that 14 college golfers were paired with 14 PGA Tour professionals who are alumni of their respective  colleges. In addition, each group also contained two other alumni from the school, generally athletic donors. The talented collegiate field included Charlie Danielson of the University of Illinois, the fourth-ranked college golfer nationally and the event’s winner with a round of 68, as well as the University of Texas’ Beau Hossler, the third-ranked college golfer in his freshman year, who briefly held the lead at the 2012 U.S. Open at the age of 17. With his victory, Danielson earned an entry into the main tournament this weekend.

Playing professionally were stars such as the top-ranked golfer in the world Jordan Spieth, and top-30 players J.B. Holmes, Jimmy Walker and Paul Casey. Gojuangco was paired with Trojan alumnus Jamie Lovemark, who is coming off a difficult 2015, but his year was highlighted by a top-20 finish in the U.S. Open.

The PGA professionals along with two other alumni from each university also competed in a best ball tournament where the winners earned a $50,000 contribution to the school’s golf team. The University of Texas, led by Spieth, captured that aspect of the tournament to earn the generous prize.

Gojuangco will return to the seventh-ranked USC golf team who are hoping to build on their successes this season, winning the Amer Ari Invitational last weekend, and coming off of a runner-up finish in the match play championship last season.

The Northern Trust Open begins this Thursday and runs through the weekend and features some of the world’s top golfers including Spieth, Bubba Watson and Rory McIlroy.