Even after a tough loss in the MHSAA Class 1A state tournament, St. Aloysius golfers Channing Curtis and Gabriel Riveros have a lot to look forward to this summer.

Curtis and Riveros are among a group of golfers from Vicksburg that qualified for the 2015 State Amateur Championships starting Thursday at the Dogwood Azalea course at the Country Club of Jackson.

The tournament is scheduled for 72 holes of stroke play with a cut to the low 60’s after 36 holes. The field is limited to 120 players and four from Vicksburg made the cut.

Joining and Riveros and Curtis are Parker Rutherford and John Caldwell. This will be the seventh state amateur appearance for Rutherford and the fourth for Caldwell. This will be the first state amateur appearance for both Curtis and Riveros.

Both St. Aloysius golfers expressed their excitement about playing in their first State Aamateur tournament.

“It’s a pretty big deal for me,” Curtis said. “This is the biggest amateur golf tournament in Mississippi. It means a lot for me to play in it.”

Riveros, who played his way into the State Amateur with a fourth-place finish at the 2014 Junior Amateur, echoed his friend’s thoughts.

“It’s pretty cool,” Riveros added. “There are so many talented golfers in this tournament so it’ll be a great experience to see where I’m at.”

Caldwell took a different path to the State Amateur. He qualified by winning a five-man playoff in May. Caldwell said that winning the playoff was very nerve-wracking.

“It was a very good experience for me,” Caldwell said. “I don’t play as much competitive golf as they (Curtis and Riveros) do. Its tough to get old and not have as much time, but it felt great.”

Every year that Caldwell has qualified for the State Amateur — which often includes former college players and club pros — he has failed to make the cut.

“I just want to make the cut finally,” Caldwell said laughing. “That’s all I want from this.”

A little over a month after St. Al’s loss in the Class 1A tournament ended a four-year run as state champions, the sting is still there for Curtis and Riveros. Curtis, who finished second in the individual standings for the second consecutive year, took it more personally as he and Riveros joked about it.

“He may get a little emotional if we talk about it anymore,” Riveros jokingly said about Curtis.

“I just took the loss real personally,” Curtis followed up. “In the end, it’ll make me better in the future.”

All of the golfers admitted that the Country Club of Jackson course will be the hardest they’ve played at so far. Later this year, it’ll host the PGA Tour’s Sanderson Farms Championship. The setup for the State Amateur might be more forgiving, but will still provide plenty of challenges.

“It’s a very tough course. It’s about 7,100 yards so it’s extremely long,” Riveros said. “Never played at a course that long.”

For both St. Al teammates, playing against each other will be nothing new, but there will be a little extra added to the tournament for the both of them.

“We’re used to going up against each other, but there’ll definitely be a little more to the tournament. It’ll be fun,” Curtis said.