The Grand Return of Daniel SIvadge;
First Time Victories in SoCal for Lee, Wainer, Akingbemi, and Burnette
Carmel Valley, CA--For the first time in Tour history The Grand (formerly the Grand Del Mar) played host to the inaugural Del Mar Amateur Championship. Players enjoyed competing on this private club that is exclusive to members (or those staying at the Fairmont Grand Del Mar). Course conditions were still fairly wet from all the rains from the previous week but overall the course was in excellent shape as you would expect and pace of play was pretty good especiall considering the course as "cart path only." A hearty thank you to the Grand staff and congratulations to Terrance Ream who won $340 in the 50/50 Raffle!
The Tour saw the grand return of Daniel Sivadge of El Cajon. SIvadge claimed the first Senior National Championship for San Diego in the Tour's top flight in the history of the Tour back in 2017 and took a break from the Tour the past year (noting we now have two Senior National Champions thanks to Bill Borden's recent win at PGA National a few months back.) Now clocking in at 60 years young, Sivadge enjoys competing against the younger competition and always competes in the best of spirits, with lots of laughter and a smile. He just has that "it" factor - always friendly, approachable, and fun to be around while having a very competitive spirit. Sivadge claimed the win on Sunday and got into a playoff at 3-over par 75. Sivadge dominated the par-five holes, playing them in 3-under par thanks to two pars, a birdie, and an eagle on the 7th. Min Hyeong Kang, an impressive young player from Canada who is 20 years old, was seeking his first win in Championship and tied Sivadge at 3-over par 75. He had the win in his grasp as he was one stroke ahead entering the final hole, but a bogey had him settle back into a tie and the playoff. The playoff would take three holes as the duo got to play the fantastic 18th each time, with Sivadge finally earning the win with a par on the 3rd hole of sudden death. On this day experience won out, but Kang is sure to hoist a trophy or two this coming season. Brandon Ensley, also of El Cajon, finished in 3rd place at 78.
Palmer Flight saw a dominating performance and one that was just a stroke out of the medallist score in the Championship Flight! David Lee of Marina Del Rey carded his best round on Tour, a nifty 4-over par 76 that earned him his first win in Southern California. The four shot victory for Lee was pretty dominating as he was the only player to break 80 in the flight. Lee carded four birdies on the day and made nothing worse than a bogey. Lee enjoyed the victory with his significant other, Diana, who competes in the Jones Flight, with a nice lunch in the beautiful and expansive Grand clubhouse overlooking the 18th green and great to see them both competing on Tour. Finishing in 2nd place was Tour veteran Eric Winn who now plays out of Colorado Springs, CO. Winn played beautifully but had a tough stretch on holes from #12 to #2 (shotgun start) which kept him away from the lead in spite of playing holes #3 thru #11 at 1-under par! Deepak Kulkarni, who just got promoted from Senior Hogan to Senior Palmer, finished in 3rd place at 83. Finishing in 4th place was another senior, Terrance Ream of Reno, NV who clocked in just a stroke back of Kulkarni at 84.
Hogan Flight saw Sean Oberholtzer win for the first time in three attempts this season. Sean had a fantastic nine hole score which helped him to a top-5 finish last week at Steele Canyon so he did have some confidence knowing he was playing well. Oberholtzer made his "hay" on the front nine as his round included an even-par 36 on the front side at the Grand. Like the Palmer Flight Champion Sean limited his mistakes and carded nothing worse than a bogey to win at 78 - the only player in the flight to break into the 70's which is always a great accomplishment in the Hogan Flight. Finishing in 2nd place with a fine score of 80 was Bobby Katuzian of Irvine. Katuzian's card boasted three birdies in all, including two deuces, but he also carded two double bogeys which proved to be the difference, finishing in 2nd place at 80. His 80 was his best round on Tour in his last twelve rounds and great to see him near the top of the leaderboard. Bill Fitzpatrick of Long Beach and Soheil Aval of Newport Coast were right there, tying for 3rd place with very respectable 9-over par 81's respectively. Allen Cornwall of Carlsbad was just a stroke back of that in 5th place at 82 in his first start since June at Encinitas Ranch.
Sarazen Flight saw a first-time winner on Tour on Monday! Bill Wainer of Santee, who plays out of Carlton Oaks, competed in just his fourth event on Tour. Wainer, who always seems to win a skin (or two) at each of his previous events, did not win one on Monday but hopefully got something much more gratifying - his first trophy and win on the Golf Channel Amateur Tour! Wainer was the only player in the Sarazen Flight (who played from about 6350 yards) to break into the 80's winning by two shots at 88. Great venue to claim a first win and congratulations to Wainer on a great day! There was a tie for 2nd place at 90 including Che Arevalo of San Diego and Matt Meyer of El Cajon.
Senior Sarazen Flight did play from a tee up from Sarazen Flight, gaining an average of about 16 yards per hole (a 300 yard advantage over 18 holes of play). On the scoreboard they lit it up compared to their younger counterparts and hopefully proving to a lof of them that they can compete at any time! Guy Hall of Bend, OR, who snowbirds in San Diego, blew the field away with an eye-opening round of 6-over par 78! Hall, the point leader for San Diego last year in Senior Sarazen Flight, picked up right where he left off. Great win and Hall has to be excited about the 2020 National Championship coming to his hometown next September. Hall did make an "8" and a "7" on his card, but also recorded four amazing birdies for a great round of golf. Finishing in 2nd place at 9-over par 81 was Steve Brink of El Cajon and Nilo Mia of San Diego. Both outstanding rounds of golf that will hold up for a win in the flight 9 out of 10 times (just not on Monday). Finishing in 4th place just a shot back was John Tyczki of Ramona who looks great and played well in his first start of the 2020 season.
Jones Flight saw a great round and first win on Tour for Olumide Akingbemi of Los Angeles. The 39-year old started in Sarazen Flight last year and just was not competitive as his Tour Index has always been in the Jones Flight range, peaking at 19.7. Looking for a fresh start, Akingbemi started the year in Jones Flight and was rewarded with his first victory on Tour! Akingbemi limited his mistakes, making only one double bogey and only one triple bogey while adding a birdie on the uphill par-five 3rd hole to fire his best score on Tour of 86, good for a two shot victory. Finishing in 2nd place and the only other player to break into the 80's was Tour Veteran Ted Collins of Coto de Caza. Ted has been a Tour Player for ten plus years who has won in the Hogan Flight. The competitor still likes to get out and compete and he is certainly that, finishing in 2nd place at 88 and five shots clear of 3rd place. Finishing in 3rd place was Jeff Butler of Irvine, clocking in at 93.
Snead Flight saw a small turnout on Monday, perhaps surprisingly, with only six players teeing it up. Almost half the field broke 100 which is nice to see, and Ron Burnette earned his first victory of the year by four shots at 92. Burnette, a confident and outgoing player, made five pars on the day and earned a win at a beautiful course in "The Grand"! Burnette is now the current point leader in Los Angeles in the Snead Flight. Von Nilo Vinluan was back in action, finishing in 2nd place at 96. Von also made five pars but a few more mistakes out there saw him four shots back and in 2nd place. Roy Smotherman of Bonita finished in 3rd place on the strength of breaking the century mark, finishing with a 99.
Happy Holidays to each on of our Tour Players and Thank You for a great 2019 calendar year on Tour! Practice up and let's hit the ground running on the course in 2020!