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SMGA, SVGC play; Presentation, Bottomfeeders tourneys; Masters

Golf notes

 

Both the Sonoma Men’s Golf Association and Sonoma Valley Golf Club were in action last week, coincidentally, at the same course, Cache Creek’s fabulous Yocha DeHe Golf Club.

First up was the SMGA, which made the trip on a windy Sunday, April 3.

Leading the way in the net division was Mike Gauthier, who fired a fine round of 71, and was followed closely by Eric Biggs and Tom Meyer, who both carded 72s, before Biggs was awarded second in a scorecard playoff. Local architect George Bevan had an impressive back-nine to shoot 73, while Ian Tervet grabbed fifth with a 76. 

In the gross division, Richard Davison drained a 70-foot eagle putt on the second hole and went on to shoot 71 to take home first place, while Jack Harding’s 83 was good enough for second.

The difficult par-3s at Yocha DeHe proved to be no problem to the players, as the water-guarded fourth almost gave up a hole-in-one to Pat Connolley, whose tee-shot stopped just three inches from the hole to claim the closest-to-the-hole low-handicap division. 

In the high-handicap division, Gauthier showed why he was low-net, as his tee-shot to 27 feet was the best of the day. A strong right-to-left wind made the tricky seventh even more difficult, but Jack Harding almost grabbed an ace with his shot to just 1 foot, 5 inches, easily the best in the low-handicap group, while Ron Sharek’s shot to 11-5 was the best of the high-handicappers.

The long 13th also played with a cross wind, making finding the green difficult. Davison’s 4-iron stopped just 6 feet from the hole, the best of the low-handicap group, while Woody Von Lackum’s shot to 22 feet was good enough to take the high-handicap flight. 

The final par-3 of the day, the downwind 16th, saw two of the better shots of the day, with Davison picking up his second closest-to with a shot to 3-9, while Gauthier also picked up his second of the day with an equally impressive shot to 10-5. 

The event also determined the representatives for the NCGA Associate Club Championship qualifying and the team will be comprised of Gauthier, Biggs, Meyer and Bevan.

The club returns to action on Sunday, May 1, at Rancho Solano Golf Club in Fairfield.

 

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Two days after the SMGA made the trip to Yocha DeHe (Tuesday, April 5), the SVGC made a two-day stop at the resort and played two tournaments using different formats. 

Day one saw a shamble format, giving all four members of each group the chance to participate in an early season fun event. Leading the way was the team of Herb Seidell, Michael Lipson, Van Deursen and Marc Sylvester with a combined score of 103, which equated to 41-under-par. A score of 108 was good enough for second-place, with two teams matching that number. After a score-card playoff, second went to the team of Pete Saibene, Fred Martin, Harry Tistle and Eagle Vines Professional Matt Dito, while the quartet of Jerry VanWallinga, Charley Avery, Steve Martin and Dave Bartel had to settle for third. Rounding out the top-four was a trio, Al Marty, Eloi Delagnes and Kit Wood, with a 109. 

Closest-to-the-pin saw Ross Martin’s shot to 9-6 narrowly beat out Tom Braun’s 9-8 on the fourth hole, while Jun Jasareno hit the shot of the day at the seventh to just 1-8. 

On the 13th hole, 14-2 was good enough for Dan Radke, while Chuck Harris’ shot to just 1-6 beat out Martin by one-foot on the 16th. 

Day two saw the format switch to the more difficult two low-net of the group.

Both VanWallinga and Avery made the podium again, this time teaming with Connie Gustaffson and Ted Nordquist to fire 112. Nine shots back with a score of 121 was the group of Kathie and Jim Schnabel, and Sue and Mike Alberigi, while Jack Powers, Peter Gilligan, John Fanucchi and Bill Seim pulled into third with a 122 total.

In closest-to-the-hole, Jim Schnabel’s shot to 13-9 was the best on the fourth hole,  while Braun got revenge after narrowly being edged out the day before, claiming the seventh hole with a shot to 11-6.

The back-nine saw a spectacular shot to 22 inches on the 13th by Gustafffson, while Braun grabbed his second closest-to of the day on the 16th with a shot to 62 inches.

The SVGC, which returned to action on Tuesday at Eagle Vines – results unavailable at presstime – goes back on the road, once again following the SMGA, with an event at Rancho Solano on Tuesday, May 3.

        

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Presentation School’s 11th annual Golf Tournament will be held on Monday, May 9, at the Sonoma Golf Club and will benefit the students of the Presentation School.

Cost for this year’s event is $195 a player, or $780 for a foursome which includes golf with cart, tee-prize, photograph of your foursome, box lunch and dinner, catered by the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn, immediately following the tourney. For those who just want to attend the dinner and awards ceremony, tickets can be purchased for $65.

As always, there will be a longest drive competition, closest-to-the-pin competition and prizes for the winner of the scramble event. The tournament gets underway with a registration opening at 11 a.m., followed by a 12:30 p.m. shotgun start, with the reception beginning at 5, and the dinner and live auction starting at 6:15 p.m. For more information, or to inquire about potential sponsorship of the event, contact Nancy Bei at 935-0122, ext. 202, or visit presentationschool.com.

 

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Murphy’s Irish Pub’s 15th annual Bottomfeeders Open Golf Tournament will once again take place at Oakmont’s West Course in Santa Rosa, with the event set for Friday, May 27, and it will once again benefit Vintage House in Sonoma.

Tournament entry fee is $160 a player, or if you sign up for a foursome, the cost is $600 for the group, and includes golf with cart, a sleeve of golf balls, a tee-prize, as well as a box lunch, beer and other refreshments on the course.

Someone could also walk away with a nice check, as a $10,000 hole-in-one prize will be offered for the lucky person who makes an ace during the event. A buffet dinner featuring prime rib and salmon follows at the Vintage House, along with a hosted beer and wine awards ceremony.

The event gets underway with check-in at 11:30 a.m., followed by a shot-gun start at 12:30 p.m. The hosted beer and wine bar starts at 6, and the awards dinner is at 7:30 p.m. Anyone interested in attending just the dinner portion can do so for a cost of $60. For more information, or to get a registration form, go to www.vintagehouse.org, or call the Vintage House at 996-0311, or Murphy’s at 935-0660.

 

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Time will tell if the 2011 Masters tournament will be known more for the way Rory McIlroy lost the tournament, or the way that Charl Schwartzel won it.

Starting the day with a four-shot lead, the young Ulsterman looked to be the first European since Jose Maria Olazabal in 1999 to take home the Green Jacket and be the second-youngest winner ever of the prestigious event.

McIlroy’s whole world came crashing down, however, after he hooked his tee-shot on the 10th, which led to an untimely triple bogey, that he followed up with a three-putt bogey on the 11th, and four-putt double-bogey on the 12th to fade from contention and eventually finish in a tie for 14th. 

Schwartzel, meanwhile, chipped in at the first and holed his approach on the third to go 3-under-par for the first three holes, vaulting up the leaderboard into a tie for first. 

At one point in the final round, four were tied for the lead, with another four just one-shot back, including four-time Masters champion Tiger Woods.

Woods looked like the player to beat after a 31 on the first nine holes, but a three-putt at the 12th, and a missed four-foot eagle putt on the 15th, stalled his momentum.

Next to throw their hat into the ring was the Australian duo of Adam Scott and Jason Day, both trying to become the first winners from down-under.

Scott, whose career has been resurrected by the use of a long-putter, made several clutch putts on the last three holes, including a birdie on the 16th, and a long par putt on the 17th, when he looked like he might take the championship.

Day, meanwhile, made spectacular birdies on both 17 and 18, while playing with Scott, to tie him.

All their efforts would be in vain, however, as Schwartzel finished in style unlike any other Masters in history, starting at the 15th, where he made a four-foot birdie putt, and followed that up with a 15-foot putt on the 16th. 

A strong iron shot to the 17th gave Schwartzel a 12-footer, which he calmly rolled in to take the lead, only to make a fourth-straight birdie at the 18th and claim his first major title with a two-shot victory over both Scott and Day.