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SMGA, SVGC plays; Bottomfeeders Tourney on horizon

Golf notes

 

The warm spring weather has been a blessing for golfers throughout the area, especially the Sonoma Men’s Golf Association and Sonoma Valley Golf Club, who were both in action in recent weeks. 

The SMGA got things going the first day of May at Rancho Solano Golf Club in Fairfield. The course was in excellent shape with quick greens that caused more than their share of frustration.

Leading the way in the two-man format was Jack Harding and Steve MacCarthy, who combined to shoot an excellent 62. Ted Carrillo and Lynn Jenks, along with Eric Biggs and Tom Martin, carded rounds of 63 before a scorecard playoff gave second-place to Carrillo and Jenks, while Biggs and Martin had to settle for third. Martin Bajuk and Roger Rannikar made the most of their round, shooting a fine 64 for fourth, while fifth-place went to Bob Jennings and Kay Groft after a scorecard playoff with Steve Dexter and George Bevan, and Myron Donesky and Mike Gauthier, all of whom shot 65s. 

In addition to the regular competition, there was a qualifying for the NCGA Senior Better Ball, which was won by the team of Biggs and Martin. 

In closest-to-the-pin action, MacCarthy hit the shot of the day on the uphill fifth hole, his ball stopping just 1 foot, 5 inches from the hole, giving him a tap-in birdie in the low-handicap division. Meanwhile, Jim Braun took home the high-handicap division with his shot to 31-8.

The downhill eighth hole proved to be no problem for Pat Armitage, as he took home the low-handicap honors with his shot to 35-11, while Martin’s shot to 6-1 was tops in the high-handicap group. The difficult 12th posed problems for many players, but Bevan found the putting surface with his shot to 42-0 to take home the prize in the low-handicap division, while Carrillo showed why he was near the top of the leaderboard with his shot to 18-9. 

The final par-3 of the day, the short 15th, saw MacCarthy pick up his second closest of the day, with a shot to 12-2, while John Bogardus joined the list of winners with his shot to 13-7 in the high-handicap division. 

The SMGA returns to action on Friday, May 20, at Poppy Hills Golf Club in Monterey.

 

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The SVGC teed it up at their home course of Eagle Vines Golf Club in Napa on April 26.

The event was hi-lo within the foursome, and leading the way was the group of Gerry Orme, Joe Runion, Jim Reece and John Muncy, who combined to shoot 148. Also at 148 is the group of Jim Schnabel, Dan Marioni, Matt Marioni and John Ervin, who had to settle for second place after a scorecard playoff. One-shot further back was another duo of teams, meaning another scorecard playoff was needed, with the team of Dick Severson, Charles Avery, John Wells and Jerry Van Wallinga taking home third-place, while Herb Seidell, Dave Voepel, Marc Sylvester and SR Van Deursen walked away with fourth. 

In closest-to-the-pin action, Don Farris had no fear of the island green sixth, as his shot stopped just 6-10 from the hole. Peter Charles took dead aim at the eighth, with a shot to just 4-8, while Rey Acio’s shot to 12-9 on the 12th hole was the best of the day.

The final par-3 of the day, the picturesque 15th, was good to Greg Warren, as his tee-shot finished up just 4-8 away from the hole.

 

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Murphy’s Irish Pub’s 15th annual Bottomfeeders Open Golf Tournament, benefitting Vintage House in Sonoma, will take place at Oakmont’s West Course in Santa Rosa on Friday, May 27, with check-in at 11:30 a.m., followed by a shot-gun start at 12:30 p.m.

The entry fee is $160 a player, or $600 for a foursome, 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. There’s a $10,000 hole-in-one prize, with a buffet dinner being served at the Vintage House, along with a hosted beer and wine awards ceremony, all starting at 6 p.m. Dinner only costs $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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Golf lost one of its pioneers last weekend with the death of Seve Ballesteros. I’ll have more on his outstanding career in a future Golf Notes.