SMGA on the road

The Sonoma Men’s Golf Association has been busy of late, with an event at Silverado Country Club and at both Nicklaus Monterey and Poppy Hills Golf Clubs.

At Silverado, quick greens greeted the players on the North Course, site of the PGA Tour’s Safeway Open. Leading the way was Pat Connolley with a net 70. Three shots back of first was Paul Groft with a 73 while Mike Lucas took home third with a 74. John Radican and Conny Gustafsson fought it out for fourth place with scores of 75 before Radican prevailed in a card-off and Gustafsson had to settle for fifth.

In the gross division, Phil Rollins’ 82 was good enough for first place, while Woody Von Lackum grabbed second with an 86. In closest to the pin action, Jack Harding had no issue with the tricky uphill second, hitting his shot to 12 feet 7 inches. Rollins showed why he was at the top of the leaderboard with a shot to 18 feet 11 inches on the seventh while Ian Tervet hit the shot of the day on the 11th, his ball stopping just 9 inches from the hole. The water that guarded the 15th hole was too intimidating for everyone as no one could find the green.

In mid-May, the group travelled to the Monterey Peninsula for their annual Poppy Hills tournament. This was preceded by a stop at Nicklaus Monterey, where Dick Mithun picked up a win in the net division with a 78. Bob Keller and Martin Bajuk both carded 79s before Keller was given the nod for second in a card-off, while Woody Frink took home fourth with an 80. Tom Martin rounded out the top five with his round of 84.

First place in the gross division went to Ron Sharek, with an 88. Six par-threes gave the players ample opportunity to take home a closest to the pin award, with Keller striking first with a shot to 4 foot 6 inches on the third. Sharek claimed the sixth with a shot to 9 feet 6 inches while Woody Fink added his name to the list of winners with a shot to 6 feet 6 inches on the eighth. Mithun hit arguably the best shot of the entire day with a laser-like approach to 1 foot 3 inches on the 11th hole. The 156-yard 14th and131-yard 16th proved to be too much for the members as no one found the green on either hole.

Wind was the theme of the day again at Poppy Hills, where Paul Groft stormed to a one-shot victory in the net division with a 76. Tim Summers grabbed second with a 77 while Mick Burrows and John Dennis both had 80s which gave them third and fourth respectively. Rounding out the top-five was Bob Keller with an 81. Woody Frink played well enough to pick up another gross title with his 89. Closest to the pin saw Mick Burrows conquer the second hole with a shot to 10 feet 2 inches. Groft managed to take home an award with his shot to 60 feet 1 inch on the sixth hole while John Garcia had an approach stop 11 feet 9 inches away on the 11th. A 51 foot 6 inch shot was good enough for Keller to take home the 15th, while Frink’s shot to 10 feet 1 inch was the best of the day on the 17th.

The Sonoma Valley Golf Club has also been busy, with two close-to-home events, one at their home course of Eagle Vines, and the other at Sonoma Golf Club. May 10 saw the group tee it up at Eagle Vines, and the 1st Flight had Gary Routt at the top of it with a fine score of 66. Ron Sharek’s 70 was good enough for second, while Marc Sylvester and Dave Ball finished third and fourth respectively with rounds of 71. The 2nd Flight saw Ed Cebula card a 65, six-shots clear of the trio of Bill Powers, Ernie Loveless and Wayne Petersen who all matched cards with 71. Ron Macaluso took home the top honors in the 3rd Flight, with a round of 65. Right behind was Lou Pignati with a 67, while Mike Cox’s 68 gave him third. John Murphy rounded out that division with a 69 and fourth place. In closest to the pin action, Jim Schnabel’s shot to 75 feet on the second was the best of the day from the white tees, while no one could find the fifth. Frank O’Malley really liked the par-threes on the back nine, taking home the title on both, with shots of 30 feet 8 inches on the 14th and 27 feet on the 16th. From the gold tees, Martin Martindale hit a shot to 9 feet 5 inches on the second, while John Muncy took dead aim at the fifth with his shot stopping just 3 feet 2 inches from the hole. Ned Druehl liked the 14th, his ball coming to rest just 4 feet 8 inches from the hole, and Loveless walking away a winner on the 16th with a shot to 15 feet 1 inch. The red tees saw Harry Tistle join the party with a shot to 24 feet 9 inches on the second. Murphy had luck on his side on the fifth with a shot to 6 feet and again on the 14th with a shot to 5 feet 7 inches. Russ Hurley took home the final one of the day on the 16th with a shot to 29 feet 3 inches.

The members then had the opportunity to play Sonoma Golf Club on Tuesday, May 17, under glorious sunny skies. When the dust settled, it was Ed Cebula who was declared the winner with a fine round of 67. Bill Powers’ 68 gave him second while the veteran Ron Sharek took home third with a 69. Both John Stuart and Ron Luddy matched cards with 71, before Stuart grabbed fourth in a card-off. In the 2nd Flight, Wayne Coronel and Mike Cox both fired a score of 68, before Coronel walked away the winner in a card-off. Paul Ford took home third with a 69, while Glen Alberigi had a 70, which was good enough for fourth. Wayne Petersen rounded out the top-five with his score of 71. Closest to the pin saw Gary Routt tame the fourth with a shot to 14 feet 8 inches, while Sharek had no issue with the signature seventh hole, hitting it to just 5 feet 7 inches. On the back nine, Jerry VanWallinga knocked it to 11 feet 11 inches on the 14th from the white tees, while Carrie Luddy claimed it from the red tees with a shot to 11 feet 6 inches. The short 17th was no issue for Don Steffen, who found his ball 12 feet 4 inches from the hole and Kit Wood, playing the red tees, who hit it to 20 feet 1 inch.

The Valley is deep in the middle of fundraiser tournament season, with two of the first registering score fun times and good scores. Friday the 13th was not unlucky for those teeing it up at the Murphy’s Bottomfeeders Open at Oakmont’s West Course. First place net went to the crew of Carlo Ligotti, Chris Lanzafame, Brian Perkins and Chirs Cordero with a net score of 54. Narrowly missing out was the team of Hunt Bailey, August Sebastiani, Andy Tapper and Matt Purtell with their 55. Colman Raftery, Martin Barnsley, Franc Dusak and Jerome Baker rode their 57 to third place. In the gross division, the team of Steve Sangiacomo, George Bevan, Ryan Snow and Richard Davison had a 58, good enough for first, but not the Green Jackets, which will go to the net champions and can be worn when they visit Murphy’s for libations. In the long drive competition, Snow bombed one on the 18th hole, taking the men’s title, while Kathy Barnett grabbed the ladies. Closest to the pin went to Scotty Copple, whose recent iron switch seems to be working, and Winnie Lanning for the women.

The El Verano fundraiser also took place recently, on the fairways and greens of Sonoma Golf Club. Leading the way in the men’s division was Brian Wirick, Vince Albano and Ron Hall, while Carol Sharp, Kate Jonas, Diane Boggie and Linda Davis took home the women’s division. In the mixed group, Marc Nickle, MaryAnn Nickle, Marian Arcia and Tommy Graham grabbed first. June Errico claimed the putting contest, while Jason Clark hammered the men’s long drive. Amber Williams claimed the ladies long drive as well as the women’s closest to the pin. Meanwhile, Gary Magnani picked up closest to honors on the men’s side.