Boys & Girls Club tourney?raises $57K

The 1st Fairways Fore Futures Golf Classic was played at Sonoma Golf Club on Sept. 19 with a full field participating in the fundraiser that helped raise more than $57,000 for the Boys & Girls Club of Sonoma Valley. Leading the way in the scramble format event was Casey Moll, Max Franks, George Studdert and Mike Martens. Second place went to Joe Yastrub, Jordan Gersch, Hill Houghton and Dave Thomas while Brenton Rice, Michael Walker, Matt Kerling and Darren Reuter took home third.

In the women’s closest to the pin, Paula Parks hit it closer than anyone else, while Kevin Dausch won the men’s. Parks also showed she has power, by claiming the longest drive for the ladies. Chris Scoggins took home the men’s long drive. The putting contest winners were Kevin Lynch and Vince Bienek.

Oakmont’s West Course in Santa Rosa was the scene for the Sonoma Men’s Golf Association’s October opener, with low net, low gross and also some Club Championship matches taking place.

In the net division, Ron Sharek was declared the winner after a fine round of 69, three-shots clear of second place Woody Frink who had a 72. Seventy-three was a popular number with two players matching cards, and after a card-off, Myron Donesky came out on top and grabbed third while Vince Barrett took home fourth. Al Rappoport snuck into fifth place with his round of 74. Woody Von Lackum walked away with the gross division with his round of 82.

In closest to the pin action, Von Lackum mastered the very difficult fifth hole with a shot to just 5 feet 9 inches. Sharek had no problems with the eighth, hitting his shot to 9 feet 10 inches, while Donesky avoided the water on the 13th and hit his shot to 8 feet. Mick Burrows rounded out the par-threes with a shot to 4 feet 5 inches on the tricky 16th.

The finals of the Club Championship also took place, with John Garcia edging Jack Harding with a score of 5 and 4. This is Garcia’s first triumph in the event where he outlasted the veteran Harding in wet conditions.

In the net divisions, Pat Connolley defeated Kay Groft one up, while Mick Burrows took down Paul Groft 3 and 2. At a later date, Connolley then defeated Burrows to make it to the finals and Steve Lanning outlasted Earl Gordon, to set up a semi-final match against Tom Martin. The winner of that match will then take on Connolley.

The Sonoma Valley Golf Club headed out to Eagle Vines on Oct. 11 as they begin to wrap their season up. Leading the way in the 1st Flight was Keith Enstice with a round of 70. Jim Schnabel was a close second with his round of 71 while Bill Wesch grabbed third with a 73. The 2nd Flight saw Dave Voepel walk away the winner with his round of 68. Three shots back was Rod Davis and Wayne Coronel who finished second and third respectively after a card off. In the 3rd Flight, John Long fired an impressive 66, one shot ahead of Pete Taratino. John Hauswirth’s 68 was good enough for him to take home third place. From the white tees, Hugh McNeilly claimed the closest to the pin on the second hole with a shot to 36 feet 2 inches. Schnabel showed why he was near the top of the leaderboard by claiming both the fifth, 16 feet 4 inches, and the 16th, 12 feet 3 inches. Enstice found the island green 14th with a shot to 25 feet 8 inches. The gold tees saw Don Steffen master the second, hitting his shot to 39 feet 1 inch. Marty Martindale had no trouble with the fifth, his ball coming to rest 11 feet 7 inches from the hole. Cony Gustafsson showed a little European flair with his shot to 16 feet on the 14th while Ned Druehl’s shot to 20 feet 1 inch on the 16th couldn’t be beaten. John Murphy conquered the second from the red tees, his shot finishing 39 feet 1 inch, while Harry Tistle joined the party at the fifth with a shot to 26 feet 5 inches. Leo McMillan avoided the water at the 14th with a shot to 45 feet 5 inches and John Long’s shot to 22 feet was the best at the 16th.

A record number of press credentials were granted for the Safeway Open at Silverado’s North Course when Tiger Woods announced that he was going to start his comeback at the event on Oct. 13.

The fever pitch was at an all-time high when, the Friday before the event, Woods officially committed and word spread that he would be paired in the first and second rounds with Phil Mickelson, making a true power grouping.

See sonomanews.com for the remainder of Golf Notes.