Lake Merced Invitational Recap
Monday, December 9, 2019
Daly City, CA – The GOLF AM Tour’s Bay Area section had its final local event of the 2019 calendar year at the private Lake Merced Golf Club on Monday. It was a pretty stereotypical south city day, as a foggy morning gave way to a cold, overcast day. This is how Lake Merced is meant to be played. The recent rain dampened the course and delayed the recovery of the greens from a punch about 3-4 weeks prior, but all-in-all the course was in pretty good shape. After all, being able to play golf in early-mid December is a blessing in it of itself.
The history and classic layout of Lake Merced makes me appreciate being out there more and more with each visit. It is truly one of the more special experiences in Northern CA. Despite the tough layout and conditions, the scores were actually relatively low on Monday. Players knew the importance of getting some points recorded before the month long beak on the local tournament calendar. Here were your top finishers from some tight battles at the Lake Merced Invitational:
Bo Lizarraga, out of Camino, was your winner in the Championship flight and tournament medalist on Monday. Lizarraga posted an incredible round of (-2) 70, which included five birdies, to take the flight by two shots over Dan Corral (72). The reigning Sacramento Champ flight Player of the Year, who won seven times in 2018-2019, now has his first victory of the 2019-2020 season under his belt.
The Palmer flight was won by San Martin player Justin Alonzo on Monday. Alonzo carded a very steady round of (+3) 75 to win the flight by two shots over first-year player John Nora (77). The veteran Alonzo had two wins all of last season but has already matched hat total this season in just three events played. The 175 points earned on Monday moves him to within 130 points of the Palmer flight Race to Nationals lead.
Sean Harrigan, out of Roseville, was your champion in the Hogan flight on Monday. The 2018-2019 Sacramento Hogan flight Payer of the Year posted (+6) 78 to win the flight by three strokes over runner-up finisher Todd Gosselaar (81). The three stroke win was actually the largest margin of victory on the day, which shows how tightly contested each flight was on Monday. Like Alonzo, Harrigan has already equaled his win total from last season. He’s off to a great start to his 2019-2020 campaign and currently sits in second place in the Sacramento Hogan flight standings.
Chris Mateo, out of Mountain View, was your champion in the Senior Hogan flight on Monday. Mateo posted (+6) 78 to grab a two shot win over Marc Watts (80). The W was Mateo’s first of the season and thanks to a sizable Senior Hogan flight, he earned 175 points on the day to move him into the lead in the Sacramento standings heading into a bit of a break over the holidays.
The first of two playoffs on the day took place in the Sarazen flight on Monday, as Ilya Zhuravlev and Walter Bouchard both signed for (+12) 84 after 18 holes. Ilya Zhuravlev, out of San Francisco, won it on the first playoff hole to claim his first victory of the 2019-2020 season. Zhuravlev’s 175 points accumulated on Monday moved him up to fourth in the standings, just 95 points behind current leader Clayton Heisler. Zhuravlev will tee it up at the TPC Scottsdale major later this week.
Samuel Rowe, out of Vacaville, was your champion in the Jones flight on Monday. Rowe posted (+17) 89 to win the flight by two shots over Denis McEvoy (91) for his second consecutive win. Rowe extended his lead in the Sacramento Jones flight standings with the W. He’s off to a fantastic start to the 2019-2020 season and is now just one win away from qualifying for our National Championship at Sunriver Resort in September.
The second playoff of the day commenced in the Snead flight on Monday after Jerry Matacia and Nick Vicari came in with matching rounds of (+25) 97s after 18 holes. Jerry Matacia, out of Petaluma, was able to get the job done on the second playoff hole for his first victory in as many events this season. A big Snead flight meant 175 points for the win for Matacia, who is now in second place in the Snead flight standings as we close out the 2019 calendar year on Tour.
For full field scores and photos please visit www.gcamtour.com > Schedule > Local > Bay Area > Lake Merced Invitational
Top Finishers & Payouts
Championship Flight
70 – Bo Lizarraga ($125 in gift cards + Award)
72 – Dan Corral ($50 in gift cards)
Palmer Flight
75 – Justin Alonzo ($125 in gift cards + Award)
77 – John Nora ($75 in gift cards)
79 – Ray Gregorich ($50 in gift cards)
Hogan Flight
78 – Sean Harrigan ($150 in gift cards + Award)
81 – Todd Gosselaar ($100 in gift cards)
84 – Henry Steuve ($50 in gift cards)
84 – Issac Harris ($25 in gift cards)
Senior Hogan Flight
78 – Chris Mateo ($150 in gift cards + Award)
80 – Marc Watts ($75 in gift cards)
83 – Gerald Yago ($50 in gift cards)
85 – Dennis Kunz ($25 in gift cards)
Sarazen Flight
84 – Ilya Zhuravlev ($150 in gift cards + Award)*
84 – Walter Bouchard ($75 in gift cards)
86 – John Moyle ($50 in gift cards)
86 – JP Gooderham ($25 in gift cards)
*Won in Playoff
Jones Flight
89 – Samuel Rowe ($50 in gift cards + Award)
Snead Flight
97 – Jerry Matacia ($150 in gift cards + Award)*
97 – Nick Vcari ($75 in gift cards)
98 – Vincent Belliard ($50 in gift cards)
*Won in Playoff
Thanks again for coming out and playing!
Have a safe and Happy Holiday season -- we will see you (locally) in early 2020!!
Dan Cacho
dcacho@gcamtour.com
707-567-7700