San Diego Tour Kicks Off 2019-2020 Season
Carlsbad, CA—The Golf Channel Amateur Tour kicked off its 17th season on Sunday on the Champions Course at La Costa Resort amid beautiful October weather and great course conditions. Thank you to all the players who came out to compete in the first event of the brand new season. Players raised $420 for the Troops First Foundation thru the raffle, with Donna Barnett being the lucky winner of the other $420!
2018-2019 Southern California Player of the Year Ryan Wilkins picked up right where he left off on Sunday with his first ever bogey-free round in competition! Wilkins birdied holes 1, 5, 6, 10, and 18 for a clean 5-under par 67 and a dominating four-shot victory. The affable (former) NC State baseball player, who sports a burly beard, has really dedicated himself to the game of golf and his improvement the past three years on Tour is nothing short of astounding. Grant Martens of San Diego, our 2018 Golf Channel Amateur Tour National Champion, had plenty of firepower on Sunday. Martens birdied 33% of his holes played (6 total), but also carded five bogeys on a day that still saw him in the red. Martens opened up his 2019-2020 campaign with a very good round of 1-under par 71 and in 2nd place. 41-year old Andrew Fitzgerald, a brand new father for the first time, has perhaps a little different perspective on life than when he teed it up last in July. The Irishman closed with a 2-under par 34 on the back nine to open up the season at even-par 72 and a T3 finish. Tongun Lako Losarah of Upland overcame a disastrous triple-bogey 8 on the par-five 6th hole and also shot level par – a great accomplishment with an 8 on the card. Look for him to earn his first victory on Tour early this season. Kyle Rector of San Diego, one of San Diego’s best amateur players, competed for the first time on Tour on Sunday. Rector got off to a slow start with a 41 on the front, but rebounded beautifully with a strong 3-under par 33 on the inward nine to grab 5th place at 2-over par 74.
Palmer Flight turned into a two-player race on Sunday with Andrew Skjonsby of Newport Beach and Jeff Barry of La Jolla separating themselves from the field on Sunday. While they may not be ready for a run at the PGA Tour they could both be in the running for the Championship Flight early this season! Skjonsby, who won his first Tour event on the Champions course last season, was 1-under par thru 12 holes but then struggled to close out his round. Starting on hole 17, Skjonsby suffered back-to-back bogeys on holes 11-12 and then again on 14-15. Closing out his round on the famed par-three 16th, Skjonsby closed like a champion with a birdie “2” and had to feel very comfortable with his round of 2-over par 74. Barry, who started on hole 18, bogeyed his first hole but played steady golf the rest of the way with two birdies offset by two bogeys to start out the year with a 1-shot victory at 1-over par 73. Barry, who just got done competing in the National Championship a few weeks ago, struggled in Florida and even ended up withdrawing after the 3rd 
round. Good to see him rebound just a few weeks later with the win. A great story on Sunday was not only the play but the presence of Scot Astor of Carlsbad. The 57-year old has been off and on the Tour the past few seasons with various ailments and conditions. It is always great to be able to have the opportunity to compete which has not been the case for Astor in recent years. Playing well is just icing on the cake sometimes. Astor posted a 77 and his strong performance is a great way to start the new season. Astor finished in 3rd place. 20-year old Javier Gonzalez of Coronado played some great golf but struggled on the par-fives. Gonzalez fired a 6-over par 78 and played the par-five holes in 4-over par. 64-year old Thomas Crowder of Glendale did not card a birdie, but managed his way nicely around the course to tie 4th place at 78.
Hogan Flight was the largest flight on Sunday, with 25 players teeing it up to compete. Long-time Tour veteran Earl Totty of Temecula is now eligible for “Senior Hogan” at 55 years young and it wasn’t too long ago that he was competing (and sometimes struggling) in the Sarazen Flight. Totty has really improved his game in recent years and is playing the best golf of his life as he continues to compete against Hogan players of all ages and is quietly making a case to perhaps achieve the pinnacle of his Tour career – a move to Palmer! Regardless, his great round of 80 earned him a great victory over a very talented and large field as he overcome two 6’s, a 7, and an 8 on his card to open up his season with a 2-shot victory. Totty’s best stretch was holes 14-18, as he played the closing holes at La Costa in 2-under par thanks to birdies on holes 15 and 17. One of the more popular players on Tour, it is great to see him play the best golf of his life as he continues to get better. Three players were close as a trio tied for 3rd place at 10-over par 82. Christopher Mallari of Northridge played the par-five holes in 1-under par and the par-three holes in 1-over par. If he can clean up the par-four holes look for him to break out with a win soon. Also at 82 was Garfield Cross IV of San Diego. The 41-year old posted his best round on Tour to date and was the youngest player on the leaderboard in the top 6! Awesome way to start the new season with your best round on Tour entering his second season. Rounding out the trio was Tour rookie John Swanson of Woodland Hills who was competing for the first time on Tour. A very impressive performance by the rookie to come out and tie for 2nd place in his first event! 63-year old Ronald Fernandez finished in 5th place, besting 21 other players in the large flight to do so! Fernandez was just a shot out of the three-way tie for 2nd place at 83. Chris Murphy of San Diego, the reigning San Diego Hogan Flight Player of the Year, played well and finished in 6th place at 84.
Sarazen Flight was very competitive on Sunday with only 4 shots separating 1st place from 5th place which is always great to see. Anush Iyer, the Sarazen Flight LA Player of the Year, carried over the momentum from last season and opened up his 2019-2020 campaign with a solid 82 and win at La Costa. Iyer’s round was highlighted with a great sub-40 back nine score of 39 on the more difficult nine holes at La Costa Resort. What a story the past couple of months has been for Ricardo Fonseca of San Diego. Fonseca has competed in Snead Flight for his entire career, spanning some 3+ seasons. Fonseca earned a Journey to Better Performance Promotion to Jones Flight just prior to the National Championships which did not faze him, as he went on to win the Jones Flight Trophy at PGA National just a few short weeks ago! One had to figure that going from Snead Flight, now all the way to Sarazen Flight, in such a short time that he would struggle in the new flight. That was not the case at all. Fonseca was the clubhouse leader and opened up his season with a great score of 11-over par 83. If you run into Ricardo at a San Diego event it might be worth talking to him and seeing what he has done this year as he has improved so much in such a small amount of time. Congratulations to Ricardo on his successes! Finishing in 3rd place was Steve Henry of Los Angeles. Henry carded three birdies – an amazing feat in Sarazen Flight, to finish at 84. Marcelo Bernardo opened up the new season with a very good round of 85, while Mick Corwin was at 86 and very competitive on this day!
Senior Sarazen Flight saw some playoff action on Sunday as Nilo Mia and Ted Masek tied for the low round at 85, four shots clear of their nearest competitor. The two players would start the playoff on the iconic par-three 16th hole on the Legends Course. Mia nailed his par putt for the victory. This is the second consecutive year that Mia has won the opening event on the San Diego Tour. If he keeps the same mindset look for him to be near the top of the points list as the season progresses! Knox Johnson was looking for his 5th win in Senior Sarazen Flight the past 12 months. A “9” derailed the effort a little bit but he battled all day long and was the only other player in the flight to break 90, securing 3rd place at 89.
Jones Flight saw two players break into the 80’s, with Gary Vargas and Yuri Pikover
tying for the clubhouse lead at 16-over par 88. As often times can be the case, experience trumps distance on this Tour as Vargas (71) and Pikover (58) tied for the lead. Pikover, with a long drive ahead of him, opted to get home which did not afford the opportunity for a playoff. Congratulations to both players on tying for the low round and to Vargas for sticking around to collect the trophy! Ted Collins, 71 years young, finished in 3rd place at 91.
Snead Flight saw some very tight scoring on top of the leaderboard, with only two strokes separating the top three players in the flight on Sunday. The flight that can see the most volatile swings, no lead can sometimes be safe in the Snead Flight. Today, it was all about how the players finished. Roy Smotherman of Bonita, 66-years young, kept his cool coming down the stretch. Starting on hole 11, Smotherman finished well, making a par on 7 and then with three consecutive bogeys to finish at 94 and playing his last four holes in just 3-over par. Ramses Ruiz of Mexico, one of the nicest guys on Tour, held a solid lead coming down the stretch. Starting on hole 10, Ruiz finished bogey, triple bogey, par, and quadruple bogey to play his last four holes in 7-over par, forcing him into second place at 95. Ron Burnette was right in the middle, playing his last four holes in 6-over par to finish in 3rd place at 96. Congratulations to Roy for his second Tour win in the past 12 months!