NEWPORT COAST AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP
Pelican HIll Golf Club
Newport Coast, CA--The Golf Channel Amateur Tour held the 8th annual Newport Coast Amateur Championship on Sunday with beautiful playing conditions. The weather and the course were awesome as players tried to navigate the very fast and tricky green complexes. All in all it was a beautiful day to compete on one of the best tracks in America at Pelican Hill - Ocean South. While Monty White had a tough day on the golf course his spirits were up after winning $340 in the 50/50 Raffle! Congratulations, Monty and thank you to everyone who teed it up to compete in this prestigious event.
Tyrell Rohrer of Long Beach was a late addition off of the waiting list and he seized the opportunity to compete. Rohrer got off to a hot start, playing his first 5 holes in 1-under par and held on for the win by four shots at 3-over par 73. This was Rohrer's 6th win in just two years on Tour and his second win of the young season. The baseball player turned golfer continues to get better which is awesome to see. Finishing in 2nd place was Rocco Guarino of Valencia. Rocco, who started his career in Palmer Flight, finished in 2nd place in the Championship Flight on Sunday. Guarino made a great bogey on #1 after a poor tee shot and he was right there. Two holes, a triple bogey on #5 and a double bogey to close out his round on #18 kept him from making a serious charge at the win. A three-way tie for 3rd at 78 included Mike Taylor of New Mexico, Daniel Scott Johnson of Santa Monica, Bryan Pinkham of Costa Mesa.
Palmer Flight saw a great round out of Graham Everett of Irvine. The fireman who is (somewhat) nearing retirement has struggled this year. Playing his 8th round of the season, Everett had yet to break 80 and most recently shot over 100. With his group struggling to set an acceptable pace for the tournament and in the first group, Everett became a man on a mission on Sunday, making crafty up and downs and keeping his ball in play all day. After starting with three consecutive bogeys, Everett played the final 15 holes in just 1-over par, earning his first win of the season by three shots at 4-over par 74. Congratulations to Everett for a great round and solid win. Maykel Ghorbanzadeh's time is more limited with the birth of his son but looking at his score and his first tee shot you wouldn't know it. Ghorbanzadeh crushed his drive on #1, a high draw that went about 320 yards on #1, and he was the leader standing on 14 tee at 2-over par for the day. He would have a hard time closing out his round, finishing with three sixes on his last five holes. While lunch probably didn't taste that great after the finish, Ghorbanzadeh was still the only other player in the flight to break into the 70's, finishing in 2nd at 7-over par 77. John Given of Santa Monica celebrated his 69th birthday on Sunday at Pelican Hill. Given got off to a great start with a birdie on #2 and a hole-out eagle 2 on the par-four 3rd to be 3-under par after just three holes. Given was the leader at the turn at even par, but a back-nine 45 saw him in a tie for 3rd place at 80 along with Curt Black of Washington DC.
Hogan Flight struggled collectively with the fast greens on Sunday and the scores proved it. Wes Kruse of Dana Point set the early clubhouse lead at 88 and was joined by Robert Sullivan. Babak Katuzian of Irvine, playing in the 2nd-to-last Hogan group, bested that by a shot and became the clubhouse leader at 87 thanks to a solid par on difficult and memorable par-four 18th hole. Playing in the final group, Paul Kerr of San Diego made a bogey on #18 to tie Katuzian at 87, just a stroke ahead of Dave Davidson and Soheil Aval who created a 4-way tie at 88. Also playing in that final group was Joe Fournier of San Juan Capistrano. Fournier seperated himself from the field and held a large lead heading into #18. Fournier suffered a disastrous triple bogey-7 and must have figured that cost him the title as he noted the defending champion score for the flight was 81 from last season. The Tour rookie, competing in just his first event, was a bit surprised when his round of 15-over par 85 held up for the win! A great start and win to his career and proves you never know what the winning score might be.
Senior Hogan saw two players seperate themselves from the field. Playing the same tees as their younger Hogan Flight counterparts, 63-year old Angelo Cofino of Manhattan Beach took the early clubhouse lead at 9-over par 79 in a consistent round that saw him make par on 10 holes. 55-year old Gary Kabonic of Tehachapi held a tenous 1-stroke lead and was 8-over par standing on 18 tee. An untimely bogey saw him tie for the lead at 9-over par 79. Heading into a sudden death playoff, Cofino hit the ball great and, looking for his first win on Tour, make a great par on the first playoff hole. Kabonic, a little out of position, hit a miraculous chip that almost went in. Cofino, thanks to his great play and shots, locked up his first tournament victory on that first playoff hole! Congratulations to both players on great rounds, one that saw them best their younger counterparts by six shots and from the same tees! And of course congratulations to Cofino on the win in his first season on Tour - a very nice and affable gentleman and great addition to our Tour. Renato Sison of Riverside finished in 3rd place at 86.
Sarazen Flight saw a great performance and second consecutive win for 62-year old Sesh Ramakrishnan of Irvine backing up his win at Brookside a few weekends ago. Ramakrishnan, the #1 ranked Senior Sarazen player currently on the LA Tour, made consecutive birdies on #8 and #9 to turn in just 39 strokes. Ramakrishnan had a little trouble closing out his round, playing his last four holes in 5-over par, but in the end it was narrowly good enough for his 3rd win overall of the season at 10-over par 80! 67-year old Joe Basanda was having a great day on the links and got off to a remarkable start. Basanda turned in just 37 and then made a birdie on #10 to put him at just 1-over par after ten holes. Joe just could not keep up the run he was on and came back to earth a little, playing his last 8 holes in 10-over par to finish in 2nd place at 11-over par 81. Trying to keep up with the seniors, James Lubovich of Arvada, CO shook off what has to be some cold-weather rust and played well in his first appearance at Pelican HIll. Arvada, like Basanda and Ramakrishnan, struggled down the stretch but in the end he tied for 2nd place with a very good score of 11-over par 81.
Jones Flight saw two players seperate themselves from the field with sub-90 rounds and the strong finishing holes at Pelican HIll - Ocean South proved to be the difference. Matt Kay of Los Angeles played his best golf down the stretch, closing in just 40 strokes (5-over par for the entire back nine) to claim the win by a single shot at 16-over par 86. Kay played his best golf to date, breaking 90 for the first time this season and earning the 1st victory of his Tour Career which is great! David Dittlinger of Los Angeles set the early pace and was leading, just 9-over par after 14 holes. Seeking his first win of the season, Dittlinger struggled to close out his round as many did on Sunday, finishing his last five holes in 8-over par, narrowly missing the lead and finishing in 2nd place just a stroke back at 17-over par 87. Ilyas Ahmed of Irvine, who is still seeking that Journey To Better Performance Promotion to Sarazen Flight, finished in 3rd place at 90.
Snead Flight saw three players break the century mark which is notable at a difficult layout like Pelican Hill. Bill Lewicki of Tucson, AZ took home the win on the strength of his 93. Larry Polete of Banning, who always seems to be at the top of the leaderboard, finished in 2nd place just two strokes behind at 95. Polete and Lewicki were tied going into the 18th hole and Lewicki made a great par to secure the win. Martin Choy of Whittier finished in 3rd place at 97.