Wettig Aces the Rancho San Diego Amateur Championship

 

 

Jamul, CA--The Golf Channel Amateur Tour hosted one of the longest-standing events on Tour on Sunday.  A beautiful day for golf with nice temperatures and awesome course conditions greeted the players just a few days after Thanksgiving as they tackled the Canyon and Ranch nines at Steele Canyon Golf Club.  Congratulations to Chris Murphy on winning the 50/50 and collecting $220.  The story of the day belonged to Alan Wettig in the Snead Flight who has an experience now that is, in a word, amazing!

 

A limited field took to the course for the Rancho San DIego Amateur Championship, with Kyle Rector of San Diego notching his first victory on Tour.  Rector, a Tour rookie, is the reigning Club Champion at Bernardo Heights Country Club and hopefully gained some confidence heading into the Tournament of Club Champions hosted by the SCGA next week.  Rector, a very talented homegrown product, probably knew it was only a matter of time where he would take down his first trophy and he did so in just his second event on Tour.  Rector played consistently all day.  A lone birdie on #8 and three bogeys on the day saw him clear the field by three shots to win at 2-over par 73.  Steele Canyon is notorious for creating bogeys and doubles (or worse) with one bad swing but Rector kept it in play and we wish him the best of luck next week.  Min Hyeong Kim of Canada showed some real firepower in his first start in Championship Flight, posting four birdies thru fourteen holes.  As Steele Canyon can do if you go astray, his card also had two doubles and five bogeys.  Still, a very successful start in the top flight on Tour with 2nd place at 5-over par 76.  

 

The Palmer Flight was up for grabs on Sunday with seven players all within five shots of the winning score.  In the end, consistency was key as Cain Sanchez of Fontana earned his first-ever victory in the Palmer Flight thanks to his 40 going out and another 40 coming in to win at 9-over par 80.  Sanchez finished with two clutch pars to close out his round and win by one shot.  Mark Iriarte of Irvine was five shots back at the turn on a wild front nine that did not see a par on his scorecard.  Iriarte turned in 45 shots after 7 bogeys, 1 quadruple bogey, and 1 birdie.  He quickly righted the ship on the Ranch nine (the more difficult of the two) as he opened with four consecutive pars.  He then birdied #14, bogeyed #15, and birdied #16, and made par on #17 and was 1-under on Ranch heading into the final hole and tied with Sanchez.  An untimely bogey on the par-five 18th hole saw him in 2nd place at 10-over par 81 and still a great nine holes of golf.  Alejandro Velez of Irvine overcame five 6's on his card and birdied the final hole to finish in a T3 at 82.  Also at 82 and a T3 was Brian Daoud of San Diego, a welcome addition to the Tour competing in just his first event.   It was a forgettable first thirteen holes for Scott Henrickson of Laguna Niguel but he birdied four of his last five holes in an amazing way to close.  

 

Hogan Flight saw a dominating performance by Dwain Bostic Jr of Chula Vista.  Bostic got off to a very cold start and was actually 9-over par thru just seven holes of play.  Showing that it is not necessarily how you start but how you finish, Bostic would have a clean card the final 11 holes and a birdie on #18 saw him complete the turnaround and win by five strokes at 8-over par 79.   An amazing turnaround his last eleven holes coming off back-to-back triple bogeys on #6 and #7.  The fight for 2nd place included a tie by three players who all had solid outings on Sunday.  Bryan Lang of El Cajon, RJ Neild of El Centro, and Chris Murphy of San Diego all shot 13-over par 84 which was good for a tie for second place.  Gregory Bell of San Diego and Renato Sison both tied for 5th at 86.  

 

 

 

 

Sarazen Flight saw some playoff action.  Anush Iyer, playing in the first group, was the clubhouse leader for some time at 84.  Anush birdied his very first hole out of the gate and added another birdie late in his round and figured the score might not hold up.  Competing in the last group was Rob Salazar of San Diego.  Rob hit the ball beautifully but found the greens to be some of the fastest he has ever played on and struggled mightily.  His ball-striking was there, however, and he tied for the lead as both players headed back to #1 Ranch to settle things.  The playoff would be short-lived, as Anush, who had to be somewhat "cold" after waiting about 45 minutes, would close things out and earn the victory on the first playoff hole.  Salazar, who practices regularly at Stadium Golf Center and has improved quickly in his tenure on Tour, will undoubtedly get the putter figured out soon.  Two 8's cost Dwain DeLoach of Valley Center, however he was only one shot back of the playoff with a nice overall round of 14-over par 85.   Look for Dwain to mitigate his mistakes and make a run at the next event.  Greg Hamilton of San Diego was just two shots out of the playoff and finished in 4th at 86. 

 

Darl Winston of the Jones Flight rebounded nicely in just his second start since the Senior National Championship in September.  Winston, who got the shanks and posted a 200+ round, was not going to just sit back and let that bad round beat him.  Unoficially the highest score recorded on the Amateur Tour, it should be noted that Winston and his two playing partners that day completed their round in 4 hours 15 minutes.  Winston got back to his good golf and even carded an eagle on the par-5 4th hole on the Canyon side, hitting two great shots and then sinking the 8-foot putt which proved to be the difference as he took home the Jones Flight by a single shot at 89.  It was great to see Abigail Corona of Escondido back in action.  She finished just a stroke back and earned 2nd place on the strength of her 90.  

 

 

 

 

 

The day certainly belonged to Snead Flight player Alan Wettig of San Diego.  Wettig, competing in just his second event of the new season, is a Tour Veteran that knows how to do things the right way and is well liked by his fellow Tour Players.  Wettig, 56 years young, was still looking for his first-ever hole in one.  Snead Flight typically does not play 200 yard par-three holes, but Canyon #5 is one of the rare holes that can get into that higher yardage category as it is all downhill.  Wettig teed it up and rolled the ball onto the green as it nestled into the cup.  Am Tour Rules Official Rod Linville happened to watch it all as the group headed down to the green.  Wettig, who never saw it go in the hole, inquired as to where his ball might be.  Linville, with a grin, told him to check the cup and there it was, his first ever hole-in one and on a 200 yard hole to boot!  The hole-in-one would ultimately be the difference in the tournament as well, as Wettig won by three shots at 96.  Congratulations, Alan!  Vance Kim of Poway broke the century mark but that 5th hole was truly the difference.  Wettig made a "1" while Kim made an "8".  Breaking 100 in the Snead Flight is a good accomplishment at Steele Canyon, however, and Kim locked up 2nd place.   Congratulations again on a banner day for Wettig, earning the victory and his first ever hole in one!

 

The Tour returns to action on Monday, December 9 at the Grand Golf Club in Del Mar / Carmel Valley.