Barona Creek Championship/Congratulations

The 8th annual and ever-popular Barona Creek Championship is coming up on Sunday, June 5.  Registered players will get an opportunity to see/compete on the same course that is host to the Southern California Tour Championship, Aug 27-28. 

Congratulations to Tour Players John Kollus, Don O'Connor, and Tom Isaak as they qualified to compete in the California State Amateur Championship in late June.  Good luck!

South Bay Championship Results - San Diego Country Club

San Diego Country Club a Tough Test on Windy Day

Chula Vista, CA—The Golf Channel Amateur Tour held the 4^th annual South Bay Championship on Monday at San Diego Country Club.  High winds and the fastest greens in San Diego kept player scoring in check on a great afternoon. 

Roland Rivera has knocked on the door all year.  Come Monday he is now a Tour Champion at arguably the most prestigious course on the 2011 San Diego Tour Schedule.  Rivera, who started on #10, made three birdies on the day en-route to a 1-over par 73 on a difficult day.  Arguably the nicest player on Tour, more than a few players were rooting for Rivera who played solid down the stretch to win for the first time since the Miramar Memorial Championship in 2009.  Long-hitting Matt Christensen of Escondido played great all day thanks to a nice ball-striking performance.  Christensen could not close, however, limping in with a bogey on #17 and a double bogey on #18 to finish in 2^nd place at 2-over par 74.  Defending Champion and 2010 National Champion Don O’Connor got off to a rough start but rebounded to finish in 3^rd place at 3-over par 75.  Akash “Scottie” Patel, playing on his home track, rounded out the top 4 at 76.  Buddy Duncan, playing as a guest, posted a very impressive 2-under par 70 on Monday. 

In the Palmer Flight Ryan Clem of El Cajon keeps on improving with his goal of getting to the Championship Flight in sight.  Clem, who finished in 2^nd place last week at Steele Canyon, fired a good round of 4-over par 76 to claim the South Bay Championship.  Clem, playing at San Diego Country Club for the first time in his career, thought highly of the course which was right up his ally.  Clem grew up in Michigan and enjoyed the traditional, tree-lined layout.  Scot Astor of Carlsbad was the only other player in the flight to break into the 70’s, posting a 79 to wrap up 2^nd place.  Jason Matteson of San Diego and Art Harris of La Mesa tied for 3^rd at 81. 

In the Hogan Flight, Greg Velasquez of La Jolla was able to nab his first win in as many attempts on Monday.  Velasquez, a Tour rookie making his first appearance, played solid to win the flight at 10-over par 82.  Darin Beeghley of San Diego played well and grabbed 2^nd place with an 84, while Scott Goedecke rounded out the top 3 at 85. 

The Sarazen Flight saw some playoff action with Jeffrey Fishel of Chula Vista and Dean Jacobs of Ramona tying for the lead after rounds of 85.  Fishel, a Tour rookie still looking for his first win, went up against Jacobs who was vying for his 3^rd win on the San Diego Tour in 2011 and an exemption into the National Championship.  The playoff lasted one hole, with Jacobs winning on the par 4 18^th.  Tony Anderson and David Swanson tied for 3^rd place at 88. 

Deon Chen opened some eyes on Monday in the Jones Flight.  Chen, who did not break 100 in his first three events on Tour this year in his rookie season, birdied his first two holes and obliterated his competition, firing a most impressive 7-over par 79 to win by eleven shots.  Look for Chen to make his way to the Sarazen Flight in the near future with his impressive performance and improvement on Tour!  Ty Jacob of San Diego finished in 2^nd place at 90. 

Kenneth Shelton successfully three-peated on Monday in a closely contested flight.  Shelton would prevail against his three competitors, posting a nice 99 good for a two shot win. 

The Tour would like to thank all the Tour Players and San Diego Country Club for a great 4^th annual South Bay Championship.  The Tour returns to action on Sunday, June 5 with the BC Championship at Barona Creek Golf Club. 

Top Finishers and Payouts

For full-field scores and photos please visit www.gcamtour.com. 

Championship

73-Roland Rivera ($200 and Trophy)

74-Matt Christensen ($150)

75-Don O’Connor ($125)

76-Akash “Scottie” Patel ($75)

77-Derrick Farino ($50)

78-Bill Borden ($50)

79-Michael Apriceno ($25)

Palmer Flight

76-Ryan Clem ($200 and Trophy)

79-Scot Astor ($100)

81-Jason Matteson ($50)

81-Art Harris ($50)

82-Kris Alandy ($25)

82-Carl Oakley ($25)

Hogan Flight

82-Greg Velasquez ($175 and Trophy)

84-Darin Beeghley ($75)

85-Scott Goedecke ($50)

86-Ed Quinby ($25)

Sarazen Flight

85-Dean Jacobs ($200 and Trophy)*

85-Jeffrey Fishel ($100)

88-Tony Anderson ($50)

88-David Swanson ($50)

Jones Flight

79-Deon Chen ($125 and Trophy)

90-Ty Jacob ($75)

91-Mark Millard ($25)

91-Richard McDaniel ($25)

Snead Flight

99-Kenneth Shelton ($100 and Trophy)

Optional Skins Game Results

Group 1 (Championship & Palmer)

#1-Roland Rivera ($50)

#3-Clete Adelman ($50)

#5-Gary Robinson ($50)

#6-Derrick Farino ($50)

#8-Michael O’Keefe (EAGLE, $50)

#10-Don O’Connor ($50)

#11-Carl Oakley ($50)

#13-Ryan Demirdjian ($50)

#14-Christopher Lipp (EAGLE, $50)

#17-Clete Adelman ($50)

Group 2 (Hogan & Sarazen)

#3-Andrew Bloom ($56)

#6-Yasuhiro Yoshimi ($56)

#7-Jeffrey Fishel ($56)

#10-Dean Jacobs ($56)

#18-Tony Anderson ($56)

Group 3 (Jones & Snead)

#1-Deon Chen ($30)

#2-Deon Chen ($30)

#5-Deon Chen ($30)

#6-Richard McDaniel ($30)

#9-Yuri Pikover ($30)

#10-Randy Kilburn ($30)

#14-Deon Chen ($30)

Rancho San Diego Amateur Championship Results

Rancho San Diego Amateur Championship Results

Jamul, CA—The Golf Channel Amateur Tour visited the Canyon and Ranch courses at Steele Canyon Golf Club for the 9^th consecutive year on Sunday.   Steele Canyon was in excellent condition, with its greens being in arguably the best shape in the 9-year history of the event. 

In what would turn out to be a two-man race to the finish, 40-year old Derrick Farino of Poway would end up 1-stroke better than Tom Isaak of San Diego on Sunday.  Farino, who carded four birdies on the day, would claim his first Tour victory since March of 2010 with a good round of even-par 71.  Isaak, who is certainly the front-runner for Southern California Player of the Year honors, would end up in 2^nd place with a 1-over par 72.  Adrian Reyes of San Diego posted his best finish of the year, finishing in 3^rd place with a 76. 

22-year old Ryan Clem of El Cajon, playing on his home course, was out early and posted a great round of 4-over par 75 to be the leader in the clubhouse.  Group by group in the Palmer Flight came in, none coming within 3 strokes of Clem.  Then came along 64-year old Art Harris of La Mesa.  Harris used a deft short game to post his Tour-best round of 74 to claim the first victory of his Tour career.  Harris carded three birdies on the day and proved that you don’t have to hit the ball a long way to compete or win on Tour.    Mitch Oda, the hottest player in the Palmer Flight over the past few months, tied for 3^rd at 78 along with Glenn Burton of San Diego. 

63-year old Ted Collins, 27-year old Joshua Stout, and 32-year old Adam Kruger all were paired together in the first group of the day in the Hogan Flight.  Each player fired rounds of 10-over par 81 and were collectively the clubhouse leaders for most of the day.  Anticipating a playoff, the players waited patiently for all the scorecards to come in.  Paul Kerr, playing in the last group of the day, posted an unbelievable round to grab the victory.  Kerr, who went out in 1-under par 35, posted a solid 40 on his back nine to fire the lowest personal round of his career (tournament or non-tournament round) to win the Hogan Flight.  Joining Collins, Stout, and Krueger was Yasuhiro Yoshimi in a tie for 2^nd place. 

In the Sarazen Flight Dean Jacobs of Ramona won for the first time since the opening event of the year, posting a solid 85 to claim the victory by two strokes over a slew of competitors.  Bob McCall, Ted Hynes, and Terry Bodoin all tied for 2^nd place at 87. 

Paul Hitchcock of La Mesa gained some momentum heading into the defense of his Jones Flight title next week at the South Bay Championship at San Diego Country Club.  Hitchcock smoked his tee shot on the opening hole and never looked back, carding a nice 87 to take the flight by two strokes over Jerry Maes.  Maes was the only other player in the flight to break into the 80’s, posting a nice 89 for second place. 

In the Snead Flight, Ashley Robertson keeps creeping up the leaderboard.  Robertson, who could not break 100 early in his Tour career, is improving at a nice pace and grabbed the clubhouse lead with a solid 93 on Sunday.  Joe Strong of Wildomar would ultimately win, using some very nice ball-striking to secure the win by three strokes at 90. 

The Tour returns to action on Monday, May 16 with the South Bay Championship at San Diego Country Club. 

Top Finishers and Payouts

For full-field scores and photos please see www.gcamtour.com. 

Championship

71-Derrick Farino ($125 and Trophy)

72-Tom Isaak ($100)

Palmer Flight

74-Art Harris ($200 and Trophy)

75-Ryan Clem ($100)

78-Mitch Oda ($50)

78-Glenn Burton ($50)

80-Daniel Walters ($25)

80-Kevin Stutts ($25)

Hogan Flight

75-Paul Kerr ($200 and Trophy)

81-Ted Collins ($75)

81-Joshua Stout ($75)

81-Adam Krueger ($75)

81-Yasuhiro Yoshimi ($75)

Sarazen Flight

85-Dean Jacobs ($175 and Trophy)

87-Terry Bodoin ($75)

87-Ted Hynes ($75)

87-Bob McCall ($75)

Jones Flight

87-Paul Hitchcock ($125 and Trophy)

89-Jerry Maes ($100)

Snead Flight

90-Joe Strong ($125 and Trophy)

Optional Skins Game Results

Group 1 (Championship & Palmer)

#1-David Barker ($30)

#3-Kristopher Brown ($30)

#6-Derrick Farino ($30)

#7-Art Harris ($30)

#8-Adrian Reyes ($30)

#11-Art Harris ($30)

#13-Derrick Farino ($30)

#15-Glenn Burton ($30)

Group 2 (Hogan & Sarazen)

#3-Tom Williams ($80)

#6-Paul Gale ($80)

#9-Jose Talamantes ($80)

#11-Edward Rodriguez ($80)

#12-Tom Williams ($80)

#18-Adam Krueger (Eagle, $80)

Group 3 (Jones & Snead)

#2-Jerry Maes ($40)

#3-Rimal Patel ($40)

#11-Randy Reid ($40)

#12-Deon Chen ($40)

#13-Paul Hitchcock ($40)

2010 National Champion Don O'Conner Article

Exclusive San Diego Country Club Headlines May Schedule in SD

The Golf Channel Amateur Tour is proud to announce the 4th annual South Bay Championship at San Diego Country Club coming up on Monday, May 16.  This exclusive and private facility is arguably the finest golf club in San Diego and perhaps Southern California with very fast, Augusta-like greens.  Masters Champion Billy Casper calls this course home and it is a real treat year in year out for the Tour.