CARMEL, Calif. (October 26, 2013) - John
Sawin picked
the right time to catch fire.
The 28-year-old captured the 22nd annual
Stocker Cup,
posting a 5-under 67 to come from two shots
back in
the final round at
The Preserve GC. That score allowed the San
Francisco
investment banker to overtake three-time
defending
champion Kevin
Marsh, whom he played with in the final
group.
VIEW A PHOTO
GALLERY FROM
THE FINAL ROUND
"I got off to a solid start," the champion said.
"And it
seemed almost like match play." Indeed, after
an eagle
on the 8th hole and
birdies on the 9th and 10th holes via terrific 9-
iron
approaches, coupled with a double bogey
followed by
two bogeys from Marsh,
Sawin took a two-shot deficit and turned it
into a four-
stroke lead.
"I had a sense that I had a good lead so I
thought then
that pars would do it," he said. Though Sawin
was 6-
under for the day
after a birdie on the 13th and was well within
striking
distance of the course record of 65, he had
victory on
his mind. "I knew
the course record was 7-under but I'd rather
win the
tournament than do something stupid."
A bogey on 18 hardly diminished the sense of
accomplishment Sawin felt. "This is the first
tournament
of any significance I've
won," the Princeton alum said. "So I'm
thrilled." While
the Stocker Cup victory is a great win, it is
important to
note that Sawin
owns several club championships at U.S. Open
host
Merion GC in Philadelphia as well as the 2013
San
Francisco GC
championship. He also played in the U.S.
Amateur
earlier this year.
Kevin Marsh was looking to become the first
four-time
champion of this event, but was unable to
maintain the
terrific play that
led to his second-round 66. His final-round 73
earned
second place, four strokes behind the
champion. "I
didn't play well today,"
he said. "But that's my game right now. Good
some
days and bad the next."
Randy Haag, the 2011 champion, carded the
second-
best round of the day with a 68, propelling
him into a
third-place tie with
past champion Joe Sanders; Haag and
Sanders were
five shots out.
In the newly christened Ruth Stocker Barry
Flight, Erik
Stocker, Peter Stocker's son, came from
behind in the
final round to win
the gross division. Stocker's 30 points in the
modified
Stableford format led to a 94-point total, good
for a
two-shot win over
tournament director George Kelley. Matt
Pingatore was
three back of the champion.
In the net division, The Olympic Club's Martin
Connolly
also came from behind to win, posting a net
117 total.
Two Preserve GC
members, Steve Hoffman and Mark Flynn,
took second
and third respectively.
Results - Ruth Stocker Barry
Flight (Gross)
Results - Ruth
Stocker
Barry Flight (Net)
For full results of the Peter Stocker Flight, use
the
link below.
ABOUT THE
Stocker Cup
The Stocker Cup was founded in 1991 to
honor
the
memory of Peter Stocker. Peter and his
partners Bill
Harlan and John Montgomery founded San
Francisco's
Pacific Union Company, a highly successful
real
estate
development company. The firm initiated the
development of The Santa Lucia Preserve, a
20,000
acre residential and golf community located
above
Carmel. Meandering through the winding road
to
The
Preserve's centerpiece -- the top-100 rated
golf
course -- has been described as "driving
through a California postcard." The Stocker
Cup
was played from 1991 to 1999 at Pebble
Beach
and
its
surrounding golf courses, before moving to
the
Tom
Fazio and Sandy Tatum designed Preserve
G.C.
In
the
words of former USGA President Tatum:
"Peter
Stocker was the quintessential amateur golfer.
He
loved golf with a passion. He would have
loved
this
tournament."
FORMAT:
54-hole individual
competition
with
a
simultaneous best-ball event, similar to the
AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Invited Mid-
Amateur
players are either paired with a single digit
amateur
or
can propose their own partner to be
introduced
and
invited by the Committee.
View Complete Tournament Information