FALLBROOK, CALIFORNIA (August 1, 2006) -- Teeing off in the second-to-last
pairing Tuesday in the amateurgolf.com San Diego County Amateur, Amit Chopra
of Newport Coast was 6-strokes behind. But Chopra, 35, started to see serious
potential in his round as he reached 7-under-par for the tournament after 13
holes thanks to a blistering front nine 32 and two more birdies after the turn.
Chopra does numbers for a living, and sensing he might be close, he asked Paul
Bush of amateurgolf.com how the tournament stood.
"Kelley is at 9-under," quietly replied Bush, who was working his first amateurgolf.com
event.
Chopra responded by making birdie on Nos. 14 and 15, then closing his day out
with three straight pars for a competitive course record round of 8-under-par
64. A magical round to be sure, one that has only been matched in practice
rounds at the Golf Club of California by several PGA Tour professionals, according
to Director of Golf Scott Bentley.
Brian Kelley of San Diego had nearly done the same the day before, firing a
bogey-free round of 65 to take a 5-stroke lead over Gerry Simoni of Carlsbad
into today's final round.
"My coach at Fresno State, Mike Watney, used to give us a dozen free balls
for every bogey-free round," said Kelley, who just graduated after playing
four years for Watney on the Bulldogs Golf Team.
"When you have one of those days, you start thinking about it late in the round
and it keeps you going."
Indeed, hitting driver-6 iron into 530-yard uphill par-5's (the 10th) and sinking
the putt for eagle, then making 3 more birdies for a back nine of 31, as Kelley
did on Monday, might keep you fired up as well.
Kelley came back with a solid round of 71 on Tuesday in the final round, despite
a shaky start. He bogeyed No. 1 after finding trouble on the right off the
tee, and bogeyed No. 3 to drop back to 5-under-par on the tournament. He used
a four-straight-birdie tourniquet to stop the bleeding, however, posting a
solid 35 on the front nine and widening the lead on his playing partners Andrew
Bostrom (38) and Gerry Simoni (37). An even par back nine was capped off by
a well-stroked 5-footer that, if not for Chopra's other-worldly round, could
have easily been the winning putt. Kelley's playing companions, in fact, were
sure the tournament belonged to him and were surprised to hear of Chopra's
round.
As if to say "this isn't going to be your day" fate handed Kelley another blow
in the parking lot, as he searched in vain for his car keys (he never found
them, but fortunately his Mom came to the rescue).
|
Senior Champ Steve Pircher |
Kelley will likely try the pro ranks soon, while Chopra will head back to his
job in the finance division of Pimco with a story to tell on Wednesday. As
is becoming customary in amateurgolf.com events when a course record is shot
by one of our players, Chopra will soon receive a framed scorecard for his
wall.
In the Senior Division, Steve Pircher of Manhattan Beach -- who recently passed
the "age 50" milestone required for amateurgolf.com's Senior cutoff -- followed
his recent 7-stroke victory in the Oceanside City Senior Championship with
a 9-stroke victory here after posting a 4-over-par total of 148. Unlike the
Oceanside event, where he trailed the field by three and won by seven due to
a blistering final round of 66, Pircher was the front runner at 1-over-par
going into today's final round.
"I got a bit tripped up closing out the round today, when I made triple-bogey
at No. 6 (his 15th hole) when I tried to hit out of a hazard when I should have
taken a drop," said Pircher. "But at the beginning of the day I knew 75 might
do the trick and I finished up right on that number."
|
Net Winner Ryan Ehrlich (left) with Kurt Erikson (center) and Phil Hacker |
John Vogel of Moorpark came back from a tough 84 on Monday with an 11-stroke improvement. His 1-over-par 73 moved him into solo second place at 157. John Jones of La Quinta finished in third at 161.
In the Net Division, Ryan Ehrlich's net 74 was good enough for a one stroke
victory over Kurt Erikson of Carlsbad. Ehrlich, a 6.7 handicapper who made
the trip in from Victorville for the event, was pleasantly surprised with the
victory, after being hunted-down by the tournament committee in the clubhouse.
Erikson shot a gross 75 on Tuesday to make a nice move up the leaderboard into
second. amateurgolf.com "regular" Phil Hacker posted a 147 total for solo-third.
For complete results, please scroll down the page. Special thanks to The Golf
Club of California for hosting the tournament, to the staff of amateurgolf.com
and to all players for taking the time off from work to join us.
We look forward
to seeing many of you at the North Orange County Amateur at Black Gold Golf Club
on August 12 and 13. There are still spots available.
Click
here for info.
|
Champion Amit Chopra (right) with Brian Kelley (center) and Gerry Simoni |
Final results from the amateurgolf.com San Diego County Amateur, played
at the 6850 yard, Par-72 Golf Club of California:
Pos |
First |
Last Name |
City |
State |
Rd1 |
Rd2 |
Tot |
|
Prize |
|
1 |
Amit |
Chopra |
Newport Coast |
CA |
71 |
64 |
135 |
|
500 |
crs record |
2 |
Brian |
Kelley |
San Diego |
CA |
65 |
71 |
136 |
|
300 |
|
3 |
Gerry |
Simoni |
Carlsbad |
CA |
70 |
71 |
141 |
|
225 |
|
4 |
Daniel |
Wax |
Pacific Palisades |
CA |
73 |
70 |
143 |
|
200 |
|
5 |
Freddy |
Wolfe |
Piedmont |
CA |
72 |
72 |
144 |
|
175 |
|
T6 |
Andrew |
Bostrom |
Phoenix |
AZ |
71 |
74 |
145 |
|
115 |
|
T6 |
Jim |
Ream |
Cerritos |
CA |
71 |
74 |
145 |
|
115 |
|
T6 |
Adam |
Porzak |
Poway |
CA |
72 |
73 |
145 |
|
115 |
|
T6 |
Mike |
Leibfried |
Rolling Hills |
CA |
76 |
69 |
145 |
|
115 |
|
T6 |
Mark |
Scheibach |
Bermuda Dunes |
CA |
76 |
69 |
145 |
|
115 |
|
T11 |
Bryan |
Martin |
Thousand Oaks |
CA |
73 |
74 |
147 |
|
75 |
|
T11 |
Dongha |
Lee |
Bradenton |
FL |
74 |
73 |
147 |
|
75 |
|
T13 |
Andy |
Chao |
San Diego |
CA |
76 |
73 |
149 |
|
50 |
|
T13 |
Brian |
Kim |
Yorba Linda |
CA |
79 |
70 |
149 |
|
50 |
|
15 |
Ryan |
Bailey |
moorpark |
CA |
75 |
75 |
150 |
|
50 |
cardoff |
|
Michael |
Reese |
Apple Valley |
CA |
73 |
77 |
150 |
|
Louie |
Pullen |
ROANOKE |
TX |
79 |
71 |
150 |
|
Andrey |
Mindirgasov |
Pacific Grove |
CA |
75 |
76 |
151 |
|
David |
Staszko |
San Jose |
CA |
78 |
73 |
151 |
|
Kris |
Butkys |
Thousand Oaks |
CA |
76 |
76 |
152 |
|
E.J. |
Kahn |
Los Angeles |
CA |
77 |
75 |
152 |
|
Joel |
Fieri |
San Diego |
CA |
78 |
74 |
152 |
|
Danny |
Min |
Cypress |
CA |
76 |
78 |
154 |
|
Shuhei |
Matsuo |
Malibu |
CA |
77 |
77 |
154 |
|
Paul |
Rice |
Redlands |
CA |
74 |
81 |
155 |
|
Rick |
Shlemmer |
Los Alamitos |
CA |
77 |
78 |
155 |
|
John |
Lorenzo |
Laguna Hills |
CA |
81 |
74 |
155 |
|
Steve |
Batte |
Las Vegas |
NV |
84 |
71 |
155 |
|
Ali |
Siam |
Westlake Village |
CA |
79 |
77 |
156 |
|
Bradley |
Bossenbroek |
La Mesa |
CA |
77 |
80 |
157 |
|
David |
Pichon |
Camarillo |
CA |
77 |
80 |
157 |
|
Jack |
Kim |
Porter Ranch |
CA |
84 |
73 |
157 |
|
Brett |
jerhoff |
Cardiff |
CA |
78 |
81 |
159 |
|
Christopher |
Nieto |
Gonzales |
CA |
80 |
79 |
159 |
|
Patrick |
Traughber |
Long Beach |
CA |
80 |
79 |
159 |
|
Michael |
Kraft |
Pacific Grove |
CA |
84 |
77 |
161 |
|
Jeremy |
Power |
Las Vegas |
NV |
82 |
80 |
162 |
|
Jonathan |
Avedon |
Los Angeles |
CA |
77 |
86 |
163 |
|
Jin |
Han |
La Jolla |
CA |
85 |
79 |
164 |
|
Matt |
Brockmann |
San Diego |
CA |
86 |
78 |
164 |
|
Pete |
Wlodkowski |
Carlsbad |
CA |
82 |
83 |
165 |
|
Mitchel |
Yoshitake |
Montebello |
CA |
80 |
87 |
167 |
|
Andrew |
Bishop |
Poway |
CA |
84 |
83 |
167 |
|
John |
Merz |
San Diego |
CA |
84 |
85 |
169 |
|
Greg |
Moss |
Sherman Oaks |
CA |
83 |
89 |
172 |
|
Robert |
Cizek |
Chicago |
IL |
86 |
87 |
173 |
|
Christopher |
Vance |
Twentynine Palms |
CA |
95 |
79 |
174 |
|
Ryan |
Ozonian |
Laguna Beach |
CA |
85 |
wd |
wd |
|
|
|
Paul |
Imondi |
Tustin |
CA |
83 |
wd |
wd |
|
|
|
Alexander |
Resurreccion |
Long Beach |
CA |
93 |
wd |
wd |
|
|
|
Tony |
LaMontagne |
San Marcos |
CA |
81 |
wd |
wd |
|
|
|
Tyler |
Crawford |
Rancho Mirage |
CA |
dns |
|
|
|
|
|
Patrick |
Walker |
San Clemente |
CA |
dns |
|
|
|
|
|
John |
Holm |
Chula Vista |
CA |
dq |
|
|
|
|
|
Ryan |
Andrews |
Rancho Mirage |
CA |
nc |
|
|
|
|
|
Jeff |
Stewart |
San Ramon |
CA |
wd/inj |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SENIOR DIVISION |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pos |
First |
Last Name |
City |
State |
Rd1 |
Rd2 |
Tot |
|
Prize |
1 |
Steve |
Pircher |
Manhattan Beach |
CA |
73 |
75 |
148 |
|
200 |
2 |
John |
Vogel |
Moorpark |
CA |
84 |
73 |
157 |
|
125 |
3 |
John R |
Jones |
La Quinta |
CA |
81 |
80 |
161 |
|
75 |
|
Dave |
Sixt |
San Diego |
CA |
80 |
82 |
162 |
|
|
|
Gary |
Alari |
Cedar Glen |
CA |
80 |
93 |
173 |
|
|
|
Dave |
Patty |
Newport Coast |
CA |
87 |
86 |
173 |
|
|
|
Wayne |
Spencer |
San Bernardino |
CA |
93 |
84 |
177 |
|
|
|
Henry |
Stotsenberg |
Murrieta |
CA |
88 |
wd |
wd |
|
|
|
Greg |
McMaster |
Temecula |
CA |
dns |
|
|
|
|
|
Lloyd |
Sappington |
Rancho Santa Fe |
CA |
dns |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NET DIVISION |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pos |
First |
Last Name |
City |
State |
Rd1 |
Rd2 |
Tot |
|
Prize |
1 |
Ryan |
Ehrlich |
Victorville |
CA |
68 |
74 |
142 |
|
200 |
2 |
Kurt |
Erikson |
Carlsbad |
CA |
74 |
69 |
143 |
|
125 |
3 |
Philip |
Hacker |
Martinez |
CA |
75 |
72 |
147 |
|
75 |
|
Jeff |
DeHart |
Altadena |
CA |
73 |
76 |
149 |
|
|
|
Andre |
Fitzpatrick |
La Mesa |
CA |
73 |
82 |
155 |
|
|
|
Scott |
Henrikson |
Carlsbad |
CA |
82 |
78 |
160 |
|
|
|
I. Joe |
Ceniceros |
La Mirada |
CA |
86 |
78 |
164 |
|
|
|
Robert |
Johnson |
San Diego |
CA |
85 |
81 |
166 |
|
Tom |
Bruner |
San Diego |
CA |
89 |
87 |
176 |
|
Terence |
Hsu |
Irvine |
CA |
81 |
wd |
wd |
ABOUT THE
AGC San Diego Amateur
>>
2023 TOUR PORTAL
*An SCGA Points Event*
The San Diego Amateur returns to Aviara Golf
Club in Carlsbad. Once again we are going to
be
treated like pros at one of the best venues in
Southern
California, Aviara Golf Club -- as seen on TV
during the LPGA's Kia Classic played in March!
This is a gross competition with
Championship,
Senior and Net divisions.
Your entry fee includes 2 rounds of golf with
cart, prizes, trophies for division winners, and
the
opportunity to play a Tour-proven golf course
in
a
competitive setting. Special rates for practice
rounds
and
lodging will be offered.
DIVISIONS
CHAMPIONSHIP
For players aged 16 and over who have a
USGA or
equivalent index of less than 5.5
SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP
For players age 50 and over (as of the
tournament
date) with a handicap index of less than 8.0.
Note:
Must be 55 and over for NCGA Senior Points.
NET
For players 16 and over with handicap
between 5.5
and 18.0.
MID-AM (subdivision of Championship)
For players age
25-
49. Compete alongside the younger players in
the
Championship Division, (same tees, same
prize
opportunities) and if there are at least six Mid-
Ams,
a
separate prize and trophy will be awarded.
SUPER SENIORS (subdivision of Senior)
For players age
65+. Compete alongside the younger senior
players
in
the
Senior Division, (same tees, same prize
opportunities) and if there are at least six
players 65
or
over, a
separate prize and trophy will be awarded for
low
super senior.
WOMEN (subdivision of Championship)
Will play in the
Championship
Division but
from a shorter tee. If there are at least six
women in
the field, a separate prize and trophy will be
awarded.
View Complete Tournament Information