By the time the skies cleared, Darren Pang was the champion
Darren Pang, a 16-year-old from San Ramon, shot a 2-under 70 in the wind and rain at Corica Park South Course to run away with the AmateurGolf.com Winter Invitational presented by Callaway.
After ideal scoring conditions in the first round on Saturday, the weather moved in and buffeted the players with wind and rain throughout the morning. Scores were higher across the board as a result. After 19 par-or-better rounds on day one, there were only four such rounds on Sunday.
Pang, a high school junior, shot his best-ever competitive round on Saturday, a 67, to get into the final group one shot behind TCU sophomore Justin Gums. But as nearly everyone else was losing shots in the challenging conditions, Pang held firm. By the time he eagled the par-5 15th for the second day in a row, the tournament was effectively his.
He closed with a 2-under 70 for a five-shot win and was the only player in the field to break par both days.
Alex Chin, a junior at the University of San Francisco, had the low round of the day, a 3-under 69, to pull into a second-place tie at 2 under with Connor Motherway, a freshman at Nevada, who shot a 73.
Gums never could get anything going on Sunday, shooting a 77 without a birdie and sliding to a tie for fourth place at 1 under with St. Mary's junior Ashkaan Hakim (71) and Pepperdine University senior Joshua McCarthy.
Four players, including former San Francisco City champion Daniel Connolly, were tied for 7th at one over par.
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Senior champ Pete Wlodkowski,
Low Mid-Am John Jennison
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John Jennison won the low mid-amateur prize, finishing at 3 over par and clearing the rest of the mid-am subdivision by seven shots.
In the Senior Division, AmateurGolf.com founder Pete Wlodkowski of San Diego picked up a three-shot win over Tony Ralph of Sunnyvale with a 76 in the tough conditions that gave him a 4-over 148 total. His lead was threatened by a double on the 14th hole, but he rebounded with a birdie on the next hole and a couple of pars to finish.
Gomer Piearcy and Glenn Andrade, who won the AGC Christmas Classic in Monterey two weeks ago, shared third place with Bryan Lynn rounding out the top five.
ABOUT THE
AGC Winter Invitational
>> 2023 TOUR PORTAL
The Winter Invitational is now open to all
players who satisfy the handicap
requirements.
Join us at the completely renovated Corica Park
South Course -- it's the home course of
AmateurGolf.com!
This is a gross competition with Championship and
Senior divisions. There will be no Net
division.
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.
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