45th Zone Championship Churn Creek GC | Poppy Hills and Spyglass Hill | Aug. 27-28
30th Associate Club Championship Los Amigos GC | Spyglass Hill and Poppy Hills | Aug. 27-28
Churn Creek GC (left to right): Steve Beaton, Craig Burkett, Mike Haworth and David Spinks
Mike Haworth, David Spinks, Steve Beaton and
Craig Burkett brought high temperatures and low scores to the Monterey Peninsula to take the Zone Championship trophy back to Churn Creek GC in Redding.
This is the second year of Zone tournaments the four-man team has participated together in as a unit. Last year, Churn Creek finished fifth in Zone qualify- ing and missed the opportunity to play at their favorite course, Spyglass Hill. This year, the team capitalized on a stellar net 120 final round to overcome a four-stroke deficit and earn the championship for its club. The champions now have two years of playing together as a team under their belt. “It’s a consistency and a comfort level,” said Haworth. “It was really good to have the same group.”
Quick Facts FIELD AND FORMAT: 28 teams of four or 112 total players; 36 holes of stroke play with the two best net scores per hole counting toward the team total
FIRST-ROUND LEADER: Fremont Park GC WINNING PERFORMANCE: Net 124-120–244 PREVIOUS CHAMPION: Benbow GC STAT OF SIGNIFICANCE: One of the most popular NCGA events held each year, an estimated 2,451 teams, or 9,804 players, went through the qualification process at the club and regional levels to reach the championship.
WORDS OF THE CHAMPIONS: “Winning wasn’t our goal. We were just going to come down here and enjoy it. I think that we were just looking forward to playing at Spyglass,” said Haworth.
UNTIL NEXT TIME: Aug. 26-27, 2013, at Spyglass Hill and Del Monte
Los Amigos GC (left to right): Candido Martinez, Jorge Perez, Nick Robles and Dennis Shean
The Los Amigos GC team of Candido Martinez,
Jorge Perez, Nick Robles and Dennis Shean went wire to wire to win the 30th Annual NCGA Associate Club Championship. The four-man team followed its first- round net score of 15-under-par 129 at Spyglass Hill, with a net score of 13-under-par 131 at Poppy Hills to finish at a 36-hole total of 28-under-par 260. “We ham and egged it really well,” said Martinez, the elder statesman of the team at 72 years of age. In a format that takes the two best net scores per
hole from the four-person team, Los Amigos GC proved that statement to be true as none of the four players on the team played to their handicap over the two days of competition.
Quick Facts FIELD AND FORMAT: 30 teams of four or 120 total players; 36 holes of stroke play with the two best net scores per hole counting toward the team total
PREVIOUS CHAMPION: B.N.F. GC STAT OF SIGNIFICANCE: One team in the field consisted of four women, the San Francisco Bay Area EWGA. They shot a net 137-138–275 to finish in the middle of the pack, tied for 18th.
WORDS OF THE CHAMPIONS: “If there weren’t four of us, we wouldn’t have stood a chance,” said the 42-year-old Robles, the youngest member of the team.
UNTIL NEXT TIME: Aug. 26-27, 2013, at Del Monte and Spyglass Hill