La Costa Classic Results
Carlsbad, CA--The Golf Channel Amateur Tour held a Friday event today just prior to the San Diego Open Major Championship. The Champions Course at La Costa Resort & Spa was the host venue and pace of play was terrific as was the weather. Good luck to the players competing in the San Diego Open and thank you to the 100 competitors that teed it up today. Players raised $1,000 via the 50/50 Raffle, and congratulations to Adam Weber of the Palmer Flight for winning $500!
Michael Aubry of Santee walked the course and was tough to miss in his colorful golf trowsers. Aubry did not get off to a great start, thinning his opening tee shot on the short par-four 1st hole. Aubry would make a bogey and then catch fire. Aubry birdied 2, 5, 6, and 8 and bogeyed nine to take the lead after nine holes at 2-under par 34. Bogeys on 11, 13, and 14 saw him at 1-over par heading into the 17th hole. Aubry would finish like a champion, making consecutive birdies to close out his round and fire a 1-under par 71 to take the clubhouse lead. Raul Urrea of Mexico, a Tour Rookie competing in his 1st event, got off to a tough start as well. Urrea opened with three consecutive bogeys and was 3-over par after just three holes. Urrea would rip off three consecutive birdies on holes 4 - 6 and add another one on the difficult par-four 9th hole to turn in 1-under par 35. Urrea would close out his round with three consecutive pars and tie the clubhouse lead set by Aubry earlier in the day. In the playoff, Urrea hit a nice drive and approach and settled in with a solid par. Aubry, perhaps a little cold after a somewhat lengthy wait, hit a couple of loose shots but still had 4-feet for par. His par bid slid just past the hole, with Urrea claiming his 1st tournament victory on Tour in as many attempts. Urrea, living in San Diego and enrolled at USD, is hopeful to make the collegiate team there and play for coach Chris Riley. Dan Sivadge of El Cajon, 2017 Golf Channel Amateur Tour Senior National Champion, made an eagle on the par-five 10th hole and finished in 3rd place at 2-over par 74. Sean Coy of Temecula and Tony Ham Mesa, AZ tied for 4th at 77.
Rinako Kurokawa of San Diego played well and earned her 1st win on Tour in the Palmer Flight! Competing in just her second tournament on Tour, Rinako made a birdie on the par-three 3rd hole, had two bogeys, and two double bogeys to win at 5-over par 77. Kurokawa is a very good ball-striker and rode that to the victory today in very consistent play, making thirteen pars including four consecutive pars to close out her round. Richard Choi of Lubbock, TX got off to a fast start and with birdies on 2 and 4 was 2-under par thru five holes of play. Choi struggled a bit during the tough stretch at La Costa, but was still tied for the lead with four holes to play. Two late bogeys on 15 and on 18 were the difference today as Choi still broke 80 and finished in 2nd place at 79. Mike Harkins of Liberty Hill, TX and Dr. Joe Roberson of East Palo Alto tied for 3rd place at 81.
Hogan Flight saw a good performance from Jody Braud of Houma, LA. Braud went out in 40 strokes and closed in 41 strokes to take home his 3rd win of the season by three shots at 9-over par 81. Braud, on the strength of his 3rd win of the season, is now qualified for the 2020 Golf Channel Amateur Tour National Championship to be held in Sunriver, Oregon in September. The 55-year old closed out his round playing the last five holes in even par which proved to be the difference. Finishing in a tie for 2nd place is Doug Shrader of San Diego. The #1 ranked Hogan Player in the region currently, Shrader made a quadruple bogey eight on the par-four 13th hole. He rebounded nicely, playing his last five holes in just 1-over par, but the high score kept him from making a serious run down the stretch. Also in a tie for 3rd place was Francois Aubin of Canada. Aubin carded two birdies on the day and a birdie on the par-five 18th could have seen him go into a playoff. A double bogey on one of the toughest par-five holes in San Diego also saw him in a tie for 2nd place at 84.
Senior Hogan Flight saw the 2nd start of the season for Jeff Hanser of Carlsbad and he played well on Friday. Hanser, starting on the par-four 13th hole, made three birdies on his round (including two deuces on 3 and the marquee 16th hole - the same one that saw Tiger win the Tournament of Champions over Tom Lehman in a playoff). Hanser had a little trouble closing out his round as he was only 1-over par with five holes to play. A tough closing stretch of bogey, double, bogey, quadruple bogey, and bogey saw a great scoring round turn into 82 quickly but in the end it held up by a single shot. Hanser had to make a work meeting and couldn't stick around to collect his trophy. Mark Lytle of Chula Vista, currently #1 in points in Senior Hogan in San Diego, had a chance to come from behind and catch Hanser. An untimely triple bogey on the 11th hole saw him a stroke back entering his final hole. A par on his last hole, the par-three 12th, would have caused a playoff but a bogey on the long par-three saw Lytle finish in 2nd place at 83. Gerald Yago of San Jose played consistently all day. The saavy veteran did not have a double or worse on his card and he rode his consistent play to 3rd place at 84. Jeffrey Campbell of Escondido also carded three birdies today with those coming on 3, 7, and 13. Campbell admitted he screwed up a good round, finishing 9-over par on his last four holes to fall into 4th place at 86. A nice winning skin and a few post-round beers with Dan Sivadge softened the blow.
Sarazen Flight saw a tight race for two players currently ranked #1 and #2 in points for the San Diego Tour that played in Snead Flight just a year ago. Ricardo Fonseca of San Diego, who was promoted at the end of last season, still went out and won the 2019 National Championship in the Jones Flight and has gotten incredibly better at golf in the past eight months. Fonseca, ranked #2 in San Diego, played with and dueled with Rob Salazar who, like Fonseca, keeps pushing the envelope and moving up the ladder on Tour. Salazar started slow out the gates and was 7-over par after just three holes and was seven shots behind Fonseca after six holes of play. Fonseca made two 7's to close out his front nine but still held a four stroke advantage heading into the back nine. Salazar came roaring back on the most difficult part of the golf course, closing with seven pars and just two bogeys, to come from behind and win at 85 and proving the idea of "it's not how you start, it is how you finish". Fonseca played consistently all day, never really faltering and shooting idential 43's to finish in 2nd place at 86. Look for these two to continue to push themselves and perhaps we may see another duel like that in the future in Hogan Flight? Brad Forsyth of Alta Loma carded two birdies on his round which helped him to a sub-90 round and a tie for 3rd place at 89. Also at 89 was Samuel Thomas who played well his last 17 holes and overcoming a quadruple bogey 8 to open up his round.
Jones Flight struggled a bit as a group on the difficult Champions Course with all cards having some big numbers on respective (difficult) holes. In all it was a good, competitive round for the flight as John Isham of San Diego claimed his first win on the year. Isham's card had nine pars on it which is really good but he could not limit his mistakes with three 6's, three 8's, and a 9 on his card. In the end his score of 94 held up for his 1st win of 2020! Jeffrey Butler of Irvine got an opportunity to play with some Hogan Flight players on Friday. Butler's card had four pars and a birdie on it but like Isham could not stay away from the big numbers. A 7, 8, and two 10's saw him in 2nd place at 97. Marvin Hill of Texas also broke the century mark and finished in 3rd at 98.
It has been a great week for Danny Tang of Yorba Linda in the Snead Flight who is now headed for more competition in the Jones Flight! Tang, a rookie on Tour, claimed his first win on Presidents Day (Monday), and backed that up with his second win just four days later. Tang's card was highlighted by seven pars and a birdie and he only made one triple bogey which is a win for anyone in the Snead Flight. Tang earned the win by two shots with a very good score of 19-over par 91 - one that would have won the Jones Flight by three shots on this day! Von Nilo Vinluan was back in action on Friday. Von's card was highlighted by six pars and a birdie but three holes proved to be the difference. Two triples and a quadruple bogey set Von off the pace a bit. He did close out his round well, however, playing his last five holes in just 2-over par which is a strong finish. Jim Tindaro of La Jolla finished in 3rd position with 97, while James Jones of Phoenix, AZ finished in 4th at 99.
Good luck to all the players competing in the San Diego Open this weekend. The Tour returns to action on March 8 with the Aviara Invitational at the world-renowned Aviara Golf Club.