10th NCGA Valley Amateur Championship | Riverbend GC | September 16-17, 2013
2012 Champion: Danny Paniccia
Played for the first time in 2004 as a replacement for the San Joaquin and Sacramento Valley championships, the NCGA Valley Amateur has become a staple in the tournament season.
Drawing exceptional players during the late summer, the Valley Amateur has 500 points up for grabs to the champion at a time when the Player-of-the-Year race is coming to a close.
The 36-hole stroke play event is playedat a venue in the San Joaquin or Sacramento valley each year and provides a top-level championship opportunity. Bob Niger and Steven Chung are the championship’s only two-time winners, with Chung winning back-to-back years in 2008 and 2009.
A senior division is also held with past champions including several Senior Player of the Year honorees: Carl Selkirk, Gary Vanier, Jim Knoll and Jeff Burda. Knoll is the only two-time winner of the senior division winning in his Senior Valley debut in 2008 at Winchester CC and again in 2011 at Riverbend GC.
Online Registration – Paper Registration (Championship) – Paper Registration (Senior)
Tournament Information
ELIGIBILITY: Handicap Index of 5.4 or less (Championship); 7.4 or less (Senior). ENTRY FEE: $130. ENTRIES CLOSE: August 23, 2013 FORMAT: 36 holes of stroke play (18 holes per day).
Valley Amateur Exemptions
Senior Valley Amateur Exemptions
Tournament Recaps
Spending the majority of his days at Riverbend GC over the past five years, Danny Paniccia found it refreshing to be holding the NCGA Valley Amateur Championship crystal trophy at his place of work Tuesday. After two solid days of play, Paniccia won the 9thAnnual NCGA Valley Amateur Championship by a four-stroke margin, posting a two-day total of 141. Paniccia, a golf shop attendant at Riverbend GC, followed his three-under par 69 on Monday with an even-par 72 on Tuesday, a day where fellow co-leaders Ryan Forst and Mike Stieler faded. Read Full 2012 Recap | View 2012 Photo Gallery
Logan Goulding beat Mike Stieler in a two-hole playoff to win the 8th Annual Valley Amateur Championship at Riverbend Golf Course on Tuesday. How it happened was rather bizarre. After both players posted a two-day total 145 (1-over par) teeing off in the third to last group together, the two waited to see what the two groups behind them did. The final two groups had five of its six players under-par after the first round, but much to their surprise, they saw all of them shoot 75 or worse.
Read Full 2011 Recap | View 2011 Photo Gallery
Keith Okasaki of William Land Park grabbed the NCGA Valley Championship at Morgan Creek GCC. Okasaki earned the championship on the strength of a tremendous opening-round 67, posting 10 birdies. The rising senior at UC San Diego followed with a closing even-par 72 for a five-under 139 total and a two-stroke win. Read Full 2010 Recap | View 2010 Photo Gallery
There is something about the NCGA Valley Amateur Championship that suits Steven Chung. Read Full 2009 Recap
The 22-year-old came from one-stroke back to win the championship by a single stroke over the field. After losing in a six-hole playoff last year, Chung felt like it was well overdue to etch his name on the trophy. The Sacramento resident fired rounds of 69-77 to finish at two-over-par 146 for the biggest win of his amateur career… Read Full 2008 Recap | View 2008 Photo Gallery
With 11 players grouped within four strokes of each other, the championship was up for grabs. After nine holes, NCGA Master Division and Stroke Play champion Casey Boyns had a one-stroke lead. But Slover, Steven Chung and Darryl Donovan were able to tie for the lead at four-under-par 140 on the 7,251-yard course, as Boyns faded to fourth place… Read Full 2007 Recap | View 2007 Photo Gallery
Past Champions
| 2004 | Bob Niger at Winchester CC | 75-66–141 |
| 2005 | Scott Hardy at San Joaquin CC | 71-69–140 |
| 2006 | Bob Niger at Elkhorn CC | 69-68–137 |
| 2007 | Cody Slover at Riverbend GC | 69-71–140 |
| 2008 | Steven Chung at Winchester CC | 69-77–146 |
| 2009 | Steven Chung at Turlock GCC | 67-66–133 |
| 2010 | Keith Okasaki at Morgan Creek GCC | 67-72–139 |
| 2011 | Logan Goulding at Riverbend GC | 74-71–145 |
| 2012 | Danny Paniccia at Riverbend GC | 69-72–141 |
Past Senior Champions
| 2004 | Carl Selkirk at Winchester CC | 72-74–146 |
| 2005 | Frank Abbott at San Joaquin CC | 68-74–142 |
| 2006 | Gary Vanier at Elkhorn CC | 73-66–139 |
| 2007 | Gary Vanier at Riverbend GC | 70-69–139 |
| 2008 | Jim Knoll at Winchester CC | 77-65–142 |
| 2009 | Herb Jensen at Turlock GCC | 74-73–147 |
| 2010 | Paul Balatti at Morgan Creek GCC | 72-71–143 |
| 2011 | Jim Knoll at Riverbend GC | 72-67–139 |
| 2012 | Jeff Burda at Riverbend GC | 73-70–143 |
About Riverbend GC
Riverbend No. 8
Riverbend Golf Club is the Central Valley’s premier semi-private daily fee golf course, and was recently voted by Fresno Bee readers as the Valley’s favorite golf facility three years running. Riverbend is a signature course designed by preeminent golf course architect Gary Roger Baird, and is located minutes north of Fresno in a unique natural setting along the banks of the San Joaquin River. Since it’s opening in March 1999, the course’s routing brilliantly balances its links style with beautiful valley oaks, strategically placed water features, abundant sand traps and waste areas, pristine habitat and scenic views of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.