9th NCGA Valley Amateur Championship | Riverbend GC | September 17-18, 2012
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 the NCGA’s top 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 at its peak.
The 36-hole stroke play event is played in the San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys each year and provides a top-level championship opportunity for the more than 125 players who attempt to qualify for the event annually.
Bob Niger is the championship’s only two-time winner, setting scoring records of six-under-par 66 at Winchester in 2004 and seven-under-par two-day total 137 at Elkhorn in 2005.
Tournament Information
ELIGIBILITY: Handicap Index of 5.4 or less (Championship); 7.4 or less (Senior). ENTRY FEE: $130. ENTRIES CLOSE: August 17, 2012 FORMAT: 36 holes of stroke play (18 holes per day).
Valley Amateur Exemptions
Senior Valley Amateur Exemptions
Tournament Recaps
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 | 67-72-139 |
| 2011 | Logan Goulding at Riverbend GC | 74-71-145 |
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.