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Valley Amateur Championship

Riverbend GC

August 27-28

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August 28, 2007

MADERA – Cody Slover of Visalia and defending champion Gary Vanier of Pleasant Hill captured respective NCGA Valley and Senior Valley championships Tuesday.

IMG_7085a.jpgSlover (right) was one of three first-round leaders of the tournament, though with 11 players grouped within four strokes of each other, the championship was up for grabs. After nine holes of the final 18, NCGA Master Division and Stroke Play champion Casey Boyns had a one-stroke lead. But Slover, Steven Chung of Teal Bend and Darryl Donovan of eClub Monterey Bay were able to tie for the lead at four-under-par 140 on the 7,251-yard course, as Boyns faded to fourth place. Donovan’s final-round 69 propelled him from deep in the pack to a playoff for the championship.

Six extra holes ensued to decide the tournament, with a Slover par on the 18th hole the second time around deciding the championship.

“I really didn’t want to lose two playoffs in a row,” the champion said. Last weekend Slover lost a playoff for the Santa Maria Amateur. The recent Cal State Bakersfield graduate finished third in this same event in 2006 and hopes to establish solid amateur golf credentials while he weighs his options for a future in professional golf. The 22-year-old won the Valley Oaks club championship and advanced to the second round of match play in the State Amateur earlier in 2007. “Now I’ve got to keep the momentum going,” Slover said.

IMG_7005a_1.jpgSenior champion Gary Vanier (left) has been nothing short of brilliant since becoming eligible for senior competition in 2006. The 56-year-old won all three senior events he entered in 2007 including the Alameda Commuters, the State Senior and Valley Senior. This follows his initial season as a senior (2006) in which he won the Valley Senior and advanced to the round of 16 at the U.S. Senior Amateur. In the eight major NCGA events that Vanier has been eligible for since turning 55, he has won three and finished second in two. The other three events? He didn’t play because he was playing in other tournaments, often against junior amateurs.

“I hit my irons great today, I never was in too much trouble,” Vanier said regarding his stellar final round. The Olympic Club member and 2006 NCGA Senior Player of the Year had a simple explanation for his two-year reign at the top of senior competition in Northern California: “I think my swing is good enough that I can think my way through most problems.”

The champion followed a first-round, two-under 70 that left him one off the lead, with a final-round 69 that produced a four-stroke victory. After a short playoff, first-round leader John Enright took second place over Doug Johnson of Fig Garden. Enright, also of the Olympic Club, had the best comment regarding Vanier’s recent dominance: “Now I know how Mickelson feels playing with Tiger.”

IMG_7119a.jpg
Champion Cody Slover and runner-up Steven Chung (not
pictured – third place finisher Darryl Donovan)

IMG_7066a.jpg
Senior champion Gary Vanier, runner-up John Enright
and third place finisher Douglas Johnson.

Scorecards:
Championship Flight
Senior Flight

Final Results

 

 Championship Division

 

 Cody Slover Sierra View GC 69 71 140

 

 Steven Chung Teal Bend GC 70 70 140

 

 Darryl Donovan eClub Monterey Bay 72 68 140

 

 Casey Boyns Monterey Bay GC 70 71 141

 

 Randy Haag The Olympic Club 70 72 142

 

 Sam Smith Turlock GCC 71 71 142

 

 David Capel Stevinson Ranch GC 70 73 143

 

 William Moore Monterey Bay GC 72 71 143

 

 Charlie Harris Sunnyside CC 69 75 144

 

 Matthew Marshall La Rinconada CC 69 75 144

 

 Steve Wilson Discovery Bay CC 70 74 144

 

 Andrew Bowdish Cinnabar Hills GC 72 73 145

 

 Christian Rose San Joaquin CC 73 72 145

 

 Colby Smith The Ridge 73 72 145

 

 Jared Wise The Bridges 73 72 145

 

 Eric Lillibridge Green Valley CC 73 73 146

 

 Jon Rosa Porterville GC 74 72 146

 

 Reid Scarff Butte Creek CC 73 73 146

 

 Jamie Looper Oakdale GCC 74 73 147

 

 Jeff Lyons Tracy GCC 73 74 147

 

 Mike Amarant Tierra Oaks 73 74 147

 

 Steve Pacheco De Laveaga GC 73 74 147

 

 Brent Booth Palo Alto GC 73 75 148

 

 Michael Ray Belmont CC 70 78 148

 

 Sean Demeter Walnut Creek GC 71 77 148

 

 Andrew Biggadike The Olympic Club 72 77 149

 

 Chris Marin Cal State GC 75 74 149

 

 James Hay Diablo Grande Resort 71 78 149

 

 Jeff Hoffman Empire Ranch GC 74 75 149

 

 Jeff Johnson Whitney Oaks GC 74 76 150

 

 Jon Bettencourt Sunnyside CC 71 79 150

 

 Kenny Sisler Serrano CC 75 75 150

 

 Kevin Alexander Vintner’s GC 76 74 150

 

 Michael Stieler Riverbend GC 74 77 151

 

 Jason Melvin Bayonet GC 73 80 153

 

 Travis Childress Spring Valley GC 72 81 153

 

 Chick Valley Copper River CC 76 78 154

 

 Michael Donnelly Oakhurst CC 78 76 154

 

 Michael O’Neill LLESA Golf NG 80 74 154

 

 Bobby Davis Copper River CC 81 75 156

 

 Jerry Ledzinski Tehama GC 75 82 157

 

 Alex Reynaud River Park Golf Center 73 85 158

 

 David Staszko Silver Creek Valley CC 75 83 158

 

 Dominic DeBellis Roddy Ranch GC 75 83 158

 

 Tyler Ward Morgan Creek GCC 80 78 158

 

 Brandon Whitaker De Laveaga GC 80 81 161

 

 Miguel Euan Pin High GC 81 81 162

 

 Riley Kriebel Sharon Heights GCC 79 83 162

 

 Mark Dowdy Sharon Heights GCC 77 86 163

 

 Don Demyan eClub Fresno 79 85 164

 

 Gary Yoro Spring Hills GC 83 83 166

 

 Martin Renaud The Ranch GC 85 86 171

 

 

 Senior Division

 

 Gary Vanier The Olympic Club 70 69 139

 

 John Enright The Olympic Club 69 74 143

 

 Douglas Johnson Fig Garden GC 70 73 143

 

 Chip Campion Corral de Tierra CC 74 72 146

 

 Tom Lyons Castlewood CC 70 77 147

 

 Frank Abbott Silverado CC & Resort 75 73 148

 

 Bob Fleming Sacramento GC 79 70 149

 

 Carl Selkirk Butte Creek CC 72 77 149

 

 Rob Thompson Merced GCC 76 73 149

 

 Mark Miller Lone Tree GC 76 74 150

 

 Peter Hackett Peach Tree GCC 79 71 150

 

 Lou Alvarez Black Oak GC 75 78 153

 

 Tony Wilmer Castlewood CC 75 78 153

 

 Thomas O’Grady Los Altos GCC 77 77 154

 

 David Kinser Almaden CC 75 80 155

 

 George Kelley Stevinson Ranch GC 75 80 155

 

 Ramiro Garcia Eagle Ridge GC 78 77 155

 

 Charles Richesin Woodbridge GCC 78 78 156

 

 Dennis Younglove El Macero CC 78 78 156

 

 Tim Driver Rancho Murieta CC 76 80 156

 

 Tom Lewandowski Rancho Murieta CC 79 77 156

 

 Bob Olds Brentwood GC 74 83 157

 

 Jeff Early The Castlewood CC 79 78 157

 

 Robert Ackerman Oakdale GCC 80 77 157

 

 Earl Stewart Meadow Club 77 81 158

 

 Bill Bowen The Lincoln Hills Club 80 79 159

 

 Robert Cayton Pasatiempo GC 76 84 160

 

 Steve Wheeler Paradise Valley GC 83 80 163

 

 Frank Burkhead The Lincoln Hills Club 84 81 165

 

 Robert Reed The Castlewood CC 84 81 165