Southern Nevada Amateur: Ebalo tops Horodesky
LAS VEGAS, Nev. (June 9, 2014) -- Kenny Ebalo birdied the first playoff hole to beat Greg Horodesky in the 2014 Southern Nevada Amateur.
Ebalo (68-69=137) had the lead most of the day as first round leader, Yuki Kato (65-77=142), folded on the back nine, but a double bogey on the par 3 15th changed things quickly. Horodesky (70-67=137) had the lead for a short while by playing steady golf down the stretch, but Ebalo chipped in for Eagle on the 17th Hole to take the lead back.
After a three putt bogey on 18 by Ebalo, a playoff was started to determine the champion of Southern Nevada. Ebalo hit 3-wood, wedge to about 3 feet on the first hole and the rest is history.
This is Ebalo's fourth significant tournament with the SNGA since gaining his amateur status back in 2013. He finished 2nd in the Summerlin Amateur while winning the Boulder City Team Championship with Shane Sigsbee (6th in the SN Am with a 71-70=141). After qualifying for US Open Sectionals last month, Ebalo has become very comfortable with Amateur golf again.
Rounding out the top 5 was Jeremy May (70-68=138) and two UNLV players - Taylor Montgomery (66-72=138) and Zane Thomas (72-67=139).
In the Net Division, Manny Pattni shot a blazing Net 64 day 2 to win by one over Rob Zoine (Net 73-67=140) and Dennis Moore (71-69=140). Pattni shot Net 75 day 1 to stay in contention with a crowded field. 11 players were within 8 shots of the lead in a Net field that can always be won by players considered to be far out of it.
First Round leader Josh Melnick (67-75=142) played steady all day, but couldn't keep up with the low Net scores of Pattni, Zoine or Moore. All Net players were trying to gain valuable points for the coveted Cobb Whelan Cup at the end of August. This is considered the Xanadu of Net events in the state of Nevada.
The Net Division played from about 6400 yards for both days at Angel Park, while the Scratch Division played all the way back at 6722.
ABOUT THE
SNGA Amateur
36-hole stroke play championship with
Championship (ages 15 and over),
Net, Senior (ages 51+), Senior Net, Silver (ages 61+),
and Silver Net
divisions.
Must be an SNGA member.
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