w/ runner up Terry Foreman, (left) and Steven Warne (T3)
SEASIDE, Calif. (May 30, 2010) -- Cory McElyea, the runner-up at the 2010 San Francisco City Championship, brought home a big victory today at the amateurgolf.com Monterey Bay Championship at Bayonet Black Horse.
McElyea, 19, of Santa Cruz posted even par 72 on Saturday and followed that with a 70 on Sunday at Bayonet to win by 9 over Terry Foreman of Antioch. Foreman, a past champion of this event, played steady golf with rounds of 74-77.
"I've been playing these courses for a couple of months, so I'm pretty used to it [the difficulty]" said McElyea.
McElyea made 4 birdies on Saturday at Black Horse, and 5 at Bayonet. "Anytime I hit the green I was inside of 20 feet. And my course knowledge helped me know where to leave it on the greens."
McElyea hit the green in two on the par-5 10th and barely missed try to start the day on Sunday, but saw his birdie matched by Foreman, a former European Tour player who has competed in several British Amateurs. After a Foreman bogey on No. 11, McElyea hit what he called his "shot of the tournament" - an 8-iron that almost went in, finishing just 4 inches from the cup at the 12th.
McElyea graduates from Harbor High School on June 11. Next year he will play golf for the University of Washington, recent winners of the Pac 10 Championship and NCAA Western Regional. (They won the latter event by a whopping 29 shots and are favored to win the NCAA title next week)
Mike Harding of Antioch, who fired a 4-under 68 on Saturday at Black Horse, had to play "hang on" on Sunday but was able to win with a closing 79 as runner-up Rob Adolph, who started the day 4 shots back (final round 81) wasn't able to apply pressure at the Tour-tested Bayonet layout.
Joseph Cho of Monterey, playing in his first amateurgolf.com event, won the Net Division title with an even par 144 total. Charles Balisha, an amateurgolf.com regular, was 3 strokes back at 147 while a trio of players tied at 150. All results can be viewed by clicking on the "results" link at the bottom of this page.
Special thanks to presenting sponsor SKLZ who provided Putting Gates to all tournament players.
ABOUT THE
amateurgolf.com 2010 Monterey Bay Championship
TOURNAMENT UPDATE: May 25,
2010:
As of 3:30pm, there is one spot left in
the Championship Division, (10:21am) and one spot in
the Net (9:27am) A senior player may also play in the
Net group, then be paired with the seniors by score on
Sunday. Please use online registration to grab either
spot.
Tournament Description:
Challenge
your game at Bayonet Black Horse, which has hosted
the California State Amateur, the Champions Tour First
Tee Classic, the PGA Tour's west coast qualifying
events, and more.
You won't believe the
makeover that is now complete at all 36 holes, which
can only be said to move the resort from fantastic to
truly world class.
The tournament is 36
Holes, with three Divisions:
-Championship (5.4 and under)
-Senior (8.0 and under)
-Handicap (5.5-15.0)
** NCGA Points event- part of the amateurgolf.com
Tournament Series
View Complete Tournament Information