MADERA, Calif. (Sept. 20, 2011) –
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 a 75 or
worse. None of those players couldn’t
have felt worse than co-first-round leader
Scott Roak, who triple-bogeyed the
18th hole to lose the championship by
one shot.
But that wasn’t the bizarre part;
that came in the playoff.
Starting off on the 10th hole as the
first playoff hole Goulding and Stieler
exchanged fairly standard pars. On the second
playoff hole (#17) is where things got strange.
With the tees being played up at only 279
yards making it a drivable par 4, Goulding went
first and decided to go for the green. His shot
went left of the green and ended up
underneath a large oak tree on a hardpan lie.
Seeing that, Stieler decided to take an iron off
the tee and leave himself with a wedge into
the green, which he executed the first part
nicely, leaving himself in the middle of the
fairway. However, upon approaching his ball
Stieler accidentally kicked his ball, which cost
him a one-stroke penalty. Stieler ended up
making a bogey and Goulding made par to be
crowned the champion.
“It sucks, nobody wants to win like
that,” said Goulding who felt for
Stieler’s mistake. “It’s
tough for him to lose that way.”
Goulding proved though to be a well-
deserving champion as he was the only player
in the championship flight to shoot an under-
par final round. His round wasn’t
glamorous, but impressively consistent with 15
pars, two birdies and one bogey for a 1-under
71.
“I played pretty well all the way
around,” said the 23 year-old. “I
felt only made five bad shots this
week.”
Stieler on the other hand had a very back
and forth round, which consisted of an eagle,
three birdies, five bogeys and nine pars for an
even par 72. Finishing in a three-way tie for
third were Matt Cohn, Orion Galioni and Scott
Roak at 2-over 146.
In the senior flight soon-to-be 2011 Senior
Player of the Year Jim Knoll added another title
to his banner year after shooting a 5-under 67
on Tuesday. His exceptional round vaulted him
past first round leader Gary Vanier as his 36-
hole total of 139 edged out Vanier’s
140.
Knoll, the 2008 Senior Valley Amateur
champion, had an impeccable scorecard, which
had no bogeys, three birdies and an eagle.
“(Going into the day) I thought if I
could get to 4-under , I’d have a good
chance, especially with how firm the greens
are and the hole locations,” said Knoll.
Finishing in third place behind Knoll and
Vanier was Ron Johnson who finished at 141
after posting a 2-under 70 on Tuesday.
With their victories Goulding earns 500
points to the player of the year list, while Knoll
earns 200 towards the senior player of the
year.
Third Place (tie): Matt Cohn,
Orion Galioni and Scott Roak (not pictured)
Champion: Logan Goulding Runner-up: Mike
Stieler
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Third Place: Ron Johnson
Champion: Jim Knoll (Not pictured runner-up
Gary Vanier)
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ABOUT THE
NCGA Valley Amateur
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. The 36-
hole
stroke play event is played at a venue in the San
Joaquin or Sacramento valley each year and
provides
a top-level championship opportunity. Open to
players with a handicap index of 5.4 or less, and
seniors
with a 7.4 handicap index or less.
View Complete Tournament Information