- a crucial two putt at No. 18 led to victory
MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA (December 4, 2005) -- Del Monte golf course doesn't have
length, water hazards, or many other modern fear-factor characteristics. But regardless of clocking in at only 6357
yards, Del Monte -- known for being the oldest course west of the Mississippi -- has
stood up amazingly well as a test of golf. Del Monte may no longer host USGA events
as it did in the 1920's, but still sees a wonderful tournament schedule each year
with the season-ending (or beginning, depending on how you look at it) amateurgolf.com Christmas Classic being the largest 'amateur-only'
event.
A solid contingency of California amateurs make the pilgrimage to Monterey each
year in a tradition that goes back to when it was only referred to as 'Casey's'
(after tournament founder Casey Boyns).
In Saturday's first round, Danny Buell of San Carlos started with a bogey, then
didn't make another mistake (but did make four birdies) for the rest of the day.
He called his round "solid," and knew there was a lot of work to be done, with
16 players within 6 strokes of the lead. Dave Nelson, who won the Christmas Classic in 2002,
was one of those players, in at 71 and paired in the final group.
Nelson, 49, has been a top Nevada amateur for some time, having racked up four
Nevada State Amateurs and one Nevada Mid-Am. In 1982, Nelson competed in the US Open
at Pebble Beach. He plays in the Christmas Classic every year, and is well aware that Del Monte rewards experience.
On Sunday, Nelson plugged away on the front nine, keeping leader Danny Buell in
sight but not gaining much until the 9th hole, where a birdie, against Buell's
bogey, resulted in a two stroke swing and a 1-shot margin for Buell heading into
the back nine. Both players birdied No. 10, the short par four, then matched pars
at No. 11. Buell bogeyed the Ocean Honda Hole-in-One hole, No. 12, and the tournament
was tied. But Del Monte giveth, and Del Monte taketh away - Nelson found that
out with a double bogey - bogey stretch on Nos. 13 and 14 that put the tournament
back to square.
The hole that probably typifies Del Monte the most, No. 15, is a 350-yard par-4
that doglegs to the left with trees narrowing in to only 20 yards wide inside
of the 150 yard marker. And you don't even want to try to hit out of the left
trees (the last time I was in there I did notice a sign about an endangered species
of bats, however). The occasional heat-sinking missile off a driver can find the
front of the green, and that's what Buell tried to pull off on Sunday, but he
overcooked it left. One fortuitous bounce later, his ball was in the middle of
the fairway just 80 yards out. Nelson played an iron to 150 yards, then smartly
kept his approach shot under the hole and made birdie. Buell wedged to 20 feet
above the hole and three-putted for bogey. But he still had the lead, and he made
a clutch putt of 10 feet on No. 16 to keep it, by one.
The pin on the par-5 17th was so close to the front edge that many players were
left shaking their heads. One even 5-putted (he didn't blame the pin placement,
to his credit). Matt Marshall, Eric Restrepo. Arvo Voip, Geoff Gonzales, and Brian
Thompson all posted birdie fours on the hole, so it couldn't have been that bad.
Nelson and Buell both landed wedge shots well beyond the pin, but spun their balls
off the green. When Buell, who was farther away, failed to save par, the tournament
was tied on the 18th tee. Nelson didn't have a leaderboard to glance at, but this
is far from his first golf tournament.
"I knew, of course, that I had to at least catch Danny if I was going to have
a chance to win, and I had done that," said Nelson.
Buell's tee shot was left, and blocked by the large oak that stands guard there.
He pondered his escape-route while waiting for the green to clear, then boldly
attempted to go up and over the limbs but after a loud 'crack' he watched in dismay
as the ball bounded straight back and farther from the hole. With it still being
his turn to play, Buell pitched out to the middle of the fairway, fifty yards
short of the green. Nelson wedged to 30 feet, but still had lots of work to do
for par, with an extreme-back pin placement that caused at least one player on
the front of the green to chip over the fringe to get there. Nelson had a clear
path, and he putted nicely to 2 feet short of the hole, then finished for par.
Buell's wedge had skipped past the pin to the back rough, and he hit a deft pitch
from there that saved Bogey, and a share of second place with Geoff Gonzalez and
Brian Thompson at 145.
But the tournament belonged to Nelson, whose par at 18 resulted in an even-par
72 in the final round and 1-under par score of 143 for the tournament. Not quite
as low as the blistering 9-under-par total of 135 he shot in winning the event
in 2002, but 2 strokes ahead of anyone else in the extremely competitive scratch
and senior scratch divisions of almost 100 players.
SENIOR DIVISION:
In the Senior Division, Herb Jensen played steady golf for two days and 73-75
= 148 for a narrow one stroke victory over a trio of top players - Mark Miller
of Antioch; Bob Rowland of Danville (the first round leader at 71); and NCGA
2005 Senior player-of-the-year Rob Thompson of Merced. Jensen, a dentist during
the workweek, was left gritting his teeth walking off the 18th green after Saturday's
first round, where a double-bogey finish stained a near-perfect round. On Sunday,
however, his walk to the scoreboard was a lot nicer, as the satisfaction of
winning over a quality senior field set in.
NET DIVISION:
Todd Knapp of Salinas dominated the net division. As round two scores for most
players had nobody screaming 'sandbagger,' Knapp managed his way around Del
Monte nicely by firing the low net round of the tournament (a 68) which allowed
him to be the only player under par net and win by 6 strokes over Mike Burgess
of Rohnert Park and Terry Won of Milpitas.
|
* * * *
Final results from the 21st Annual amateurgolf.com Christmas Classic, played
at the par-72, 6357 yard Del Monte Golf Course:
CHAMPIONSHIP |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Name |
Hometown |
Rd1 |
Rd2 |
Tot |
Pos |
Prize* |
David Nelson |
Reno, NV |
71 |
72 |
143 |
1 |
$600 |
Danny Buell |
San Carlos, CA |
68 |
77 |
145 |
T2 |
$341 |
Geoff Gonzalez |
Diablo, CA |
72 |
73 |
145 |
T2 |
$341 |
Brian Thompson |
Gilroy, CA |
74 |
71 |
145 |
T2 |
$341 |
Arvo Voip |
Magalia, CA |
74 |
72 |
146 |
5 |
$225 |
Chad Vivolo |
Carmel, CA |
74 |
73 |
147 |
T6 |
$163 |
Eric Restrepo |
Davis, CA |
75 |
72 |
147 |
T6 |
$163 |
Marc Peterson |
Modesto, CA |
73 |
75 |
148 |
T8 |
$113 |
Matt Marshall |
Los Gatos, CA |
77 |
71 |
148 |
T8 |
$113 |
Eric West |
Berkeley, CA |
74 |
75 |
149 |
10 |
$100 |
Ross Valentine |
New Zealand |
74 |
76 |
150 |
T11 |
$80 |
Andrew Bowdish |
San Jose, CA |
71 |
79 |
150 |
T11 |
$80 |
Brian Thibault |
San Jose, CA |
75 |
75 |
150 |
T11 |
$80 |
David Schnapp |
Livermore, CA |
75 |
75 |
150 |
T11 |
$80 |
Erik Hill |
Davis, CA |
76 |
74 |
150 |
T11 |
$80 |
Mike Maurice |
Castro Valley, CA |
75 |
76 |
151 |
T16 |
$63 |
David Leuterio |
Sacramento, CA |
76 |
75 |
151 |
T16 |
$63 |
Giuliano Delecce |
carmel valley, CA |
74 |
78 |
152 |
T18 |
$38 |
Amit Odaiyar |
lodi, CA |
75 |
77 |
152 |
T18 |
$38 |
Jeremy Harris |
Davis, CA |
76 |
76 |
152 |
T18 |
$38 |
Tyler Raber |
El Macero, CA |
79 |
73 |
152 |
T18 |
$38 |
Min-Wook Woo |
davis, CA |
76 |
77 |
153 |
|
|
Thomas Camaione |
Upland, CA |
74 |
80 |
154 |
|
|
Robert Goodwin |
Atherton, CA |
78 |
76 |
154 |
|
|
Patrick MacMichael |
Santa Barbara, CA |
79 |
75 |
154 |
|
|
Matt Cole |
Coto de Caza, CA |
73 |
82 |
155 |
|
|
Dan Thurston |
Rohnert Park, CA |
80 |
75 |
155 |
|
|
David Capel |
Ripon, CA |
81 |
74 |
155 |
|
|
Doug Marjama |
Gold River, CA |
78 |
78 |
156 |
|
|
Jess Stimack |
Santa Rosa, CA |
75 |
81 |
156 |
|
|
Larry Raber |
El Macero, CA |
76 |
80 |
156 |
|
|
Andrew Biggadike |
Palo Alto, CA |
78 |
78 |
156 |
|
|
Brandon Harkins |
Walnut Creek, CA |
80 |
77 |
157 |
|
|
Hans Olson |
Bainbridge Island, WA |
76 |
82 |
158 |
|
|
Matt Couch |
Tracy, CA |
79 |
79 |
158 |
|
|
Phillip Hall |
Atherton, CA |
79 |
79 |
158 |
|
|
Aaron Dean |
Sacramento, CA |
80 |
78 |
158 |
|
|
Cameron Rappleye |
Elk Grove, CA |
81 |
77 |
158 |
|
|
Sean Dyer |
Soquel, CA |
81 |
77 |
158 |
|
|
David Staszko |
San Jose, CA |
80 |
79 |
159 |
|
|
Jon Witrado |
Turlock, CA |
80 |
79 |
159 |
|
|
Nick Podesta |
Yuba City, CA |
81 |
78 |
159 |
|
|
John Seed |
Gualala, CA |
78 |
82 |
160 |
|
|
Troy Laughlin |
Placentia, CA |
79 |
81 |
160 |
|
|
Grant Rappleye |
Elk Grove, CA |
81 |
79 |
160 |
|
|
Juan Lopez |
Lakeport, CA |
81 |
79 |
160 |
|
|
Kent Yamane |
San Jose, CA |
81 |
79 |
160 |
|
|
Erik Hallgrimson |
Los Gatos, CA |
82 |
79 |
161 |
|
|
Joe Gabbert |
Pleasanton, CA |
80 |
82 |
162 |
|
|
Tim Graham |
Sacramento, CA |
83 |
79 |
162 |
|
|
Ryan Bohning |
Marina, CA |
80 |
83 |
163 |
|
|
Paul McChesney |
Monterey, CA |
81 |
82 |
163 |
|
|
Steve Batte |
Las Vegas, NV |
79 |
85 |
164 |
|
|
Tak Taoyama |
San Jose, CA |
88 |
77 |
165 |
|
|
kix marasigan |
west covina, CA |
84 |
82 |
166 |
|
|
John Allison |
Santa Maria, CA |
80 |
87 |
167 |
|
|
Justin Gabbert |
Pleasanton, CA |
83 |
84 |
167 |
|
|
Eric Steichen |
San Francisco, CA |
86 |
81 |
167 |
|
|
Jay Stimack |
Sacramento, CA |
85 |
85 |
170 |
|
|
Roby Seed |
Gualala, CA |
85 |
85 |
170 |
|
|
Tony LaMontagne |
San Marcos, CA |
84 |
87 |
171 |
|
|
Zac Toy |
Palo Alto, CA |
88 |
83 |
171 |
|
|
Anthony Loiacono |
San Diego, CA |
88 |
85 |
173 |
|
|
Ricardo Ronquillo |
San Jose, CA |
88 |
85 |
173 |
|
|
P.R. Gaffney |
Fresno, CA |
86 |
88 |
174 |
|
|
Kevin Klatt |
San Diego, CA |
86 |
89 |
175 |
|
|
Kevin Hartsoch |
Playa del Rey, CA |
87 |
88 |
175 |
|
|
Matthew Wallach |
Los Altos, CA |
88 |
89 |
177 |
|
|
Kevin Conover |
Petaluma, CA |
80 |
WD |
WD |
|
|
Max Rausch |
Palo Alto, CA |
90 |
WD |
WD |
|
|
Perry Lo |
Fremont, CA |
91 |
WD |
WD |
|
|
Alexander Resurreccion |
Long Beach, CA |
NS |
NS |
NS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
* Note: All prize amounts shown are paid in pro-shop gift certificates |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SENIOR DIVISION |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Name |
Hometown |
Rd1 |
Rd2 |
Tot |
Pos |
Prize* |
Herb Jensen |
Carmichael, CA |
73 |
75 |
148 |
1st |
$250 |
Robert Rowland |
Danville, CA |
71 |
78 |
149 |
T2 |
$158 |
Mark Miller |
Antioch, CA |
73 |
76 |
149 |
T2 |
$158 |
Rob Thompson |
Merced, CA |
77 |
72 |
149 |
T2 |
$158 |
Carl Selkirk |
Chico, CA |
75 |
79 |
154 |
T5 |
$50 |
Tom Lyons |
Pleasanton, CA |
76 |
78 |
154 |
T5 |
$50 |
Terry Ackerman |
Piedmont, CA |
78 |
77 |
155 |
|
|
Jeff Early |
Pleasanton, CA |
78 |
78 |
156 |
|
|
Bob Cayton |
Aptos, CA |
81 |
75 |
156 |
|
|
Neil Duffy |
Santa Cruz, CA |
75 |
82 |
157 |
|
|
Jim Welsh |
San Jose, CA |
78 |
81 |
159 |
|
|
Rex Massier |
Concord, CA |
78 |
82 |
160 |
|
|
Greg Saiki |
Sanger, CA |
81 |
79 |
160 |
|
|
Kevin Gaughan |
Danville, CA |
79 |
82 |
161 |
|
|
Mark Merrigan |
Alameda, CA |
81 |
80 |
161 |
|
|
Barry Zarecky |
Rancho Murieta, CA |
88 |
74 |
162 |
|
|
Randy Blankenbaker |
Rohnert Park, CA |
85 |
79 |
164 |
|
|
Greg O'Malley |
Sonoma, CA |
82 |
83 |
165 |
|
|
Robert Alves |
Sacramento, CA |
81 |
85 |
166 |
|
|
Hilton Tudhope |
Carmel, CA |
86 |
89 |
175 |
|
|
Bob Schoenherr |
San Jose, CA |
85 |
WD |
WD |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
* Note: All prize amounts shown are paid in pro-shop gift certificates |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
NET DIVISION |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Name |
Hometown |
Rd1 |
Rd2 |
Tot |
Pos |
Prize* |
Todd Knapp |
Salinas, CA |
73 |
68 |
141 |
1 |
$300 |
Mike Burgess |
Rohnert Park, CA |
71 |
76 |
147 |
T2 |
$200 |
Terry Won |
Milpitas, CA |
76 |
71 |
147 |
T2 |
$200 |
Fred Luper |
Suisun, CA |
69 |
80 |
149 |
T4 |
$138 |
Shane Davis |
Livermore, CA |
78 |
71 |
149 |
T4 |
$138 |
Jim Thurman |
Clayton, CA |
77 |
73 |
150 |
6 |
$100 |
I. Joe Ceniceros |
La Mirada, CA |
71 |
80 |
151 |
T7 |
$63 |
Tom Silva |
Turlock, CA |
76 |
75 |
151 |
T7 |
$63 |
Marc Sanders |
Turlock, CA |
71 |
81 |
152 |
|
|
Tony Velez |
Rancho Murieta, CA |
74 |
78 |
152 |
|
|
frank angelo |
Moraga, CA |
76 |
76 |
152 |
|
|
Dave Nikitin |
Vacaville, CA |
83 |
69 |
152 |
|
|
Charles Balisha |
Turlock, CA |
74 |
80 |
154 |
|
|
Peter Funt |
Monterey, CA |
77 |
77 |
154 |
|
|
Don Swift |
Davis, CA |
77 |
82 |
159 |
|
|
Philip Hacker |
Martinez, CA |
83 |
76 |
159 |
|
|
Peter Balisha |
Turlock, CA |
80 |
81 |
161 |
|
|
Axel Gomez |
Turlock, CA |
82 |
79 |
161 |
|
|
Al Richardson |
Santa Clara, CA |
77 |
86 |
163 |
|
|
Dan Avila |
Turlock, CA |
83 |
82 |
165 |
|
|
Bill Strahan |
Burlingame, CA |
84 |
82 |
166 |
|
|
Matt Mattina |
Lakeport, CA |
86 |
80 |
166 |
|
|
Matt Newcomer |
El Dorado Hills, CA |
83 |
84 |
167 |
|
|
Dan Gray |
Patterson, CA |
86 |
81 |
167 |
|
|
Joe Morais |
Turlock, CA |
80 |
90 |
170 |
|
|
Steve Cohen |
Marina, CA |
85 |
87 |
172 |
|
|
David Foote |
Healdsburg, CA |
92 |
83 |
175 |
|
|
Terry Ulleseit |
Reno, NV |
85 |
92 |
177 |
|
|
Randy Ehlers |
Hughson, CA |
76 |
DNF |
DNF |
|
|
Del Hocker |
San Jose, CA |
88 |
WD |
WD |
|
|
* Note: All prize amounts shown are paid in pro-shop gift certificates |
ABOUT THE
AGC Christmas Classic
>> 2023 TOUR PORTAL | PHOTO GALLERY
The Christmas Classic was
founded by 2-time
California State Amateur Champion Casey
Boyns over 20 years ago and it always
attracts
a great field. This is our most popular event,
and year in and year out it sells out. Field
limited to 104 players; Championship, Senior,
and Net divisions.
Your entry fee includes two rounds of
golf
(cart at players expense), $4500 in
Callaway Golf certificate prizes,
$20 lunch certificate,
and a
great
weekend at one of the Monterey Peninsula's
wonderful classic courses, "Old" Del Monte.
DIVISIONS
CHAMPIONSHIP
For players aged 16 and over who have a USGA or
equivalent index of less than 5.5
SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP
For players age 50 and over (as of the tournament
date) with a handicap index of less than 8.0. Note:
Must be 55 and over for NCGA Senior Points.
NET
For players 16 and over with handicap between 5.5
and 18.0.
MID-AM (subdivision of Championship)
For players age
25-49. Compete alongside the younger players in the
Championship Division, (same tees, same prize
opportunities) and if there are at least six Mid-Ams,
a
separate prize and trophy will be awarded.
SUPER SENIORS (subdivision of Senior)
For players age
65+. Compete alongside the younger senior players
in
the
Senior Division, (same tees, same prize
opportunities) and if there are at least six players 65
or
over, a
separate prize and trophy will be awarded for low
super senior.
WOMEN (subdivision of Championship)
Will play in the Championship
Division but from a shorter tee; if there are at least
six women in
the field, a separate prize and trophy will be
awarded. Net players will
play in the Net Division but from a shorter tee.
View Complete Tournament Information