Stocker Cup Qualifier: Tartaglia, Boudreaux tie for medalist

02 Oct 2012
by Pete Wlodkowski of AmateurGolf.com
see also: Bay Clubs StoneTree Golf Club
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Tal Tartaglia and Wesley Boudreaux

NOVATO, Calif. (Oct. 2, 2012) -- Wesley Boudreaux of Vista, California made his trip to Northern California very worthwhile on Tuesday where he traveled to play the challenging StoneTree Golf Club in the 2012 Stocker Cup Open qualifier.

Boudreaux, possibly channeling Nicolas Colsaerts or Ian Poulter's Ryder Cup play, reeled off six birdies and an eagle, which provided plenty of breathing room for a mistake or two at the end of the day. (Hey, we're amateurs after all.) He reached 2-under on the day after his fourth birdie on the back nine before a double-bogey, bogey finish took him to 1-over 73. He tied for medalist with Tal Tartaglia of Reedley.

Tartaglia, a former linebacker and golfer for the College of the Sequoias, made quite a road trip of his own, a four hour car ride from Reedley, south of Fresno. His round was a bit less of a roller coaster than Boudreaux's, as he started with 8-straight pars, and a bogey on the 9th before birdieing the 10th and 11th holes to get to 1-under on the day. A lone double-bogey on the difficult par-4 15th, where Tartaglia found trees with his second shot, didn't deter him from recording a solid finish of three pars.

Despite only playing golf for 4-5 times per year over the past 25-30 years, Tartaglia has gotten back into the game this year and recorded wins in his club championship at Kings River CC, plus a Fresno City Masters title and round-of-16 finish at the NCGA Match Play. How did a linebacker get so good at golf?

"I grew up in Morro Bay, where the golf pro gave free lessons to juniors. That set me up for life," said Tartaglia.

Maybe the happiest player was Brian Swenson of Dublin, a past qualifier for the event who finished with a birdie on the difficult 18th to grab the final spot at 74. Bret Wagar and Hank McCusker were the first and second alternates, respectively, after posting rounds of 75.

SPECIAL THANKS:StoneTree Golf Club continues to be a fantastic venue for our events, and more importantly a solid partner for amateurgolf.com. We appreciate the opportunity to host this qualifier at such a solid test of golf.

ABOUT THE Stocker Cup 2012 Open Qualifier

Qualifying event for the Stocker Cup Invitational, the premier amateur tournament on the West Coast. The 2012 Stocker Cup will be held October 24-28 at the Preserve Golf Club in Carmel, California (see the website at www.stockercup.com for all tournament details).

Actual number of players who get into the event depends on size of qualifier field - in the past an average of 3-5 players have gained a spot in this prestigious event and experienced the Preserve Golf Club in a competitive tournament setting. It simply doesn't get any better!

Get your entry in quickly to secure your spot. Please have verifiable handicap credentials (see below).

The Stocker Cup is a Golfweek/amateurgolf.com Rankings Points event for Mid-Amateur golfers. Players attempting to qualify must be at least 25 years of age as of the first round of the Stocker Cup, and have a USGA or equivalent handicap index of 3.9 or lower. Players advancing to the tournament proper will pay the "A" player entry fee of $775.00 which covers practice round and at least 54 holes of tournament golf, plus tournament dinner for player and spouse, and many extras.