Pace Johnson
ALAMEDA, Calif. (April 27, 2013) -- Shotaro Ban continued his stellar play and fired a third-round 68 and remains atop the leaderboard at the 2013 Alameda Commuters Golf Tournament.
He has company, though.
Pace Johnson shot the low round of the tournament, carding a 64 on Saturday to move into a first-place tie at 9-under with Ban
Johnson was in the mix after last weekend's action but trailed the group of players at the top of the leaderboard. His red-hot 64, however, made up the gap and he'll enter Sunday's final round as the co-leader.
Ban, a red shirt golfer at top-ranked Cal, and Johnson are three shots ahead of the field.
Isaiah Salinda, who logged a runner-up finish at last month's San Francisco City Championship, is alone in third place.
Joshua Stone and Ryan Sloan are in fourth place after rounds of 68 and 66, respectively, on Saturday.
In the Senior Division, which kicked off action Saturday, a group of four players sits in the lead.
Tom O'Grady, Tony McBroom, Ken Noonan and Steve Hendrick are all atop the leaderboard after 1st Round 71s.
Gary Vanier, Ralph Costanzo, Marshall Raymer, Herb Jensen and Jim Knoll are all one shot back while another four players are two back of the leaders.
All told, there are 18 players within four shots of the leaders heading into what will surely be a wild final day of action.
ABOUT THE Alameda Commuters
What's in a name? In the case of the Alameda
Commuters Championship, the logo of the
almost 100
year old tournament would be a dead
giveaway. It's
a steam ferry, which was the only way to
"commute"
to San Francisco from the East Bay before the
Bay
Bridge was built. Started as an informal event
-- the
original first prize was a bag of nails -- the
tournament has grown into one of the top
independent events in California.
A
dedicated tournament committee prides itself
on
running the two weekend, 72-hole competition
as if
it were a PGA Tour event. Two of the best
public
courses at the city-owned Chuck Corica Golf
Complex
are prepared with care. Slick greens, Sunday
pins,
and even that rarity in amateur golf –
spectators are
all part of the fun. The roped-off scoreboard is
a
particular area of pride for the "green jackets"
who
were wearing dark green blazers before they
were
made popular by another tournament you
might be
aware of in Augusta Georgia. The 250 player
championship division is cut to 50 and ties for
the
second weekend, at which time the 36-hole
senior
division tees off to join them.
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