Jeff Zemencsik (Houston, TX) – GCAmTour-Houston officially
changes the name of The Holiday Classic to the “Ice Cube Classic”. An arctic cold front brought extremely low
temperatures to the area, near freezing at tee off with wind chill in the low
20’s. Players battled the difficult
conditions and the tournament produced some very competitive scoring.
The Course:
Cinco Ranch Golf Club, Katy, Texas. Despite an arctic cold front that brought freezing temperatures
to the area, the course received little to no precipitation. Players had full access to the course with
the golf carts on the semi-green turf.
The course was in good condition with semi-green tees, fairways, and putting
surfaces. The combination of the cold
temperature and steady winds made the course play longer for the short set
up. The greens were smooth and running
around 9+.
The Weather:
COLD, COLD, and more COLD. An
Arctic cold front brought unseasonably cold temperatures to the Houston
area. At 8:00am tee off, temperatures
were close to freezing; 32 degrees with a wind chill around 25 degrees. The sky was overcast and gray throughout the
day with no sunshine. Winds were from
the N at 10-15mph and gusting to 20+ at times, producing very difficult playing
conditions.
The Tournament:
Championship Flight:
James Harvey (80), Nathan Ashley (88).
With
Rich Vigil stuck in Denver after a delayed flight back to Houston, the
Championship Flight became a one-on-one match up with James Harvey vs. Nathan
Ashley. James Harvey won the match up
and captured his first victory of the season with a matching low tournament
round of 80 if the tough conditions.
Harvey went out in 41 and in with a 39 and should have shot in the mid
70’s but carded two double-bogey’s on 9 and 10 that prevented him from doing
it. Harvey had eleven pars on the
day. Nathan Ashley finished with a
round of 88 and carded eight pars on the day but couldn’t keep the big numbers
off the card. Congratulations to Nathan
Ashley for winning the Troops First 50/50 raffle, $200.00.
Palmer Flight:
Hampus Larsson (80), Tino Flores (81/38/25), Adam Anderson (81/38/26),
Rusty Stark (81/40), Frank Wallace (84).
Hampus
Larsson made his tour debut in grand fashion by winning the closely contested
Palmer Flight with a matching tournament low round of 80. Larsson’s round of 80 was one stroke clear
of the field and included eight pars and a birdie at the par-3 16th
hole. The next three golfers all carded
rounds of 81 so we had to go to the scorecards to determine the finish. Tino Flores finished with runner up honors
and round of 81/38/25, carding eight pars and a birdie at par-4 14th
hole. Adam Anderson finished with third
place honors and round of 81/38/26, carding six pars and birdies at holes 9 and
15. Rusty Stark finished with fourth
place honors and round of 81/40, carding nine pars. Frank Wallace finished with fifth place honors and round of
84. Wallace carded nine pars but made
back-to-back doubles on 10 and 11, coming in with 44.
Senior Palmer Flight:
Robert Corbello (81), Dennis Walsh (83), Mike Hafner (85), Walter Menuet
(87/40), David Anthony (87/41).
Robert Corbello captured his first victory of the season
two-strokes clear of the field and round of 81. Corbello carded nine pars and a birdie at the par-4 8th
hole, going out in 38 and in with a 43.
Dennis Walsh finished with runner up honors and round of 83, including
four pars and birdies at holes 4, 7, and 15.
Walsh went out in 44 and in with a 39.
Mike Hafner finished with third place honors and round of 85. Hafner carded six pars and a birdie at the
par-3 12th hole. Walter
Menuet finished with fourth place honors and round of 87/40. Menuet carded eight pars on the round. David Anthony finished with fifth place
honors and round of 87/41. Anthony
carded three pars and birdies at holes 5 and 15.
Hogan Flight:
Michael Campbell (82), Damian Smith (83), David Fok (84), Scott Nagai
(86/41), Roger Masek (86/42).
Michael
Campbell made the trip over from the Hill Country Tour worthwhile and goes
“back-to-back” after his recent win at the Championship at Falconhead. Campbell’s winning round of 82 was one
stroke clear of the field in the tightly contested Hogan Flight, including
eight pars, out in 39 and in with a 43.
Damian Smith returned to tour play and finished with runner up honors
and round of 83, one-stroke back. Smith
carded eight pars and a birdie at the par-5 4th hole, out in 39 and
in with a 44. David Fok finished with
third place honors and round of 84. Fok
carded eight pars and a birdie at the par-3 3rd hole. Scott Nagai captured fourth place honors
with a tiebreaker over Roger Masek, 86/41.
Nagai carded six pars on the day.
Roger Masek finished with fifth place honors and round of 86/42. Masek carded three pars and birdies at holes
12 and 15.
Senior Hogan Flight:
Kevin Thibodeaux (82), Will Whitley (87/42), Betty Ghio (87/44), Robert
Nicks (89), L.P. Jones (98).
Kevin
Thibodeaux captured his first victory of the season five strokes clear of the
field and round of 82. Thibodeaux
carded nine pars and a birdie at the par-3 3rd hole, also closest to
the pin winner and near ace. Will
Whitley captured runner up honors with a scorecard tiebreaker over Betty Ghio,
87/42. Whitley carded four pars and a birdie
at the par-3 16th hole.
Betty Ghio finished with third place honors and round of 87/44. Ghio carded five pars and a birdie at the
par-3 3rd hole. Robert Nicks
finished with fourth place honors and round of 89. Nicks carded four pars and a birdie at the par-5 6th
hole. L.P. Jones made this Sr. Hogan
Flight debut after a recent flight promotion and finished with fifth place
honors. Jones round of 98 included five
pars.
Sarazen Flight:
Rick Houchins (89), Gary Gum (90), Rick Smalley (95), Kristopher Bixby
(96), Kyle Young (97/50).
Rick Houchins,
the DC Tour transplant, captured his first victory of the season by one stroke
over the field in the tightly contested Sarazen Flight. Houchins round of 89 included seven pars. Houchins will be with us through November
2014 and we welcome him to the Houston Tour.
Gary Gum finished with runner up honors and round of 90, one-stroke
back. Gum barley made his tee time
after giving late nigh dance lessons, but managed to put together a runner up
finish. Gum carded five pars on the
round. Rick Smalley finished with third
place honors and round of 95. Smalley
carded six pars on the day, out in 50 and in with a 45. Kristopher Bixby finished with fourth place
honors and round of 96. Bixby carded
three pars on the day and was out and in with matching 48’s. Kyle Young captured fifth place honors with
a tiebreaker over Blake Barnes, 97/50.
Young carded four pars and a birdie at the par-5 6th
hole. Barnes had four pars and a birdie
at the par-3 3rd hole.
Senior Sarazen Flight:
Olan Benge (82), Glynn Aldredge (86), John Scott (91), Mark Kirby (94),
Michael Nowotny (104).
Olan
Benge, Houston Tour veteran, is no stranger to difficult conditions as he has
played in many GCAmTour events over the years.
Benge was able to focus on his round and finished four strokes clear of
the field and round of 82 for the victory.
Benge carded six pars and a birdie at the par-4 8th
hole. Glynn Aldredge continues to play
well and finished with runner up honors and round of 86. Aldredge carded seven pars on the day. John Scott, reining Sr. Jones Flight National
Champion, finished with third place honors and round of 91. Scott carded four pars on the round. Mark Kirby finished with fourth place honors
and round of 94. Kirby carded two pars
and a birdie at the par-4 2nd hole, out in 42, but faded on the back
nine. Michael Nowotny finished with fifth place honors and round of 104. Nowotny carded two pars on the day.
It’s
been a long time coming and David Sipe captured his first ever tour victory
with an impressive four-stroke clear of the field effort. Sipe was steady on the round going out in 43
and in with a 44, carding three pars and a birdie at the par-4 1st
hole. Wayne Glover made his tour debut
with a nice runner up finish and round of 91.
Glover carded four pars and a birdie at the par-4 9th
hole. Artis Stewart finished with third
place honors and tiebreaker over Rick Halprin, 94/50/35. Stewart carded four pars on the round, out
in 44 and with 50. Rick Halprin
captured fourth place honors and round of 94/50/37. Halprin carded two pars and birdies at holes 2 and 12. Anthony Parrish finished with fifth place
honors and round of 95, one-stroke back.
Parrish carded four pars on the round, out in 47 and in with 48.
Snead Flight:
Elgin Amboree (86), Al Dyar (93), Carl Eaton (106), Tom Eysenbach (113).
Elgin
Amboree was a late addition to the field and made it worthwhile, capturing his
first victory of the season. Amboree
had an impressive round of 86; seven strokes clear of the field and included
six pars, out in 45 and in with 41.
Amboree may have earned the Jones Flight promotion in the process. It was good to see long time tour player Al
Dyar return to play and finish with runner up honors and round of 93. Dyar’s round of 93 included four pars, out
in 45 and in with 48. Carl Eaton
finished with third place honors, following up his victory at Gleannloch Pines,
and round of 106. Eaton carded four
pars and went in 48 but faded on the back nine. Tom Eysenbach returned to tour play and finished with fourth
place honors and round of 113.
Eysenbach carded two pars on the round.
In addition to the flight winners, the following players
won optional side games:
#3, Kevin Thibodeaux
#5, Art Flores
#12, Rick Halprin
#16, Mike Rayburn
Dennis Walsh, #4 & #7
David Anthony, #5
Robert Corbello, #8
Adam Anderson, #9
Tino Flores, #14
Mark Kirby, #2
Damian Smith, #4
Matthew Madden, #7
Olan Benge, #8
Roger Masek, #12 & #15
Will Whitley, #16
David Sipe, #1
Rick Halprin, #2 & #12
Wayne Glover, #9
Anthony Parrish, #10
Teryl Houghton, #16 & #17
Woody Casasent, #18
50/50 Raffle:
Nathan Ashley, $200.00
Prizes:
Golf Galaxy $50 gift card, Rusty
Stark
Golf Galaxy $50 gift card, Artis
Stewart
Bridgestone Balls, Glynn Aldredge
Bridgestone Balls, Mike Murphy
Flight Winners:
Winners
|
Awards
|
Winners
|
Awards
|
|
Championship (3)
|
||||
1st - Gift Certificate
|
$150.00
|
|||
Palmer (8)
|
Senior Palmer (12)
|
|||
1st - Gift Certificate
|
$150.00
|
1st - Gift Certificate
|
$200.00
|
|
2nd - Gift Certificate
|
$100.00
|
2nd - Gift Certificate
|
$100.00
|
|
3rd - Gift Certificate
|
$75.00
|
|||
Hogan (16)
|
Senior Hogan (8)
|
|||
1st - Gift Certificate
|
$250.00
|
1st - Gift Certificate
|
$150.00
|
|
2nd - Gift Certificate
|
$125.00
|
2nd - Gift Certificate
|
$100.00
|
|
3rd - Gift Certificate
|
$75.00
|
|||
4th - Gift Certificate
|
$50.00
|
|||
Sarazen (8)
|
Senior Sarazen (7)
|
|||
1st - Gift Certificate
|
$150.00
|
1st - Gift Certificate
|
$150.00
|
|
2nd - Gift Certificate
|
$100.00
|
2nd - Gift Certificate
|
$75.00
|
|
Jones (13)
|
Snead (4)
|
|||
1st - Gift Certificate
|
$200.00
|
1st - Gift Certificate
|
$150.00
|
|
2nd - Gift Certificate
|
$125.00
|
|||
3rd - Gift Certificate
|
$75.00
|
|||
Prizes
|
||||
Trophies
|
$400.00
|
|||
Golf Galaxy Gift Cards
|
$2,550.00
|
|||
Golf Galaxy
|
$50.00
|
|||
Golf Galaxy
|
$50.00
|
|||
Bridgestone Balls
|
$40.00
|
|||
Bridgestone Balls
|
$40.00
|
|||
Skins
|
$615.00
|
|||
Closest to Pins
|
$560.00
|
|||
Total Prize Pool
|
$4,305.00
|
