GCAmTour-Houston, La Torretta Tournament Results, July 19, 2014

Jeff Zemencsik (Houston, TX) – GCAmTour-Houston, July 19, 2014.  “Sudden Death Playoffs”, an EAGLE-3, and soft course conditions headlined the day’s events at La Torretta Resort & Spa.  Rains early in the week made the course play soft and long but it turned out to be a beautiful day with mild winds that produced competitive scoring with several flights decided by one-stroke!  

The Course:  La Torretta Resort & Spa, Montgomery, Texas.  The course was in good condition with green tees, fairways, and thick rough.  Rain throughout the week softened the course up and made it play longer than the posted yardage.  The greens were in decent condition, bumpy to smooth, running 9+.     

The Weather:  The course received rain earlier in the week but ended on Thursday.  The morning was overcast with no wind and a bit cool for July, low 70’s.  Overcast sky turned to partly cloudy and later sunshine and blue sky.  It turned out to be a nice day for golf.  The temperatures were seasonably low, mid to upper 80’s.  The winds were relatively calm from the ESE 0-5mph for most of the day.  

The Tournament: 

Championship Flight:  Aaron Pickering (79), Randy Tadlock (82/40), Nathan Ashley (82/41), Daniel Lokey (86), Sir John Trice (87). 

Aaron Pickering captured his second victory of the 2014 season with a tournament low matching round of 79.  Pickering was steady on the day, carding nine pars and birdies at holes 3 and 9.  Pickering went out in 39 and in with 40.  Randy Tadlock returned to tour play and finished with runner up honors and round of 82/40.  Tadlock carded seven pars on the day and never made anything worse than bogey, going out in 42 and in with a 40.  Nathan Ashley finished with third place honors and round of 82/41.  Ashley carded eight pars on the round, going out and in with matching nines of 41.  Daniel Lokey finished with fourth place honors and round of 86.  Lokey carded six pars and a birdie at the par-4 7^th hole, going out in 44 and in with a 42.  Sir John Trice finished with fifth place honors and round of 87.  Trice carded five pars and a birdie at the par-4 13^th hole, going out in 45 and in with a 42.

Palmer Flight:  Frank Wallace (79), Cedric Smith (79), Harold Jackson (79), Art Flores (81/35), Dennis Walsh (81/40).

“Sudden Death Playoff” determines the winner of the Palmer Flight at GCAmTour-Houston event at La Torretta Resort & Spa.  Frank Wallace, Cedric Smith, and Harold Jackson all carded matching low tournament rounds of 79 in regulation play so they went to the 18^th hole to begin the playoff.  On the first playoff hole Jackson was defeated and finished with third place honors.  Wallace and Smith continued matching pars until the sixth playoff hole with Wallace winning it with a par, his third victory of the season.  In regulation play Wallace carded eight pars and birdies at holes 10, 14, and 17, going out in 41 and in with a 38.  Smith carded ten pars and a birdie at the par-5 9^th hole, going out in 41 and in with a 38.  Jackson carded seven pars and birdies at holes 9 and 11, going out in 42 and in with a 2-over par 37.  In was a tail of two nines for Art Flores who finished with fourth place honors and round of 81/35.  Flores carded nine pars and birdies at holes 6 and 13, going out in 46 and in with an even par back nine of 35!  Dennis Walsh finished with fifth place honors and round of 81/40.  Walsh carded four pars and birdies at holes 9 and 12, never made worse than a bogey, going out in 41 and in with a 40.

Hogan Flight:  Terron Gaines (79), Roger Masek (80), Chris Stavinoha (83), Jeff Stahlhut (85), Al Campo (86).

Terron Gaines made the trip down from the DFW Tour worthwhile and captured his first victory of the 2014 season with a matching low tournament round of 79.  Gaines carded seven pars and birdies at holes 1 and 3, going out in one-over par 37 and in with a 42.  Roger Masek finished with runner up honors and round of 80, just one-stroke back. Over his last five events he has one win and four consecutive runner-up finishes.  Masek carded eight pars and birdies at holes 8 and 14, going out and in with matching nines of 40.  Chris Stavinoha has been consistent lately and over his last five events, has carded two victories and now a third place finish.  Stavinoha’s round of 83 included nines pars, going out in 42 and with a 41.  Jeff Stahlhut finished with fourth place honors and round of 85.  Stahlhut carded six pars and a birdie at the par-4 12^th hole, going out in 45 and in with a 40.   Al Campo finished with fifth place honors and round of 86.  Campo carded four pars and birdies at holes 9 and 16.  Campo went out in 46 and in with a 40. 

Senior Hogan Flight:  Rickey Felts (81), Bruce Beakley (82), Darrell Wilson (84/40), Michael Walker (84/42), George Smith (84/43). 

Rickey Felts, one of the oldest tenured members of GCAmTour-Houston returned to tour action and captured his first victory of the 2014 season.  Felts was steady on the round of 81, carding eight pars and never making anything worse than bogey.  Felts went out in 41 and in with a back nine of 40.  Bruce Beakley finished with runner up honors and round of 82, just one-stroke back.  Beakley carded eight pars and a birdie at the par-4 3^rd hole, going out in 42 and with a 40.  Darrell Wilson made the trip over from the Hill Country Tour worthwhile and finished with third place honors and round of 84/40.  Wilson carded eight pars on the round, going out in 44 and in with a back nine of 40.  Michael Walker finished with fourth place honors and round of 84/42.  Walker carded six pars and a birdie at the par-5 9^th hole.  Walker went out and in with matching nines of 42.  George Smith finished with fifth place honors and round of 84/43.  Smith carded seven pars on the round, going out in 41 and in with a back nine of 43.

Sarazen Flight:  Kyle Young (82), Rick Smalley (86), Matt Purgahn (87), Joe Armstrong (89/42), Rick Houchins (89/44).

Kyle Young has had a breakout season in 2014 and successfully captured his fifth tournament win!  Young was solid on the round of 82; four strokes clear of the field.  Young carded seven pars and birdies at holes 9 and 16, going out in 43 and in with two over par 37.  Rick Smalley is also having a nice season and finished with runner up honors and round of 86.  Smalley has eleven top-5 finishes this season.  On the round, Smalley carded five pars and a birdie at the par-5 16^th hole, going out in 45 and in with a back nine of 41.  Matt Purgahn finished with third place honors and round of 87, just one-stroke back.  Purgahn carded four pars and a birdie at the par-5 9^th hole, going out in 46 and in with a back nine total of 41.  Joe Armstrong finished with fourth place honors and round of 89/42.  Armstrong carded four pars on the day, going out in 47 and in with a back nine of 42.  Rick Houchins finished with fifth place honors and round of 89/44.  Houchins carded six pars on the day, going out in 45 and in with 44.

Senior Sarazen Flight:  Mark “Mad Dog” Maddox (79), Gene Rampy (80/37), Greg Faubion (80/39), Keith Gannon (84), Del Hocker (88).

Mark “Mad Dog” Maddox has been on a tear over his last five events, going 1^st, 2^nd, 2^nd, 2^nd, and 1^st!  Maddox needed every stroke of the matching tournament low round of 79 because it was just good enough for a one-stroke victory.  Maddox carded eight pars and birdies at holes 13 and 17, going out in 42 in with a 2-over par back nine total of 37.  Gene Rampy made the trip over from the Hill Country Tour worthwhile and finished with runner up honors and round of 80/37.  Rampy carded an amazing twelve pars and a birdie at the par-5 9^th hole.  Rampy went out in 43 and with a 2-over par back nine total of 37.  Greg Faubion “The Barefoot Bandit” finished with third place honors and round of 80/39.  He earned the nickname after I saw him take off the shoes and socks to play a ball near the 16^th green while standing thigh deep in the water!  More importantly, playing the next several holes barefoot.  Faubion carded eight pars, a birdie at the par-5 1^st hole, and an EAGLE-3 at the par-5 18^th hole, barefoot!  Faubion went out in 41 and in with a 39.  Keith Gannon finished with fourth place honors and round of 84.  Gannon carded nine pars on the round but couldn’t keep the big numbers off the card, going out in 44 and in with a 40.  Del Hocker finished with fifth place honors and round of 88.  Hocker carded five pars and a birdie at the par-5 9^th hole, going out in 43 and in with a back nine total of 45.

Jones Flight:  David Sipe (87), Scott Sammons (87), Terry Collins (87), Ray Bednar (88/42), Wayne Glover (88/43).

“Sudden Death Playoff” determines the winner of the Jones Flight at GCAmTour-Houston event at La Torretta Resort & Spa.  David Sipe, Scott Sammons, and Terry Collins all carded matching rounds of 87 in regulation play so they went to the 18^th hole to begin the playoff.  On the first playoff hole the scores were par, bogey, and double-bogey, respectively for Sipe, Sammons, and Collins.  Sipe has had a breakout season and captured his fourth tournament victory of the season.  In regulation play, Sipe carded six pars, going out in 44 and in with a back nine total of 43.  Scott Sammons finished with runner up honors and carded four pars and a birdie at the par-3 11^th hole, going out in 43 and in with a 44.  Terry Collins finished with third place honors and carded nine pars, going out in 45 and in with a back nine of 42.  Ray Bednar finished with fourth place honors and round of 88/42.  Bednar carded four pars and a birdie at the par-5 18^th hole, going out in 46 and in with a back nine total of 42.  Wayne Glover finished with fifth place honors and round of 88/43.  Glover carded four pars on the day, going out in 45 and in with a back nine total of 43.

Snead Flight:  Jim Lamberth (96), Tom Eysenbach (97), Bryce Kocian (98), Richard Schram (106), Tracey Valencia (109). 

Jim Lamberth has had a good season and captured his first victory of the year.  Prior to the win, Lamberth has placed 3^rd, 3^rd, 2^nd, and now 1^st, including two top-3 finishes at Majors.  Lamberth needed every stroke, as his round of 96 was a one-stroke victory.  Lamberth carded three pars on the day, going out in 51 and in with a back nine total of 45.  Tom Eysenbach finished with runner up honors and round of 97.  Eysenbach carded two pars on the day, going out in 47 and in with a back nine total of 50.  Bryce Kocian finished with third place honors and round of 98.  Kocian carded two pars and a birdie at the par-3 11^th hole, going out and in with matching nines of 49.  Congratulations to Kocian for winning the Troops First Foundation 50/50 raffle!  Richard Schram finished with fourth place honors and round of 106.  Schram carded two pars on the round, going out in 55 and in with a back nine total of 51.  Tracey Valencia finished with fifth place honors and round of 109.  Valencia carded four bogeys on the day, going out in 53 and in with a back nine total of 56.

In addition to the flight winners, the following players won optional side games:

Closest to the pin $110.00

Robert Hayward, #2

Vernon Wells, #6

Ruben Perez, #11

Frank Wallace, #14

Kendall Hisey, #17

Skins Championship/Palmer:  $10.00

Aaron Pickering, #3

Art Flores, #6, #13

Daniel Lokey, #7

Frank Wallace, #10, #14, #17

Harold Jackson, #11

Dennis Walsh, #12

Skins Winners Hogan/Sarazen:  $75.00

Vernon Wells, #6

Roger Masek, #8

Greg Smith, #11

Mark Maddox, #13

Greg Faubion, #18 (EAGLE-3)

Skins Winners Jones/Snead:  $15.00

Anthony Parrish, #1, #12

Freddy Espinoza, #2, #16

Scott Sammons, #8

Mike Murphy, #9

Wayne Glover, #13

Terry Collins, #17, #18

Troops First 50/50 Raffle:

Bryce Kocian, $240.00

Prizes:

Golf Galaxy $50 gift card, Aaron Pickering

Golf Galaxy $50 gift card, Roger Masek

Srixon Balls, Harold Jackson

Srixon Balls, Tom Eysenbach

Flight Winners:

Winners	Awards		Winners	Awards
Championship (5)			Palmer (9)
1st - Gift Certificate	$150.00		1st - Gift Certificate	$150.00
2nd - Gift Certificate	$75.00		2nd - Gift Certificate	$100.00
Hogan (11)			Senior Hogan (13)
1st - Gift Certificate	$150.00		1st - Gift Certificate	$150.00
2nd - Gift Certificate	$125.00		2nd - Gift Certificate	$125.00
3rd - Gift Certificate	$75.00		3rd - Gift Certificate	$100.00
Sarazen (15)			Senior Sarazen (11)
1st - Gift Certificate	$200.00		1st - Gift Certificate	$150.00
2nd - Gift Certificate	$125.00		2nd - Gift Certificate	$125.00
3rd - Gift Certificate	$100.00		3rd - Gift Certificate	$100.00
4th - Gift Certificate	$75.00
Jones (12)			Snead (6)
1st - Gift Certificate	$150.00		1st - Gift Certificate	$150.00
2nd - Gift Certificate	$125.00		2nd - Gift Certificate	$75.00
3rd - Gift Certificate	$100.00
Prizes
Trophies	$375.00
Golf Galaxy Gift Cards	$2,675.00
Golf Galaxy	$50.00
Golf Galaxy	$50.00
Srixon Balls	$40.00
Srixon Balls	$40.00
Skins	$605.00
Closest to Pins	$550.00
Total Prize Pool	$4,385.00