San Diego Tour Kicks off 2020
EL CAJON, CA--The San Diego Kickoff Classic / San Diego Open Preview got underway amid dense fog that cleared to a beautiful, warm, and calm day. Willow Glen always holds it’s own, and many players mentioned the greens were slower than normal on Saturday morning. The San Diego Kickoff Classic also acted as a preview for the upcoming San Diego Open Major Championship coming up in February. Congratulations to Ramses Ruiz who won the 50/50 raffle and $220! Thank you to everyone for coming out and competing in the first event of the 2020 calendar year at one of the longest-standing amateur events in San Diego.
The Championship Flight saw a great duel coming down the stretch between Cody Matthews of Costa Mesa and Kyle Coleman of Fallbrook. Coleman would strike first, making an eagle on the par-five 5th hole which helped him turn in 1-under par 35 and a two shot advantage heading into the back nine over Matthews who turned in 1-over par 37. The players would match each other on the back nine, both playing well under pressure heading into the final two holes. Matthews would make a nifty birdie on the 545-yard par-five 17th hole to inch within one shot of the lead. On the closing hole, a par-three, Matthews would have the honor and hit a lackluster iron shot to about 30 feet from the hole. Knowing he needed to birdie the hole to have any chance, Matthews stepped up and buried it, finishing birdie-birdie to tie the lead at even-par 72. Coleman, who was steady all day, made a closing bogey and the two-shot swing saw him in 2nd place at 1-over par 73. Coleman and Matthews, who were paired together, had a great duel and a lot of camaraderie afterwards in a great day on and off the course. Matthew Robbart of Los Alamitos made two birdies on the back nine and finished in 3rd place at 3-over par 75. Tour rookies Chris Worley of La Jolla and Adam Lee of La Mesa tied for 4th at 5-over par 77 and are great additions to the Tour.
Palmer Flight saw Bryan Davidson of San Diego so frustrated with his game his last event – Rancho San Diego Amateur at Steele Canyon in December, that he no carded and walked off the course. What a difference about six weeks can make. Davidson carded four birdies in total on his round, including two deuces on the 6th and 18th, to claim the win by two strokes at 2-over par 74. Davidson, a very talented player who is working his way back up to Championship Flight, played the par three holes in 2-under par and made nothing worse than a bogey on his round. David Lee of Marina Del Rey got off to a tough start and was 5-over par after just eight holes of play. Lee played his last eleven holes in 1-under par to climb up the board and finish in 2nd place at 4-over par 76. Thomas Gullotti of San Marcos was paired with Senior Championship players and beat two of them, including the reigning Senior National Champion, earning 3rd place in Palmer Flight at 80.
Hogan Flight saw a great duel as well between 61-year old Renato Sison or Riverside and Tour rookie Doug Shrader of San Diego. Both players went out in 41, as Shrader chipped in from the penalty area for birdie on #9 to tie the lead heading into the back nine. Sison carded three consecutive bogeys on 14, 15, and 16 and was one back of the lead heading into the par-five 17th hole. Hitting the green in regulation, Sison nailed a 20-footer for birdie on 17 to even things up. Finishing up on the par-three 18th hole, Sison hit it to four feet, buried that putt, finished birdie-birdie to be the only player in the flight to break 80, winning at 7-over par 79. Shrader, a Tour rookie who has a lot of firepower, would finish par on 17 and then a double bogey on the 18th but still managed 2nd place at 10-over par 82. Great finish by Sison and the four-shot swing on the closing two holes is something to remember. Shrader still finished in 2nd place and by a full three shots. Finishing in a tie for 3rd place at 85 were Jeffery Lehman of Fallbrook, RJ Neild of El Centro, and Brian Goldberg of Encinitas.
The Sarazen Fight saw only one player break 90 on a beautiful and warm Saturday and that player was Jonny Lee of Los Angeles. Lee, who started his career in the Snead Flight in 2015, has steadily improved over time but has not won an event in Sarazen Flight in SoCal after receiving his second promotion in 2018. Lee, who has always wanted one of “those newer trophies” that are handed out in LA & SD, finally got one on Sunday on the strength of his 86. Lee made five consecutive pars in the middle of his round and carded a nifty birdie on the 4th hole. Patrick Gurczynski of Escondido is back in action. The affable and friendly player shot 90 to sit in a tie for 2nd place. Also in a tie for 2nd place was reigning Jones Flight National Championship Ricardo Fonseca. Fonseca birdied the last hole to jump up a spot on the leaderboard.
Senior Sarazen Flight saw Guy Hall of Bend, OR (hometown of the 2020 National Championships in September) back to his winning ways in 2020. Hall, the 2019 San Diego Senior Sarazen Player of the Year, played beautifully and earned the win by firing a 9-over par 81. Hall made a mess of the front nine, playing holes 5-9 in 7 over par after opening up with four consecutive pars. He then played holes 10 thru 16 in 1-under par and in spite of a few hiccups on the closing holes, earned the win by three shots. Dave Verhulst of Ballwin, MO made the trip out for the preview and played well, finishing in 2nd place at 84. Sesh Ramakrishnan of Irvine continued his solid play so far this year, finishing in 3rd place at 86.
The Jones Flight only had five players tee it up on Saturday and James Marshall outlasted the group, winning with a score of 90. Heading to the Duel in the Desert with his Dad this coming week, Marshall has some momentum heading into the event now thanks to his first win of the season in San Diego. The Flight as a whole struggled on the Willow Glen layout, as the only other player to break the century mark was Scott Smith of Fallbrook who finished in 2nd place at 94.
Snead flight saw Jim Tindaro earn his 3rd win of the year in just four starts with a score that would have won the Jones Flight on this day! Tindaro, who is extremely excited about Sunriver, Oregon and the 2020 Senior National Championship, punched his ticket with his 3rd win of the season today. Tindaro played well and broke into the 80’s, always a tremendous feat for anyone in the Snead Flight. Tindaro’s 89 won by two shots in some close action. Ramses Ruiz of Mexico fired a 42 on the front nine but just could not keep pace on the back nine. Ruiz, who won the 50/50 raffle, still played well and finished in 2nd place at 91. Just a stroke back of that at 92 was Danny Tang, who finished in 3rd place.
