Chalas wins Men's Gross Match Play Championship

Bruce Chalas adds another feather to his already plentiful headdress of tournament accolades.  He secured the 2012 National Golf Club's Men's Gross Match Play Championship on Friday, November 16th.  Bruce is no stranger to the winners circle.  He has quite a long and distinguished amateur golf record including qualifying for the 1980 U.S. Open at Baltusrol along with playing in 14 USGA amateur Championship events that include five US Amateurs and six US Mid-Amateur Championships.  Bruce has also won two Southeast Amateur Championships.

Bruce was able to make his way through the field by taking out some very capable players.  In the first round Bruce came up against big John Doster who is known for his booming tee shots and steady tournament play.  The first match ended in a 4&3 victory for our champion.  The next up on the chopping block was that always dangerous southpaw Ed Rhodes.  Ed has taken down his share of opponents in this tournament but had no such luck against this years Champion.  Bruce dispatched Mr. Rhodes with a 6 & 4 margin.  The next match was against new member Ken Bass which turned out to be his closest match of the competition.  This match went into extra holes where Bruce came out on top after 21 holes.

In the Championship match Bruce faced the 2011 Champion Steve Dougherty who made his way into the championship match by dispatching a plethora of quality players that included Ron Coffman Jr. and Steve Ahlfeld who are always tough competition.  Bruce was able to play up to his potential and unseat last years Champion with a 4 & 3 Victory.  Congratulations to both Steve Dougherty and Bruce Chalas for making it to the Final Match.

Make sure to congratulate Bruce Chalas when you see him around the club for being this years Men's Gross Match Play Championship.

Battle @ Bears Valley 2012 Results

Battle at Bears Valley was a Thriller!

We could not have asked for a better weekend of weather for our annual Men's Golf Association Battle at Bear's Valley event, which featured the Front Nine Fellas v. the Back Nine Boys. Having squashed the Front Nine Fellas last year, which they blamed on the color of their hats, the Back Nine Boys entered the tournament hoping to continue their domination.

The fun started Friday night at the Backpack Food Drive Social and Pairings party, as participants contributed to a worthy cause. Cindy Boals would like to thank everyone who dropped off food donations. After that interlude, the battle was on. Saturday morning started with a 9:00 shot gun start off the back nine, with the easy format of Captain's Choice. Dick Tilley & Eddie Bray, Dave Dunn & Jim Blank, Ken Bass & Giff Fisher won for the Front Nine Fellas. For the Back Nine Boys, William Rocchi & Ron Coffman, and Rick Knight & Ed Bernard picked up points. One match was split between Sven Tilly & Wes Harrison for the BNB and Guy Spears & Dale Mitchell for the FNF, who each earned a half point. At the end of Round One, the score was FNF 3 1/2, BNB 2 1/2.

Round Two featured the toughest format: pure alternate shot, in which you cannot hide and all of your weaknesses are on display. The FNF took a commanding lead over the BNB, winning 4 1/2 points to just 1 1/2, so after Saturday's play, the FNF stood at 8 and the BNB at 4.

Sunday's morning sun and warm temperatures made it the perfect day for competition. The format this time was one best ball of the two-player team net. The BNB had victories from Norman Finegold & Peter Mamuzic, Paul Courneya & Wes Harrison, and Alan Curtis & Ron Murray. The FNF points came from Larry Rose & Dave Dunn, Ed Rhodes & Guy Spears, and Ken Bass & Jim Blank to wind up in a 3-3 tie. The score was FNF 11, BNB 7.

BNB Team Captain Tom Parsons held a private meeting prior to the final match, hoping to inspire his men for the singles matches where 12 points were up for grabs. We all know it can happen, right, Ryder Cup? The BNB came out fast, posting wins by Coffman, Curtis, Bernard, Sven Tilly and Harrison. Only two points separated the two teams, but the deficit proved too much to overcome as the FNF notched wins from Ahfeld, Rose Fisher, Bran, Spears, Mitchell, and - pouring more salt in the sounds - a half point from Blank proved too much for the BNB. The FNF won the Battle at Bears Valley 17 1/2 to 12 1/2.

Thanks go out to MGA President Steve Ahfeld and VP Ron Coffman for putting on such a special event. It really was a lot of fun watching the guys battle it out.

The Winners!
Top from left:  Eddie Bray, Pat Butcher & Ken Bass
Bottom from left: Giff Fisher, Dick Tilley, Dave Dunn, Pat Blank,
Guy Spears, Larry Rose & Steve Ahlfeld

2012 Men's Match Play Net Club Champion Crowned!

Van Warren 2012 Men's Net Match Play Club Champion

Well the waiting is over and now that we have the 2012 Presidential election completed we can get down to more important matters.  Like the crowning of our 2012 Men's Net Match Play Champion.  I want to thank everyone who played this year in what is one of our most popular events.  I would also like to thank everyone for getting their matches played in a timely manner.

This years champions was Mr. Van Warren.  He was quoted as saying, "I just wanted to play to fill in one of the bye spots"  He is such a humble champion, and a sly one.  This former Champion is quietly known as the quitessential tournament player.  He is the one you want on your team when the big money is on the line.  Van had a tough road to the Championship this year defeating many worthy opponents along the way.

In his first official match (he had a first round bye) he came up against the always tough Andrew Lyons and carved out a 3 &1 victory to move onto the next round.  His next opponent was the trophy king Steve Dougherty who has two many club championships to mention here.  Mr. Warren was on fire for this round and dispatched the worthy champion with a 5 & 3 win.  Next up on the chopping block for Van was the 3 time Match Play Champion Giff Fisher.  This was Van's toughest match where he was able to eke out a 1 up victory on the former champion after 18 holes.  In the final match Van had the daunting task of playing Dwayne Ayres who is the ultimate competitor.  Dwayne is no slouch and has dispatched a corral of worthy competitors on his way to the Championship Match.  The match started with Dwayne going up 1 right off the bat with a net birdie on the first but it was all Van the rest of the way.  Van had a 4 up lead going into the 14th hole and Dwayne was able to win that hole with a nice net birdie.  Van quickly answered with a par on the 15th hole which closed out the match with a 4 & 3 victory over the worthy challenger.

Congratulations to both Dwayne Ayers & Van Warren for making it to the Championship Match.

Make sure when you see Van around the club to congratulate him because he is this years Men's Net Match Play Club Champion!!!