Carlsbad, CA–The 2013 San Diego County Match Play Championship was contested this weekend at the beautiful and challenging Aviara Golf Club. Players were faced with difficult conditions all weekend with a stout course setup and high winds.
It was quite the week for Geoff Park of Oceanside, CA. Park earned medalist honors and the #1 seed on Friday on the strength of his qualifying score of 75 amid the challenging conditions. Park would dominate the event from start to finish as he never trailed in any match. Park was able to outlast Brian Konishi of San Diego in the semifinal match easily, winning 5 & 4.
Mark Stuart of La Jolla, the #3 seed, was able to get by #2 seed Gerry Simoni of Carlsbad in the semifinal round. Stuart, who was dormie 3-up heading into the sixteenth hole, weathered a storm from Simoni as he lost holes 16 and 17 and faced a difficult 8-foot par attempt on the final hole to avoid extra holes and end the match in regulation. Stuart nailed the par putt to win, 1-up.
In the final match Park built an early 3-up lead after six holes of play, but Stuart would win holes 7 and 8 to only be 1-down at the turn. Park would play steady, however, and was able to get back to 3-up after 14 holes of play. Stuart would again battle back, winning holes 15 and 17 to send the match to the 18th hole with Park 1-up. One of the most challenging finishing holes in Southern California, Stuart would concede the hole and the match when his 8-foot par attempt slid by on the high side with Park winning, 2-up. With the win, Park will take the lead in the San Diego Amateur Golf Order of Merit points race and make his attempt to win the 1st ever Pat Duncan San Diego County Amateur Player of the Year award.
Final Match
(1) Geoff Park def (3) Mark Stuart, 2-up
Consolation Match
(4) Brian Konishi def (2) Gerry Simoni, 10&8
Semifinal Matches
(1) Geoff Park def (4) Brian Konishi, 5&4
(3) Mark Stuart def (2) Gerry Simoni, 1-up
Quarterfinal Matches
(2) Gerry Simoni def (7) John Fieberg, 3&1
(3) Mark Stuart def (6) Brandon Min, 5&4
(4) Brian Konishi def (5) Ray Gutoski, 3&1
Match Play Seeding Round
1 – Geoff Park (115)
2 – Gerry Simoni (90)
3 – Mark Stuart (70)
4 – Brian Konishi (60)
5 – Ray Gutoski (50)
6 – Brandon Min (40)
7 – John Fieberg (30)
Order of Merit Points – Match Play Portion
400 2013 San Diego County Match Play Champion (Geoff Park)
250 2013 San Diego County Match Play Runner-Up (Mark Stuart)
150 3rd place finisher (Brian Konishi)
75 4th place finisher (Gerry Simoni)