Press Release
admin / Sunday, May 2nd, 2010 / Comments OffJimmy Harris claims San Diego Match Play Championship
Bonsall, CA–The 2010 San Diego County Match Play Championship continued throughout the weekend and saw some outstanding play from the competitors. With some exciting match play holes at San Luis Rey Downs and soft greens we saw some excellent scoring and exciting matches throughout the weekend!
ROUND OF 16
(1) Pete Roberts VS (17) Jeff Hunter
Hunter would take the early lead in this match, making birdie on 2 of the opening holes to build a quick 2-up lead that would stretch to 3-up after 6. From that point Roberts took the momentum away with birdies on 7 and 8 and contined to play solid, winning a slew of holes on the back 9 to go dormie (3-up) with 3 to play. Hunter would chip-in for birdie to keep the match alive on the difficult 230-yard par 3 16th, but Roberts turned around and birdied the 17th hole to win the match, 3 and 1.
(8) Pat Duncan VS (9) Jerry Michals
Pat Duncan of Rancho Santa Fe would play solid and build a 5-up lead after 10 holes only to see Michals roaring back winning holes 11, 12, 15, and 16. Duncan would have to hole a 4-foot par save on the 18th to win the match, 1-up.
(4) Jimmy Harris VS (20) Todd Stires
Todd Stires, who played great in the 1st round, did not play his best golf in the round of 16 while Harris opened up his campaign with some solid play. Harris would go on to win this match easily, 7 and 5.
(5) Landon Etchings VS (21) John Hoffman
John Hoffman would never trail in this match and continues with his solid play in the championship. Hoffman would go on to win by a count of 2 and 1.
(2) Buddy Duncan VS (18) Chip Bridges
The best play of all tournament would be found in this match in the morning. If this were stroke play, Gary McCord’s scoring record at San Luis Rey Downs could have been in serious jeopardy. Duncan would go on a ferocious charge on the front nine, making birdies on 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7. Saving the best for #9, Duncan would hole out for eagle to complete the front nine in “29″ and taking a commanding 6-up lead. Duncan would close out the match early on the back nine, winning 7 and 5. Congratulations Buddy on the outstanding play!
(7) Mark Stuart VS (10) Don O’Connor
Playing on his home course and seemingly having an advantage, O’Connor would never trail in this match and took a quick 2-up lead thanks to birdies on #2 and #3. Both players played solidly the rest of the match, with O’Connor prevailing 3 and 1.
(3) Skip Van Matre VS (14) Howie Knodt
Howie Knodt, who fired a 5-under par 67 in the opening match, continued his great play and never trailed in the match. Knodt would go on to win, 3 and 1.
(6) Adam Reyes VS (11) Scott Stevens
Scott Stevens, who qualified for the 2009 US Mid Amateur Championship, seemed to have this match in his grasp all morning, playing well and going dormie (4-up with 4 holes to play). No one could predict what would happen next. Reyes saved his best golf for last and went on a tear in a great comeback, finishing 3-3-3-3 (birdie, par, birdie, eagle) to send the match to extra holes. Reyes would prevail on the 19th hole, chipping in for another birdie to finish the match with 5 straight “3′s”. Outstanding play!
QUARTERFINAL MATCHES
(1) Peter Roberts VS (8) Pat Duncan
A great match would see Roberts build an early 2-up lead after 5 holes, but Duncan got himself right back in the match and the players were deadlocked at “All Square” heading into the last hole. In a bizarre turn of events, Duncan would lay up on the par 5 closing hole, while Roberts went for the green in two, pushing his approach out of bounds. Roberts would push his 4th shot as well, finding the ice plant to the right of the green. Duncan, who did not yet know Roberts was OB, played an aggresive 3rd shot to the difficult back hole location, landing just long in the back bunker. After a thorough search, Roberts 1st ball was found just out of bounds, and he played an outstanding shot out of the ice plant to 25 feet while Duncan played a terrific bunker shot that wound up, due to the difficulty of the shot, 30 feet from the hole. Duncan would go on to 3-putt as darkness approached the players, while Roberts would 2-putt to halve the hole at 7. Determined to finish the match before total darkness, both players played another two holes, with Roberts winning on the 20th hole with an eagle 3. Congratulations to both players on a hard fought match.
(4) Jimmy Harris VS (21) John Hoffman
Hoffman would continue the momentum from the morning into the afternoon match, building a quick 2-up lead after 4 holes against Harris. Harris would eventually get the match back to all square by #6 however, and built a strong 3-up lead after #12. Hoffman again holed some key putts as he has done all tournament, winning 13 and 16 to be only 1-down heading into 17. Hoffman’s approach on the 17th found the hazard just short of the green, and Hoffman would hit an excellent shot to the front fringe and just 15 feet from the hole. With a big patch of mud still on his ball, Hoffman nearly holed his chip for par to continue the match, however it slid by to end the match, 2 and 1 for Harris.
(2) Buddy Duncan VS (10) Don O’Connor
Duncan continued his great play and monstrous drives in the afternoon match against Don O’Connor. All square after 7, O’Connor would bogey 8 and 9 to go 2-down and would never recover. Duncan hit a towering 4-iron to the 230 yard 16th hole to 12 feet and convert the putt, winning 3 and 2.
(6) Adam Reyes VS (14) Howie Knodt
In a very close match, Reyes would keep the momentum from his morning match and build a solid 2-up lead at the turn. Knodt, who had not yet trailed in a match, continued to play solid golf and got the match back to all square after winning 10 with a birdie and 11 with a par. Both Reyes and Knodt would each par 16, 17, and 18 to force extra holes. On the 19th hole, Knodt would hit a great wedge to 12 feet and was able to 2-putt for the win.
SEMIFINAL MATCHES
(1) Pete Roberts VS (4) Jimmy Harris
Pete Roberts came out on fire in this match, making 4 consecutive birdies. Fortunately for Harris, he came out strong as well and birdied 2 and 3 to only be 2-down after 4 holes of play. Both Roberts and Harris would continue to play solid, each well under par after 9-holes. A poor tee shot on the difficult 10th hole for Roberts would lead to a conceded hole and the match was all square with 8 to play. Roberts, the defending champion and #1 seed, would go on to birdie the 12th and 14th holes thanks to marvelous wedge shots to build a 1-up lead. A couple of costly bogeys on 15 and 16 would see the match change. Harris, who had not held the lead all day, found himself 1-up with 2 to play. Both Harris and Roberts hit great approaches on the 17th, and Harris would convert his birdie to win the match, 2 and 1.
(2) Buddy Duncan VS (14) Howie Knodt
Buddy, who “tweaked” his knee on the previous day, was in noticeable pain and was forced to wd and concede the match to Knodt after only 9 holes.
CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
(4) Jimmy Harris VS (14) Howie Knodt
In the final match, Harris would birdie #1 and #2 and would never relinquesh the lead. Knodt, the 2009 SCGA Senior Match Play Champion, played solidly and stayed in the match but could not make enough putts to make a charge. In fact, Harris would not make a bogey on the back side and held his ground making one birdie and a slew of solid pars. Harris would be crowned the 2010 Match Play Champion, winning on the 16th hole, 3 and 2. Harris, who recently got all new equipment and was playing his 1st competitive event with the new tools, played great and earned 350 points with the win! “I drove the ball great all tournament…normally I can hit some loose drives out there but I hit it pretty straight for me..” said Harris. “I also putted well all tournament” he would go on to say when asked about his keys to winning. Congratulations, Jimmy!
Thank you to all the participants who competed in the Match Play Championship and thank you to Greg Milligan and San Luis Rey Downs for hosting the championship again this year!
The SD Am Golf continues on Monday, May 10 with the South Bay Championship at San Diego Country Club.