Chula Vista's Howie Knodt wins 32nd SCGA Senior Amateur Championship in three-hole playoff
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, June 2 -- In what could be considered his biggest senior win, Chula Vista's Howie Knodt won a three-hole aggregate playoff between two other players tied at 4-over 148 to be crowned champion of the 32nd SCGA Senior Amateur Championship at North Ranch CC. Knodt, 56, was the only player to break par in the 36-hole event for ages 55 and older, shooting a 1-under 71 in the final round (and a 77 in the first round) to put him in a three-way playoff with Simi Valley's Mitch Voges (the 1990 SCGA Mid-Amateur and 1991 U.S. Amateur champion; 73-75) and Coto de Caza's Monte Mahan (74-74). "I was smarter today, I knew where I wanted to hit it and what to avoid," said Knodt, also the 2008 SCGA Senior Player of the Year. "Most of it is course knowledge at that point." The playoff was perhaps Knodt's most exciting set of holes on the day, in which he went par-birdie-bogey for an even-par 11. On the par-4 16th, he hit a low punch-shot two feet above a bunker to land his ball on the upper tier of the green, while Voges three-putted for a bogey and Mahan parred. On the par-3 17th, Knodt hit a 12-foot downhill putt for birdie while Voges hit a tree to collect a 5 and Mahan again parred. On 18, Mahan hit his approach shot into a green-side lake to collect an eventual 6, while Voges collected par. Knodt hit a crisp shot to the water's edge, but managed a bogey-5 for a two-stroke win. Mahan shot 2-over-par 13 over the three holes, while Voges shot 14. "The putt on 17 was key," Knodt said. "I had that same putt in an earlier round but from the other side, so it was just a matter of the putt read." Knodt, who has a longtime family business in Chula Vista, had a string of golf accomplishments in 2008. He won the 2008 San Diego Senior City Championship, took third place at the CGA Senior Amateur, played in the U.S. Mid-Amateur, made the Round of 32 at the U.S. Senior Amateur, and tied for third place in December's SCGA Tournament of Club Champions. James Myers of Oceanside, the 1984 SCGA Mid-Amateur champion, took sole possession of fourth place at 73-76--149; he collected six bogeys and two birdies in his final round. There was a five-way tie for fifth place at 6-over 150: two-time U.S. Senior Open champion Kemp Richardson of Laguna Niguel (77-73), 1999 CGA Senior Amateur champion Tom Eastlack of Prescott, Ariz. (76-74), 2008 SCGA Senior Match Play champion Boyd Martin of Corona del Mar (76-74), Patrick Rohan of San Diego (74-76), and first-round leader Jim Hartley of Carlsbad (72-78). "I definitely have something to be happy about while sitting in traffic on the way home to Chula Vista tonight," Knodt said. "It feels good." For results, click HERE. View the championship photo gallery HERE. Jim Hartley and Randy Reznicek lead 32nd SCGA Senior Amateur by one shot going into final round
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, June 1 -- Carlsbad’s Jim Hartley and Vista’s Randy Reznicek were the only two players to shoot even-par 72 on a day that high scores prevailed, during the first round of the 32nd SCGA Senior Amateur Championship at North Ranch CC in Westlake Village. Hartley and Reznicek, both 56 and newcomers to the 55-and-older championship, lead two players by one shot: 1990 SCGA Mid-Amateur and 1991 U.S. Amateur champion Mitch Voges of Simi Valley, and 1984 SCGA Mid-Amateur champion Jim Myers of Oceanside. Tied for fifth at 2-over-par 74 are Phoeniz, Ariz. resident and three-time SCGA Senior Amateur champion John Olive, Coto de Caza resident Monte Mahan, La Habra's Bob Jordan and San Diego's Patrick Rohan. The two leaders have several things in common with one another. Among them, both earned spots in the championship through exemptions from qualifying for the 2008 U.S. Senior Amateur Championship, with Reznicek making the Round of 32, and both balanced their 72's with birdies with bogeys while just over half the field shot 80 or higher. “It’s a really tough golf course; the front was a little boring for me because I only birdied and bogeyed one hole each, but the back was exciting,” Hartley said, as he birdied three holes, bogeyed one and double-bogeyed the par-4 14th hole to shoot even on the back. A member of Encinitas Ranch Golf Course and a Canada native, Hartley didn't begin playing golf until age 40. He won the 2006 Encinitas Ranch club championship and played in that year's SCGA Tournament of Club Champions, but despite several attempts hasn't qualified for an SCGA event since. His first look at North Ranch's Lakes and Oaks layout was during a Sunday practice round, which he said helped him today. “I had a shot that was driven behind a tree, I punched out and ended up making an all-world par," Hartley said after his round. "I also birdied three of the four par-5 holes. It sounds like a cliché, but you really do have to take it a shot at a time out there.” Defending champion Clark Heath of Coto de Caza shot a 5-over 77 today and is in a tie for 19th place with six other players, including 2008 SCGA Senior Player of the Year Howie Knodt of Chula Vista. The final round tee times begin at 8:30 a.m. tomorrow with the lead group teeing off at 10:27 a.m.. Spectators are welcome free of charge and nine-hole scoring will be available. Clark Heath and seven other past champions headline 32nd SCGA Senior Amateur Championship at North Ranch CC
STUDIO CITY, May 20 — Eight past champions and several accomplished SCGA golfers will tee it up at the 32nd SCGA Senior Amateur Championship, June 1-2 at North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village. Defending champion Clark Heath of Coto de Caza will lead the field in the 36-hole SCGA major for players 55 and older. Heath, a 30-year Continental Airlines pilot, won his first-ever SCGA championship last year at Industry Hills with his wife Trish as his caddie. View coverage of the 2008 championship. Other defending champions include Steve Bogan of Placentia, who won the event in 2004 and 2006 while also winning the 2006 CGA Senior Amateur at Poppy Hills GC; 1998 champion Frank Merhar of La Jolla, who tied for fourth in last year's event; 1995 champion Paul Ladin of Westlake Village; 2000 champion Ted Lyford of Redlands; 2001-03 champion John Olive of Phoenix, Ariz., the only player to win three consecutive championship; 2005 champion Scott Monroe of Julian, and 2007 champion Rich Tolly of Laguna Niguel, who also won that year's SCGA Senior Four-Ball Championship with partner Boyd Martin of Corona Del Mar and was a member of the 2008 SCGA Honors Matches team. Players of note include Martin, who in addition to his Senior Four-Ball title with Tolly won the 2008 SCGA Senior Match Play Championship. Also playing are 2008 runner-up Michael Miyasaki of La Habra, 2008 SCGA Senior Player of the Year Howie Knodt of Chula Vista, 2008 SCGA Senior Four-Ball champions Dan Pouliot of Burbank and Jerry Price of Glendale, two-time U.S. Senior Amateur champion Kemp Richardson of Laguna Niguel, 2008 SCGA Senior Tournament of Club Champions winner Rick Doebler of Fullerton, 1984 SCGA Mid-Amateur champion Jim Myers of Oceanside, 1999 CGA Senior Amateur champion Tom Eastlack of Prescott, Ariz., and 1990 SCGA Mid-Amateur and 1991 U.S. Amateur champion Mitch Voges of Simi Valley. North Ranch CC is a 27-hole Ted Robinson, Sr. design — the Lakes and Oaks nines will be used in the championship (with the Lakes playing as the front nine). The course has hosted numerous SCGA and USGA qualifiers, as well as the 2005 SCGA Mid-Amateur Championship and the annual USC Invitational golf tournament. Live scoring will be available for the SCGA Senior Amateur, and spectators are welcome free of charge. |
