SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (Sept 28, 2006) -- Chris Kilkenny is soon to embark on a professional golf career, but he hopes to record one more victory as an amateur before he takes the big leap.
Former UC Davis golf team member Kilkenny, 25, posted a solid round of 2-under-par 70 at Harding Park Golf Course on Thursday to pace qualifiers vying for the final five spots in the Stocker Cup field. Kilkenny and four other players who qualified on Thursday will compete in an "A Player" field of approximately 50 mid-amateurs from around the U.S. and Canada on October 12-15.
Kilkenny opened with a 2-under-par front nine of 34, with 7 pars and back-to-back birdies on nos. 5 and 6. He birdied two in a row again on the back nine at nos. 12 and 13, to get to 4-under on the day, and while he might have been looking for something in the mid-60's at that point, Kilkenny gave back 2 strokes with a bogey on 15 and another on the par-3 17th, then closed with a solid par on the "easy for Tiger and John Daly, hard for everyone else" dogleg-left 18th to edge Cass Traub by one stroke for medalist honors.
This summer, Kilkenny competed in the USGA Amateur in at Hazeltine National in Minnesota -- just before that trip he won the amateurgolf.com Bay Regional at Tilden Park in Berkeley.
Long Beach resident Traub, at 71, was followed by John Desantis, a member of Coral de Tierra in Monterey, who was solid at even par. The final two spots were taken by reinstated amateur Harold Chuhlantseff of Fresno and Mike MacDonald of Palo Alto, who posted 74's.
The Stocker Cup will be contested at the Preserve Golf Club in Carmel on October 12-15.
* * *
Qualifying results (qualifiers and alternates only listed) from the Stocker Cup qualifier, played at the 6845-yard, par 72 Harding Park Golf Course follow:
Qualifiers
-- 70 --
Chris Kilkenny - Arcata, Calif.
-- 71 --
Cass Traub - Long Beach, Calif.
-- 72 --
John Desantis - Salinas, Calif.
-- 74 --
Harold Chuhlantseff - Fresno, Calif.
Mike MacDonald - Palo Alto, Calif.
Alternates (cardoff determined position)
-- 75 --
Garth Watrous (1st alternate) - Watsonville, Calif.
Jordan LeFrod (2nd alternate) - Fair Oaks, Calf.
Scott Gilgallon (3rd alternate) - San Francisco, Calif.
-- 76 --
Brad Jones (4th Alternate) - Los Angeles, Calif.
Randy McKinley (5th Alternate) - Fair Oaks, Calif.
Nick White (6th Alternate) - Sacramento, Calif.
Martin Renaud (7th Alternate) - Hayward, Calif.
ABOUT THE Stocker Cup
This event is dedicated to the memory of
Peter
C. Stocker, a prominent west coast
real estate developer and avid amateur golfer
who died in a tragic helicopter
accident in 1990. The premier mid-amateur
tournament
on the West Coast, this is a 72 hole stroke
play Invitational with an open qualifier
for players aged 25 and over with a 3.5
index
or lower (number of qualifiers based on player
count).
A 54 hole team competition, including friends
of Peter Stocker, runs concurrently.
--
Players with National golf resumes may
request
an invitation at: www.stockercup.com.
-- To register
for the 5-spot qualifier, visit
www.amateurgolf.com/tour.
View Complete Tournament Information