CARMEL , California (October 12, 2006) -– For only playing nine holes of The
Preserve Golf Club, Bryan Toth performed in the first round of the Stocker
Cup Championship like he has a membership.
Toth,
who is from Victoria , British Columbia , shot a 5-under 67 to take the first
round lead by a stroke over defending champion, Paul Simson. Joe Sanders and
Jeff Wilson are two shots behind.
“I
think in some ways, not knowing the golf course helped,” Toth said. “I
just played and didn’t worry about where the trouble was.”
It
is the first year for Toth at this prestigious amateur event and he only played
the front nine for his practice round. His lack of course knowledge didn’t
show, however, as he was 2-under on the nine holes he didn’t see. Toth
also birdied all four of the par 5s.
Toth’s
partner in the team competition proved to be equally as strong. Derek Smith,
who has a 9 handicap, shot a 74 on his own ball and the duo posted a 60. Three
other teams, Paul Stimson/Phil Lester, John Desantis/Eric Stocker and Chris
Carlson/Kerry Goodsel are two shots back.
“Derek
played great,” Toth said. “He was playing so well I thought ‘I
got to play better or he’s going to beat me.’”
NOTES
Simson,
55, is the defending champion and if he needed any indication of how his title
defense would go, it was answered on his second shot. Simson, who won this
year’s British Senior Amateur, holed out with a pitching wedge from 115
yards for an eagle on the 10th hole, his first hole. The round also included
a 55-foot birdie putt and a miss from 2 feet for par … Michael Giddings
made it to Carmel , but unfortunately his clubs did not. No problem, he borrowed
the clubs of The Preserve’s Head Professional, Jon Pietro. He might want
to keep them. Giddings, who belongs to Bear Creek Golf Club in Murrieta, made
pars on four of the five toughest handicap holes for net birdies … Nick
Ushijima had the most unusual bogey on No. 2. He shanked his first shot out
of bounds, hit his third shot short of the green and chipped in from 15 yards
to save bogey on the par 3.
NOTE: To view complete results, including daily results as they are posted at the scoring table, visit the Stocker Cup tournament website at:
http://www.stockercup.com/results.htm
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