OAKLAND, California (Oct 29, 2006) -- The 17th hole at Metropolitan Golf Links is a risk-reward par-5 where the second shot says "you've got this shot" as well as the fictional US Open water hazard that tempted Kevin Costner's Roy McEvoy in "Tin Cup."

The two leading players in this weekend's Metropolitan Amateur no doubt heard their inner voice repeat the same phrase that McEvoy heard, and the way they were both playing over the weekend there is no doubt that they both could have pulled it off.

Standing in the middle of the 17th fairway at five-under on the day, and riding the adrenaline rush of birdies on Nos. 11, 13, and 14, tournament leader Jason Stone hit a nearly perfect fairway metal second shot from 250-yards that finished just a few maddening feet short of a dry landing. His closest pursuer, Andrew Bowdish of San Jose, was out of view behind a bush after missing the fairway wide-right, and didn't know what had happened.

"It's actually a good thing that I didn't see Jason's shot," said Bowdish, a former Division 1 pitcher at Long Beach State. "I figured I had to go for it and fortunately I hit a solid 4-iron to 30 feet and two-putted for birdie."

The resulting two-shot swing reversed Stone and Bowdish's place on the leader board standing on the 18th tee.

Both players had earlier passed first round leader Martin Trainer, who set the competitive course record on Saturday at Metropolitan Golf Links with a flawless 8-under-par 64. Trainer suffered back-to-back double bogeys at Nos. 9 and 10 on Sunday, allowing Bowdish to pass him on the front nine, and the red-hot Stone to come from even farther back to take the lead on the back nine with his own string of red numbers.

Stone and Bowdish found the fairway with their tee shots on No. 18. Stone went after the back-right flag with another solid iron shot that left him ten feet for a much needed birdie. Bowdish played a low nine iron to chase up to the second tier, but it hit the ridge and backed up to the front of the green, leaving him 40 feet of nerve-wracking ground to cover in order to two-putt for par.

Bowdish's first put was well struck, but left him with almost as tough a putt for par as Stone had for birdie. It was down to two players, two putts, and three possible outcomes.

Stone's putt slid by to the right, and Bowdish smoothly stroked his in for the victory. (note: click the button over the picture on the right to watch a video of Bowdish's winning stroke.)

"I borrowed a belly putter from Chris [Kilkenny] when caddying for him at the NCGA Cup Matches," explained Bowdish. "It felt good all weekend. On that last putt, I just thought, keep it simple."

Bowdish credited his experience watching the NCGA's top players up close last week (the NCGA beat their professional counterparts by a whopping 15-5 margin) with helping him take his game to the next level.

Bowdish's final score of 6-under-par (68-70=138) put him one in front of Stone (71-68=139), and four ahead of first round leader Trainer (64-78=142) and Arvo Voip (70-72=142) who tied for third. Voip hurt his right wrist on the second hole, trying to dig his second shot out from the top lip of the devlish pot bunker in the middle of the fairway. He played in pain all day and showed a lot of courage in playing so well on a day when even his putts hurt (he went to the claw grip it got so bad).

In the Net Division, which was one of amateurgolf.com's strongest of 2006, Tamara Holmes of Albany made history in becoming the first woman to win any division in an amateurgolf.com Tournament Series event. The 12-handicap Holmes, who plays Metropolitan Golf Links regularly, fired net rounds of 66-68=134 to win by five-shots over Gary Koshaba of San Francisco. In the relatively small Senior Division, Tom Lyons of Pleasanton -- suffering with a bad back all weekend -- scored his own five-shot win over Jay Guerin of Alameda, following a first round of 69 with a 74 for a 1-under-par total of 143 on the tournament. Daniel Kuper fired a 72 on Sunday to grab solo third.

Tournament Notes:
* Special thanks to Steve Porter, Leonard Monroe, and the entire staff of Metropolitan Golf Links for hosting us once again. The course and greens were in great shape this weekend. Next year, we plan on combining the Oakland City Championship and Metropolitan Amateur into one grand event with local sponsors, volunteers, and at least a 54-hole format, so stay tuned!

* Thanks to amateurgolf.com Tournament Director Liz McQueen, and officials Leonard "Googie" Kirtley and Laura Lee Pixton for their hard work all weekend, and to website/Tournament Series sponsors UST Golf Shaft, Bridgestone Golf, Callaway VIP Program, and Lamkin Grip. Lamkin is our newest sponsor, having recently signed up for the entire 2007 season. We expect to be doing grip sampling and installation at several of our events, and at the Christmas Classic we will be helping raise money for "Arnie's Army Battles Prostate Cancer" with a closest to the pin contest at Del Monte. Prostate cancer survivor Arnold Palmer uses and endorses Lamkin products, and Lamkin has raised well over $300,000 for this worthy cause.

Photos of the winners, and final results, are shown below:

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Final results from the amateurgolf.com Metropolitan Amateur, played at Metropolitan Golf Links in Oakland, California follow (a story and photos will be posted shortly):

- Championship Division: Par 72, 6959-yards
- Senior/Net Divisions: Par 72, 6529-yards