The lead is three for Ryan Sloane
(NCGA Photo)
PEBBLE BEACH, CA (June 9, 2018) - Campbell resident Ryan Sloane got off to a blazing start at the annual NCGA Mid-Amateur Championship.
Not with a 62 or 64, but with a 3-under 68 Saturday at par-71 Poppy Hills Golf Course. Playing out of Birdie League, Sloane, a member of the 2017 NCGA Seaver Cup team, did have a chance to go much lower. The 39-year-old carded seven birdies, but he’d also post three bogeys.
As for how good the 68 was, no other player in the field was able to get into red figures.
Three players–Domingo Jojola, Randy Haag and defending champion Bobby Bucey–are all tied for second at even-par 71. Haag,the defending NCGA Senior Player of the Year, holds the record for most NCGA Mid-Amateur wins with four (1999, 2002, 2009 and 2013). Bucey is looking to become the first back-to-back winner since Jeff Burda in 1996-1997.
Green Valley CC member Jeff WIlson, who played in last week’s U.S. Open Sectional qualifier at Olympic Club and Lake Merced GC, is T-5 at 72. Others in the immediate hunt include former NCGA Public Links champion Matt Cohn and defending NCGA senior champ Tony Padilla, who are in a group of nine at 73. The group also includes Christopher Boyns, the son of NCGA Hall of Famer Casey Boyns.
Pat McDonald holds the tournament’s 36-hole scoring record with a seven-under-par 136 in 1994 at Lake Tahoe and Edgewood Tahoe GCs.
ABOUT THE NCGA Mid-Amateur
The NCGA Mid-Amateur Championship began in
1982
as the Master Division Championship, a competitive
opportunity for players aged 40-54 who were not
yet
eligible for senior tournaments. In 2016, the event
was re-named the Mid-Amateur Championship,
opening up to all players aged 25 and over, with no
upper age restriction. The champagne bucket trophy
was donated by two-time California State Amateur
champion Ernie Pieper.
36 hole stroke play championship with pre-qualifying
required for non-exempt players. Max handicap 5.4.
View Complete Tournament Information