By Barry Salberg, for amateurgolf.com
Carmel, CA — (October 8, 2005) He was a visionary — a golfer, yachtsman,
sportsman, and one of the key figures in Bay Area real estate throughout the 1980's.
One of the founders of the Pacific Union Company, Peter Stocker was a prominent
and accomplished developer, perhaps best known for his creation of the Opera Plaza,
and his outspoken ambition for a downtown ballpark in San Francisco. Among his
myriad of eclectic projects, was development of the Santa Lucia Preserve in Carmel
Valley, where he died tragically, in a helicopter crash in 1990.
A revered and beloved figure by both friends, and associates, the Stocker Cup
is a tribute and celebration to his legacy. "He was a treasure, wonderful
to work with," says Mary Craig, a Stocker family friend and fellow sailor
who served as Stocker's executive assistant and now handles the administration
of the Stocker Cup. "He was the most charismatic person I've ever met,
and you can see it in his friends that come out every year to support this tournament."
Headed and organized by close Stocker friends, Sandy Tatum, former President
of the USGA, George Kelley, owner of Stevinson Ranch Golf Club, and Jack Elliott,
former NCGA President, the Stocker Cup is homage to pure amateur golf, perhaps
reminiscent of the days of Bobby Jones.
“We thought there was an opportunity to create a world-class amateur
invitational, like so many of those held on the east coast every summer,”
says Kelley. “Most of the big clubs in the east have an amateur invitational
and it’s become a big tradition that plays a key part in the selection
of Walker Cup team members.” Save for the Pacific Coast and Southwest
Amateurs, there really were no other similar opportunities in the west, prior
to the Stocker Cup. “Now it's beginning to pay off — we’re
blessed with 20 first-time players this year, some of the finest amateurs in
the country are coming out to play,” proclaims Kelley. “We’re
finally starting to hit our stride, and are now one of the premier amateur invitationals
west of the Mississippi.”
The Stocker field is comprised of 50 world-class invitees, who meet stringent
eligibility requirements, and pay a minimal fee for their participation Offering
both NCGA and national Golfweek points, the Stocker Cup also holds a one-day
qualifying tournament at Harding Park in San Francisco, for regional players
who were not among the original invites. On September 19, fifty-six competitors
vied for five A-list spots in the main tournament. Those final A-list golfers
are complimented by a matching number of qualified B-list competitors, with
invitations extended to friends, relatives and associates of Peter Stocker,
as well as to various sponsors and other supporters of the event. The B-players
and sponsors are the ones who make this tournament work financially,”
says Craig. Every A-player is teamed with a B-player in a handicapped best-ball
competition held simultaneously with the individual stroke-championship.
“Peter was a guy who loved to compete, and he also loved the social aspects
of the game,” says Kelley. “In our selection criteria we try to
identify great players who are also great guys; those who’ll come in after
the round, have a beer, tell jokes — good fun people to be around. That’s
what Pete was all about, and that’s what we’re about as well.”
It is a sentiment also reflected by the competitors. “They treat you like
gold the entire event, from the pairings party all the way to the dinner dance
the last night,” says former invitee, Randy Cross. “I’ve played
in numerous memorial tournaments, and Pete Stocker must have been a special
individual the way that they run this tournament, because it’s first-class
all the way. Most memorial events don’t even come close to what they do
at the Stocker Cup”
“Peter was one of the most engaging people I've ever known, and combined
it with an element of energy, intellect, verve, and imagination,” recounts
Tatum. “The only part about him that annoyed me, is that he only played
about once a month…and then he seldom shot more than 75." Fitting
then, that the tournament is held at the prestigious Preserve Golf Club near
Carmel. It is the embodiment of Stocker’s vision, manifested on the 22,000
acres now known as the Santa Lucia Preserve. It is also the site where he died.
“I have many wonderful experiences walking with him on that property,
looking where we might put holes and where it all might fit,” says Tatum.
“He left it to me and certainly it was an obligation, but it was also
a privilege in that it was doing something to realize Peter Stocker’s
vision.“ Much heralded in the national golf press, the Preserve Golf Club
is invariably cited as one of the most beautiful inland landscapes in American
golf. “We managed to develop a really first-class amateur event in a first-class
setting, conducted in a first-class way, and that is certainly effectively representative
of what Peter Stocker would have done if he were alive,“ says Tatum. “And
being able to do that is a matter of profound satisfaction for me.”
A complete list of contestants can be viewed at- http://www.stockercup.com/contestants.htm
MEDIA CONTACT INFORMATION:
Pete Wlodkowski
amateurgolf.com
6965 El Camino Real
Suite 105-631
Carlsbad, CA 92009
760-929-9297 office
760-685-3406 mobile
petewl@amateurgolf.com
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