Rancho Santa Margarita, CA (April 3, 2005) -- The 3rd Annual Rancho Santa Margarita Amateur Championship was played on April 2nd and 3rd at Tijeras Creek Golf Club and players competed for a chance to not only claim the title of 'City Champion', but also a $500 gift certificate and entry into the 106th Southern California Golf Association (SCGA) Amateur Championship to be held July 8th-10th at Tijeras Creek

After posting a solid round of 1-under par 71 on Saturday, Kevin Kim found himself in 2nd place, sitting three shots behind Cameron Tringale's impressive 1st round score of 68. Not to be discouraged, Kim managed to put together back-to-back rounds of safe, steady play to finish the tournament at 1-under par 71-72-143 that resulted in a two stroke victory over Tringale who faltered on Sunday, posting a 77 to trade places with Kim and finish 2nd (68-77-145).

The low score of the tournament belongs to Tringale and Joel Fieri of San Diego who carded a 68 on Sunday by shaving 12 strokes off of his 1st round score of 80 to finish in a tie for 5th place at 148. Other notable finishes include SCGA President and Saddleback College golf coach Bill Cunerty who claimed a tie for 7th place with a score of 77-73 - 150. Meanwhile, Tijeras Creek General Manager Rick Convertini shot 81-84-165 and last year's runner-up, David Kendall finished tied for 8th with a final score of 76-75-151.

After orchestrating another successful event for the 3rd year in a row, Tournament Founder and Director Dave Hopkins has now put his signature on a great tournament that has just made an indelible mark on the local tournament circuit. Making the tournament a qualifier for the SCGA Amateur Championship certainly helped secure a quality field while going a long way toward legitimizing the young event.

Furthermore, the course is looking as lush as I have seen it and the outstanding playing conditions will apparently contribute to the return of many players to next year's tournament. After shooting 76-74-150 to tie Coach Cunerty and Masao Sugimoto for 10th place and a tee prize of $130 in script, Marc Kearns of Irvine gave immediate feedback about his experience at this year's event, "Tijeras Creek is in excellent condition. The tournament was great. I'll make sure I come back next year!"

Participant Scott Blair, who shot a 79-81-160, commended Hopkins on his efforts and course conditions, "Great job with the tourney, I enjoyed myself and the course was in great condition… Keep me in the loop for your next event."

Expressing his satisfaction with the results, Hopkins summarized the weekend this way, "The tournament went over very well. Hopefully the combination of a competitive field, strong sponsorship support by Cox Communications and Sake Sushi as well as the beautiful conditions gave every player a positive experience that brings them back next year."

The RSM Net Championship & Senior Championship will be held this Fall with dates to be announced, so competitive golfers who carry an index should check the Tijeras Creek web site at www.tijerascreek.com for information as details are finalized in the coming months.

* * * * *

Final results from the Rancho Santa Margarita Amateur, played at Tijeras Creek Golf Club:

Player	Rd2	Rd1	Tot	hometown
Kim, Kevin	71	72	143	Lake Forest
Tringale, Cameron	68	77	145	Laguna Niguel
Carlyle, Scott	73	73	146	Hermosa Beach (San Diego State)
Davis, Joey	71	75	146	Rancho Santa Margarita
Puterbaugh, Jason	71	76	147	Carlsbad
Fieri, Joel	80	68	148	San Diego
Goldberg, Aaron	72	76	148	Carlsbad
Hess, Brian	75	73	148	La Mesa
Davis, Mike	72	77	149	Placentia
Cunnerty, Bill	77	73	150	Missio Viejo
Kearns, Marc	76	74	150	Irvine
Sugimoto, Masao	77	73	150	San Diego
Amin, Rizal	76	75	151	Temecula
Hoffenberg, Danny	75	76	151	Simi Valley
Kendall, David	76	75	151	Irvine
Zeuske, David	75	76	151	Coto de Caza
Bittick, Jason	76	76	152	Anaheim
Grant, Jeff	75	77	152	Rancho Santa Margarita
McKelvie, Kevin	71	81	152	Aliso Viejo
Ober, David	75	77	152	Riverside
Smith, Carl	77	75	152	Laguna Beach
Valley, Kyle	75	77	152	Irvine
Chopra, Amit	75	78	153	Newport Coast
Cook, Leigh	73	80	153	Rancho Santa Margarita
Simoni, Gerry	77	76	153	Carlsbad
Cassidy, Jason	78	76	154	Costa Mesa
Dehuff IV, Bo	74	80	154	Coto de Caza
Kwon, Chris	77	77	154	Duarte
Lopez, Joseph	78	76	154	Chino Hills
Dwight, Ryan	75	80	155	Dove Canyon
Lederer, Brett	77	78	155	Lakewood
Thomas, Denny	77	78	155	Rancho Santa Margarita
Frost, Kory	80	76	156
Medlock, Eugene	81	75	156
Rhorer, David	76	80	156
Creamer, Greg	80	77	157
Greek, Andy	76	81	157
Harney, Daniel	77	80	157
Johnson, Joseph	78	79	157
Cumella, Christopher	79	79	158
Hawkins, David	80	78	158
Kim, Yung	77	81	158
Lindesay, Nick	79	79	158
McCabe, Andy	82	76	158
Ouimet, Matthew	78	80	158
Kosolchareon, Michael	77	82	159
Magnus, Rick	79	80	159
Ritter, William	76	83	159
Van Wieren, Norm	78	81	159
Blair, Scott	79	81	160
Hanks, John	79	81	160
Honerkamp, David	77	83	160
Stearns, Alan	81	79	160
Travers, Scott	77	83	160
Barber, Daniel	79	82	161
Bradford, Erik	80	81	161
Erling, Bob	75	86	161
Curtier, Jacob	83	79	162
Hong, Tran	83	79	162
Morris, John	82	80	162
Walsh, Josh	88	74	162
Fox, Michael	82	81	163
Heusser, Mike	78	85	163
Petke, Jonathan	83	80	163
Sumida, Mark	86	77	163
Woo, Min	82	81	163
Hug, Tom	80	84	164
Ober, Jeffrey	83	81	164
Convertini, Rick	81	84	165
Norys, Tom	81	84	165
Rutter, Matthew	81	85	166
Temple, Marty	80	86	166
Donovan, Daniel	83	84	167
Stires, Todd	86	81	167
Aitken, Andrew	84	84	168
Meyer, Greg	83	85	168
Tringale, Jon	82	86	168
Goettsch, Jeff	89	85	174
Sandoval, Bryan	90	84	174
Rapp, James	86	89	175
Perez, Duke	92	84	176
Yniguez, Alfred	85	92	177
Marasigan, Kix	85	93	178
Kechum, Mike	88	91	179
Nevel, Tom	98	85	183
Chiou, Craig	95	92	187
Butkys, Kristofer	73	wd	wd
Running, Mark	73	wd	wd
Wanamaker, Mike	78	wd	wd
Deltondo, Peter	79	wd	wd
Kavanaugh, Charles	81	wd	wd
Bishop, Andrew	82	wd	wd
Tigert, Randy	82	wd	wd
Vukson, John	84	wd	wd
Marlborough, Tom	WD	WD	wd
Roy, Charles	WD	WD	wd

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