SACRAMENTO, Calif. (September 1, 2014) — Ryan Sloane went wire-to-wire at the California State Fair Masters, winning by an astounding 10 shots over the nearest competitor.
The native of Santa Clara, Calif. native, (who now lives in Campbell) fired rounds of 64-66-66, which was 20-under par at Bing Maloney Golf Course, to capture the title and shatter the previous record of 13-under par.
Sloane has shown an ability to go low as recently as this summer's USGA Public Links qualifier, where he tied the course record of 63 at Boundary Oaks, then followed up with a 69.
He also played in the 2013 U.S. Mid-Amateur, taking 32nd place in the qualifying shooting 72-74 at the Country Club of Birmingham. He lost in the first round to Bradley Bastion, who ended up losing to the eventual winner Mike McCoy in the quarterfinals. The former pro, who played for Santa Clara, has played in six USGA events. But he has never shot more than 20-under for three rounds.
The host course, Bing Maloney, is just over 6500 yards with several reachable par 5s and soft greens that rewarded accurate iron play. But it is also tree lined, which is where Sloane really took advantage.
"I hit my driver straighter than my putter," he joked. "The only time I don't hit it is when going too far will put me in trouble."
Sloane also told AmateurGolf.com that he wasn't really nervous until he was standing on the last tee. (He started the day with a 7 stroke lead which might have helped.)
"I got to 20-under with a birdie from the trees at No. 17," said Sloane. "I had never been that low and even though it is a fairly easy hole, I was a little nervous on the 18th tee. Fortunately, I found the fairway and wedged on for an easy par."
Finishing in second place was Jeff Weiss of Roseville, who was the only player besides Sloane to shoot all three tournaments rounds in the 60's. Weiss was consistent over Labor Day weekend, shooting rounds of 68-69-69.
View results for California State Fair Mid-Amateur
ABOUT THE
California State Fair Mid-Amateur
The California State Fair Men’s Mid-Amateur
Championship (formerly State Fair
Masters Championship) will be contested at Bing
Maloney Golf Course on
August 17-18, 2024.
The tournament is open to all male amateur golfers
age 30 or older (no
maximum age), who are members of an organized
golf club with a GHIN Index of 6.8 or less. The
August 15th Index will be
used to determine eligibility unless confirmation of
equivalent ability is
received.
The entry fee of
$149 ($99 for past State
Fair Masters champions)
per player includes greens fees, range balls and all
awards
(power carts are
not included).
The tournament format is 18 holes of stroke play on
Saturday, August 17 and
18 holes on Sunday, August 18. The contestant with
the lowest score for the
36-holes will be declared the
2024 California
State Fair Mid-Amateur
Champion. A tie
for the
championship will be resolved with a sudden death
playoff starting immediately following play
beginning on the 17th tee.
The entry deadline is Tuesday, August 6, 2024.
There will be a $10
cancellation fee for all withdrawals prior to the entry
deadline.
View Complete Tournament Information