Hot start for Scott Raber at the AG Christmas Classic

December 4, 2021 | by Conner Penfold of AmateurGolf.com

Scott Raber has the first round lead at the Christmas Classic

An opening round of 68 propels Raber to the top of the leaderboard at Del Monte Golf Course

On a tough day for scoring at Del Monte Golf Course, Scott Raber made it look easy. He blistered his opening nine to card 31 en route to a 4-under 68 and a one-shot lead at the AmateurGolf.com Christmas Classic presented by Callaway.

Raber, a native of Davis, Calif., birdied five of his first six holes on the back nine and was primed to set the pace for the remainder of an overcast Saturday morning. Maybe seeing an unexpected putt drop was all he needed to kick-start things.

“I stole one on the first hole,” Raber admitted. “I made a 30-ish footer.”

His round was one of just three across all divisions to finish at par or better, with second and third place in the Championship flight rounding out the trio of top scores. Post-round discussions amongst many contestants involved a common theme to make sense of the difficult scoring.

“That’s big out here. It’s their main defense,” Raber said of Saturday’s pin placements on Del Monte’s notoriously small, challenging greens.

University of California-Berkeley freshman Simon Kwon trails Raber by one while Cooper Hunt sits four back after an even-par 72.

In the Senior Division, Cory Synnestvedt of Napa holed out for eagle on 18 to join Corey West atop the leaderboard at one-over 73. Super Senior leader Casey Boyns, the 2007 Championship and 2014 Senior winner at the Christmas Classic, is just a shot back in third at 74.

Marc Sanders and Scott Henrikson share the Net Division lead at 73 with Sylvia Chu trailing by one in third place.

by Conner Penfold, Special to AmateurGolf.com

Results: AGC Christmas Classic

Place	Player	Location	Pts	Scores
1	Scott Raber	El Macero, CA	100	68-72=140
T2	Connor Golembeski	Redmond, WA	65	75-66=141
T2	Simon Kwon	Salt Lake City, UT	65	69-72=141
4	Kyle Gentry	Mountain View, CA	30	73-70=143
T5	Ben Soicher	Mill Valley, CA	30	74-71=145

View full results for AGC Christmas Classic

About the AGC Christmas Classic

Hot start for Scott Raber at the AG Christmas Classic

2025 GolfGenius PortalThe Christmas Classic was founded by 2-time California State Amateur Champion Casey Boyns over 20 years ago and it always attracts a great field. This is our most popular event, and year in and year out it sells out. Field limit...