Daniel Connolly wins wind-blown Alameda Commuters title

April 30, 2023 | by Jim Young of AmateurGolf.com

Daniel Connolly

Connolly survives a blustery day at Corica Park in Alameda to add another Bay Area major to his resume

Sustained winds gusting in excess of 30 miles an hour at times combined with lightening fast greens made for a wild ride during the final round of the Alameda Commuters which wrapped up Sunday at Corica Park's South Course in Alameda, Calif.

At the end of a blustery day, a wind-beaten Daniel Connolly was left hoisting the trophy after he defeated Michael Carrillo in a playoff to win the 95th playing of one of the oldest amateur tournaments in the nation.

After turning in a 3-under 69 in calmer conditions on Saturday, the 25-year-old Connolly was three back of first-round leader Jack Barber when he teed off in the final group on Sunday with Barber, defending champion Domingo Jojola and Wes Payne.

The native San Franciscan got off to a dream start by making birdies on his first two holes. He erased a bogey on the fourth with two more birdies on holes 6 and 8 to turn at 3-under 33.

With the winds increasing in strength, Connolly was in survival mode on the back nine and it looked for the most part he was going to do just that as he stood on the 18th tee box with a two-stroke lead over Carrillo, a semifinalist at this year's San Francisco City Golf Championships who carded a final round 70 to finish at 2-under.

Connolly made things more interesting than they needed to be as a stong head wind led to an errant drive into the fairway bunker and a double bogey six, dropping him into a playoff with Carrillo at 2-under.

As misery loves company, Connolly's playing partner, Barber, also three-putted the final hole to finish one stroke out of the playoff at 1-under.

The playoff was shortlived, however, as Connolly only needed a par 5 on Corica's opening hole to add another impressive win to his resume, which includes victories at the 2016 San Francisco City Golf Championships and the 2017 and 2021 NCGA Stroke Play Championship.

The conditions were difficult Sunday afternoon with steady winds over 20 mph and justs up to 30," said Connolly. "That combined with greens running at about 12 on the stimp made for quite the challenge.

"I got off to a nice start birdieing my first two holes and played good golf on the front nine, finishing at 3-under. Winds picked up more so on the back nine, and a few holes in particular were quite difficult with strong cross winds. I hit a few errant shots, but hung in there.

"It's an honor to win this historic event that is one of the majors of amateur golf in the Bay Area."

Teeing off an hour before the leaders, Zack Missigman carded the lowest round of the day with a 4-under 68 which moved him 38 spots up the leaderboard into a three-way tie for third place with Barber and Matt Thorton.

• • • • •

Division Winners

Seniors: Randy Haag; 142 (-2); 72-70
Super Seniors: Frank Apodaca; 141 (-1); 71-70
Legends: David Hemrick; 154 (+10); 78-76
Women: Darla May Dela Torre; 141 (-3); 71-70

Results: Alameda Commuters

Place	Player	Location	Pts	Scores
1	Daniel Connolly	San Francisco, CA	100	69-73=142
2	Michael Carrillo	Chualar, CA	65	72-70=142
T3	Zack Missigman	Goodyear, AZ	30	75-68=143
T3	Matthew Thornton	Palo Alto, CA	30	74-69=143
T3	Jack Barber	La Jolla, CA	30	66-77=143

View full results for Alameda Commuters

About the Alameda Commuters

Daniel Connolly wins wind-blown Alameda Commuters title

What's in a name? In the case of the Alameda Commuters Championship, the logo of the almost 100 year old tournament would be a dead giveaway. It's a steam ferry, which was the only way to "commute" to San Francisco from the East Bay before the Bay Br...