Pebble Beach, CA (Oct 17, 2004) Spencer Levin of Elk Grove and Mike Butler of San Francisco both had outstanding seasons in earning NCGA Player of the Year and Senior Player of the Year honors.
Levin accumulated 2,770 points during the season, breaking the record set by Matt Bettencourt in 2002. He started the summer by tying for 13th at the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, the highest finish for an amateur in 33 years. Less than a week later, he captured the CGA (State) Amateur, defeating Buzz Peel in the final match at Pebble Beach, 4 and 3
The following week, Levin won the Scratch Players Championship at Bayonet GC by 10 shots. He also won the prestigious Porter Cup at Niagara Falls CC and finished second at both the Southern Amateur in Tennessee and the Pacific Coast Amateur in Oregon.
In August, Levin won the NCGA Amateur Match Play for the second time, trouncing Terry Foreman, 11 and 10, in the final match at Spyglass Hill.
The following week, Spencer advanced to the round of 16 at the U.S. Amateur at Winged Foot.
Butler set an NCGA record with 1,477 points, breaking Carl Selkirk’s mark from last year. He was neck-and-neck with Rob Thompson for most of the season, but he clinched the Senior Player of the Year title when he won the NCGA Senior Four-Ball with partner Earl Stewart.
Butler had an amazing eleven other wins during the season that ran from October 2003 through September 2004. One of his biggest wins of the year came at the Alameda Commuters Senior at Chuck Corica Golf Complex, where he beat Thompson by three shots. In June, he tied for second at the CGA (State) Senior Amateur at Poppy Hills, three shots behind Thompson.
Butler tied for fourth in the NCGA Senior at San Luis Obispo CC, tied for fifth in the NCGA Four-Ball (with Will Johnson) at Spyglass Hill and tied for third at the NCGA Valley Amateur Senior at Winchester CC. He played in approximately 30 tournaments around Northern California during the season and had twenty-eight top-five finishes.
Butler was on hand at the Annual Meeting to accept his award. Levin was playing in the U.S. Intercollegiate at Stanford GC for his New Mexico team, so mother Carlene Metzler and stepfather Rod Metzler accepted in his place.
* Story courtesy NCGA *
