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see also: Northern California Senior Championship, Poppy Hills Golf Course
Gary Vanier of Pleasant Hill grabs his first NCGA Senior title
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (April 28, 2009) - Gary Vanier put an end to the bridesmaid moniker when he captured the NCGA Senior Championship by four strokes today at Spyglass Hill.
The 2007 State Senior Champion fired a three-over-par 75 to edge out the rest of the competitors. The win makes it his first NCGA Senior Championship title after two runner-up finishes in 2006 and 2007, adding to an already sparkling resume.
“The hole locations set up tough today and it was tough to be aggressive,” said the 2006 Senior Player of the Year, “I was just trying to concentrate on keeping it in play.”
After a first-round 71 that included five birdies, Vanier discovered a challenging layout on the second day. A cool foggy breeze blew in the morning and made scoring difficult. Vanier posted a three-over-par 39 on the front side and then found some stability. The Olympic Club player made birdies on 11 and 13, along with a great par save on the par 4 16th to finish at even-par on the back side, despite a bogey on 18.
Former NCGA President Bob Berg of Riverview proved that consistency was the key with a pair of 75s. Berg took second place at six-over-par 150. John Enright of Sharp Park and Del Paso’s Herb Jensen tied for third at 151. Jensen charged up the leaderboard in the final round with the low-round of the day, a one-over-par 73.
In the Super Senior division, Frank Abbott of Silverado Country Club secured the win with 13-over-par 156. Steady golf in the final round allowed Abbott to card an 80 and secure the title by a single stroke over Butte Creek’s Carl Selkirk. Bob Rowland came in third with 16-over-par 160.
This year marked the first time the Senior Championship has been held at Spyglass Hill Golf Course, with the plan to hold the event at the Robert Trent Jones Sr. design each year. Vanier echoed the sentiment of most the players after the round, “Anytime you can play here [Spyglass Hill] it’s fun.”
Final results follow:
| Gary Vanier | The Olympic Club | 71-75–146 |
| Bob Berg | Riverview GCC | 75-75–150 |
| Herb Jensen | Del Paso CC | 78-73–151 |
| John Enright | Sharp Park GC | 75-76–151 |
| Conrad Nilmeier | San Joaquin CC | 75-77–152 |
| Rob Adolph | San Joaquin CC | 78-75–153 |
| Jeff Burda | Del Rio CC | 76-78–154 |
| Mark Miller | Roddy Ranch GC | 81-74–155 |
| Joe Beato | Sunnyside CC | 76-79–155 |
| Bob Fleming | Sacramento GC | 80-76–156 |
| Rich Morrison | eClub South Bay | 81-75–156 |
| Frank Abbott (ss) | Silverado CC | 77-80–157 |
| Chris McKenna | Sunset Whitney CC | 78-79–157 |
| Carl Selkirk (ss) | Butte Creek CC | 78-80–158 |
| Gregory Saiki | Sunnyside CC | 81-78–159 |
| Dick Wenzel | eClub Sacramento | 81-78–159 |
| Dennis Younglove | El Macero CC | 78-81–159 |
| David Baskins | El Macero CC | 84-75–159 |
| Ronald Johnson | Diablo CC | 83-77–160 |
| Jim Knoll | Rooster Run GC | 81-79–160 |
| Greg Olson | Gold Hills CC | 78-82–160 |
| Bob Rowland (ss) | Castlewood CC | 81-79–160 |
| Rob Thompson | Merced GCC | 77-83–160 |
| Bob Olds (ss) | Roddy Ranch GC | 82-79–161 |
| Charles Richesin | Woodbridge GCC | 79-82–161 |
| Dan Bohannon | Del Rio CC | 76-85–161 |
| Mark Maroney | Ridgemark GCC | 83-79–162 |
| Frank Pieper | Monterey Peninsula CC | 82-80–162 |
| Bill Wachtel | Atascadero GC | 81-81–162 |
| Paul Balatti | Mayacama GC | 83-79–162 |
| Robert Cayton | Pasatiempo GC | 82-80–162 |
| David Kinser | Almaden CC | 81-82–163 |
| Topper Owen | eClub San Francisco | 77-86–163 |
| Bill Bates | Apple Mountain GR | 82-81–163 |
| Dino Forristall | Green Valley CC | 82-82–164 |
| Bobby Fries (ss) | Fort Washington GCC | 83-81–164 |
| Jan Jakovac | Napa GC | 82-82–164 |
| Lee Jeberjahn | San Luis Obispo CC | 83-81–164 |
| Eb Luckel | Richmond CC | 82-82–164 |
| Dan Bieber | Green Valley CC | 79-85–164 |
| Thomas Marks | New Sac Golf eClub | 81-84–165 |
| David Wilkins | Stanford University GC | 85-80–165 |
| Stuart Francis | San Francisco GC | 85-81–166 |
| Douglas Johnson | Fig Garden GC | 80-86–166 |
| Ronnie Wiley (ss) | Mariners Point Linksters GC | 79-87–166 |
| Lew Garbutt (ss) | Gold Hills CC | 82-85–167 |
| Tony Reboton (ss) | Nor Calif Left Hander’s GC | 84-83–167 |
| Gary Addison | Paradise Valley GC | 84-84–168 |
| Michael Harding | Roddy Ranch GC | 82-86–168 |
| Earl Stewart (ss) | Meadow Club | 85-83–168 |
| Shellton Washburn | Stonetree GC | 84-84–168 |
| Greg Zipp | Par 5 Club | 87-81–168 |
| Bill Bowen | Lincoln Hills Club | 86-82–168 |
| Gary Conti | De Laveaga GC | 86-82–168 |
| Larry Edwards (ss) | Ancil Hoffman GC | 85-83–168 |
| Donn Levine | Stanford University GC | 84-85–169 |
| Thomas O’Grady | Los Altos GCC | 84-85–169 |
| Larry Riis | Petaluma GCC | 86-83–169 |
| Vic Shellenberg | Bennett Valley GC | 85-84–169 |
| Ben Whipple | Serrano CC | 83-86–169 |
| James Cottrell | Shoreline GL | 83-87–170 |
| Butch Mendonca | Modesto GC | 83-87–170 |
| Scott Van Acker | East Bay Hackers | 85-85–170 |
| Tom Lyons | Castlewood CC | 86-85–171 |
| Frank Ontiveros | Valley Oaks GC | 82-89–171 |
| Alan Schneider | Presidio Players | 88-83–171 |
| Ken Slasor | Monterey Peninsula CC | 85-86–171 |
| Jim Welsh (ss) | Spring Valley GC | 88-83–171 |
| Dave Finley (ss) | Lakeridge GC | 85-86–171 |
| Robert Heaton (ss) | Antioch GC | 88-84–172 |
| John Martin | Mountain Springs GC | 90-82–172 |
| Michael Neal | North Ridge CC | 91-81–172 |
| James Sullivan (ss) | Pasatiempo GC | 82-90–172 |
| Gary Bagnani | Creekside GC | 85-87–172 |
| Barry Brady | Ridgemark GCC | 87-85–172 |
| Frank Burkhead | Turkey Creek GC | 88-84–172 |
| Robert Frey (ss) | De Laveaga GC | 83-91–174 |
| Robert Luff (ss) | Adobe Creek GC | 82-93–175 |
| Brandon Murphy | Del Rio CC | 86-89–175 |
| Michael Armstrong | Quail Lodge GC | 84-91–175 |
| Michael Scott | De Laveaga GC | 90-86–176 |
| Sherman Haggerty | Serrano CC | 89-88–177 |
| Bruce Lorin (ss) | Poplar Creek GC | 83-94–177 |
| James Henry | Monterey Peninsula CC | 93-85–178 |
| John Hunt (ss) | Las Positas GC | 86-92–178 |
| Jack Koski (ss) | Manteca Park GC | 90-88–178 |
| Walter Sasser (ss) | Walnut Creek GC | 86-93–179 |
| Joseph Nemeth | Sierra View CC | 88-92–180 |
| George Bardizbanian (ss) | San Luis Obispo CC | 86-95–181 |
| Andy Gonzalez (ss) | Quail Lodge GC | 93-92–185 |
| Jim Manzi | Moraga CC | 91-94–185 |
| Jerry Chirpich (ss) | San Luis Obispo CC | 89-97–186 |
First played in 1962, the NCGA Senior Championship is the association’s premier event for players aged 55 and over. The championship will be 54-holes of stroke play (18 holes per day). After 36 holes, the field will be cut to the low 30 individuals a...
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