STEVINSON, CALIFORNIA (April 2, 2006) -- Bob Niger has been on a bit of a roll in amateurgolf.com events this year in Northern California, with a win every month so far (and guess how many events we average per month...) It seems like the tougher the conditions, the more he distances himself from the competition.

At the Livermore Valley Championship in early January at Wente Vineyards (where they just played a Nationwide Tour event) Niger shot 146 in some wet and windy weather to win by 6 strokes. He added a victory in February at the Wine Country Cup at StoneTree -- playing his final 8 holes in 4-under-par to shoot 73 and win the Championship by 8 on a waterlogged Sunday in Novato. His March title was the Diablo Valley Amateur at Shadow Lakes, where his margin was five.

But this weekend Niger faced the strongest field on the amateurgolf.com schedule at the California Mid Amateur, where names like Randy Haag, Jeff Burda, Casey Boyns, and many others were present to play for 125 NCGA points at one of California's finest public facilities - Stevinson Ranch.

Niger opened with a strong 71 on Saturday to tie for the lead with Casey Boyns and Steve Wilson. On Sunday, he played solid enough golf to lead his group, yet there was no telling what explosive players like Randy Haag were doing on the course.

At 2-under par for the tournament heading into the tricky seventeenth hole, Niger faced a 10-foot par putt and rolled it home. Not comfortable that 2-under would do the trick, he wedged it close with his third at the par-5 eighteenth to grab a satisfying birdie that turned out to be the tournament winner, since Haag had posted a final round 69 to finish 2-under par at 142.

"I wanted to stick that wedge on eighteen," said Niger. "I thought I might need it."

Haag's 69, the lowest of the tournament -- recent rains caused Stevinson Ranch to play much longer than normal -- was the result of a hot putter on a day when his touchy lower back was anything but cooperative on full shots.

"I guess you can't have it all," remarked Haag, who putts with a unique side-saddle style. "Last night I practiced putting for two hours, so much that I got a sore back and could barely swing - but I did make everything today."

The Championship flight of the tournament was divided into two age brackets, a Masters Division for players 40-54 years old, and a Mid-Am Division for players 25-39. Tim Tipton was the winner of the Mid-Am Division with a 146 total while Adam Sides finished two back at 148.

In the Senior Division, Napa's Dave Carroll held off Carl Selkirk of Chico to win by two strokes at even-par 144. Carroll, who was tied with Carl Selkirk with two holes to play, birdied his seventeenth hole -- the risk-reward par-4 eighth -- against a Selkirk bogey to grab a 2-shot swing which would last through the final hole.

"Carl just missed his par putt on the same line as my birdie putt, so I had to thank him for giving me the line," quipped Carroll, a veteran Senior player.

Tom Lyons finished at 148 for solo third place.

The Net Division was a much tighter race than it looked, as first round leader James Priscaro found all the trouble he avoided during his Saturday net 65 (a gross 73 with an 8 handicap) but won the title despite slipping to a net 78 on Sunday. Jeff Traweek finished in second place at 1-over-par 145, while Tim Maas and Al Richardson tied for third at 149. Richardson's final round 72 was the lowest round of the leaders.

TOURNAMENT NOTES:

- San Francisco City Senior Champ Jeff Early of Pleasanton had the ultimate "with-a" day and caused amateurgolf.com founder Pete Wlodkowski to do a double take when reviewing his Sunday card. Early made an 11 on the par-3 seventh hole (his 16th) then finished par-birdie to shoot a remarkable 80. "I made an ace on No. 7 during the 2004 Metropolitan Amateur, so my average is 6," quipped Early, who was shaken but not stirred by the bunker-ob-bunker-etc. series that led the the large number.

- Speaking of par-3's, Ocean Honda again provided us with a beautiful Honda Ridgeline truck for an ace on No. 16, but unfortunately nobody is driving away in the silver beauty (If you want to buy or lease one, call Steve John at 831-464-2412 for an amateurgolf.com member deal). Troy Laughlin of Yorba Linda got in the spirit, took dead aim and told his fellow competitors that he was going after the truck. His 7-iron hosel-rocketed towards the pond, clipping a surprised mallard and nearly caused an Audubon Society infraction (the duck lived). "Did I say truck or duck?" joked Laughlin.

- Sponsors UST Golf Shaft, (represented by Jamie Pipes, PGA) and Bridgestone Golf (represented by Gary Renelt) did a great job with the demo day on the range on Saturday. Leith Anderson's company The Golf Lab provided their tour van and won over some new customers with their technical prowess. We appreciate the support of these companies and look forward to building a tradition of a Saturday demo day during this event. To inquire about purchasing any of the equipment you saw, contact Pete Wlodkowski at 760-929-9297.

- Thanks to the Turlock Christian High School golf team for acting as spotters, and to coach Jeff Cedarwood and two parents for witnessing on No. 16. Over $1000 was raised for the team's April trip to Myrtle Beach! Tim Maas, by the way won the closest to the pin with a 2 foot, 3" shot on No. 16 - he unfortunately got so excited he missed the putt. Zack Taylor took second place in the two-day competition.

- Finally, special thanks to Stevinson Ranch founder George Kelley and his entire staff for once again hosting us and helping to build this tournament into one of the best tournaments in California. The course once again got rave reviews, and we were treated like gold as always!

* * *

Final results from the amateurgolf.com California Mid-Amateur, played at the 6996 yard, Par-72 Stevinson Ranch Golf Club:

Note: For NCGA Points, the Mid-Amateur and Masters Divisions are combined into one large Championship Flight.

	MASTER DIVISION
Pos	First	Last	City	ST	Division	R1	Rd2	Tot
1	Bob	Niger	El Dorado Hills	CA	Masters	71	70	141
2	Randy	Haag	Burlingame	CA	Masters	73	69	142
T3	Robert	Funk	Lake Elsinore	CA	Masters	74	71	145
T3	Bruce	Hanavan	San Francisco	CA	Masters	72	73	145
5	Casey	Boyns	Pacific Grove	CA	Masters	71	76	147
T6	Jeff	Burda	Modesto	CA	Masters	75	73	148
T6	Conrad	Nilmeier	Fresno	CA	Masters	74	74	148
T6	Ben	Whipple	El Dorado Hills	CA	Masters	73	75	148
T6	Steve	Wilson	Discovery Bay	CA	Masters	71	77	148
10	John	Justus	Fairfield	CA	Masters	76	73	149
T11	Terry	Foreman	Antioch	CA	Masters	76	76	152
T11	Andrew	Overton	Livermore	CA	Masters	77	75	152
T13	Randy	Blankenbaker	Rohnert Park	CA	Masters	77	76	153
T13	Steve	Donnelly	Salinas	CA	Masters	78	75	153
T15	David	Capel	Ripon	CA	Masters	81	76	157
T15	Joel	Fieri	San Diego	CA	Masters	78	79	157
T15	Dave	Rathjen	San Jose	CA	Masters	77	80	157
T18	Hank	McCusker	Mendocino	CA	Masters	82	76	158
T18	Eugene	Medlock	Westlake Village	CA	Masters	78	80	158
T18	Tim	Snow	Davis	CA	Masters	78	80	158
T21	Mark	Miller	Antioch	CA	Masters	78	81	159
T21	Greg	O'Malley	Sonoma	CA	Masters	80	79	159
T21	Pete	Wlodkowski	Carlsbad	CA	Masters	81	78	159
T21	Joe	Zanassi	Martinez	CA	Masters	76	83	159
	Neil	Duffy	Santa Cruz	CA	Masters	79	81	160
	Zack	Taylor	Modesto	CA	Masters	77	84	161
	Gregory	Sgarlato	San Jose	CA	Masters	82	80	162
	Jeff	Coffey	Modesto	CA	Masters	78	85	163
	Dirk	Godsey	San Rafael	CA	Masters	84	80	164
	Mitch	Soekland	Santa Rosa	CA	Masters	79	85	164
	Michael	Flood	Discovery Bay	CA	Masters	86	79	165
	Bob	Cayton	Aptos	CA	Masters	88	78	166
	Donald	Gerber	Menlo Park	CA	Masters	83	83	166
	Mark K	Miller	Bethel Island	CA	Masters	84	82	166
	Dan	Burkland	Alamo	CA	Masters	83	84	167
	Steve	Lico	Menlo Park	CA	Masters	80	87	167
	Jim	Lyons	Brentwood	CA	Masters	86	81	167
	Michael	Olivas	Winters	CA	Masters	80	87	167
	Peter	Camarena	Modesto	CA	Masters	80	88	168
	Gary	Maniery	Sacramento	CA	Masters	78	90	168
	Dave	Curley	Sacramento	CA	Masters	87	85	172
	Randall	Schwartz	Burlingame	CA	Masters	98	90	188
	Rob	Adolph	Fresno	CA	Masters	81	wd
	Mike	Davis	Santa Rosa	CA	Masters	84	wd
	Bill	Foley	San Ramon	CA	Masters	91	wd
	Tony	McBroom	Stockton	CA	Masters	79	wd
	MID-AM DIVISION
Pos	First	Last	City	ST	Division	R1	Rd2	Tot
1	Timothy	Tipton	Del Rey Oaks	CA	Mid-Am	73	73	146
2	Adam	Sides	Camarillo	CA	Mid-Am	76	72	148
3	David	Ober	Riverside	CA	Mid-Am	72	78	150
4	Todd	Stires	Murrieta	CA	Mid-Am	78	77	155
5	Andrew	Biggadike	Palo Alto	CA	Mid-Am	80	77	157
T6	Cary	Chiappone	Moraga	CA	Mid-Am	76	84	160
T6	Chris	Monroe	san luis obispo	CA	Mid-Am	79	81	160
T6	Ty	Murphy	Fresno	CA	Mid-Am	79	81	160
T9	William	Brekhus	Mendocino	CA	Mid-Am	76	86	162
T9	Jon	Mygrant	Redding	CA	Mid-Am	79	83	162
	Matt	Couch	Tracy	CA	Mid-Am	85	79	164
	Ryan	de la Motte	Turlock	CA	Mid-Am	84	82	166
	Jud	Spencer	San Jose	CA	Mid-Am	78	88	166
	Troy	Laughlin	Placentia	CA	Mid-Am	84	84	168
	Joseph	Woo	Greenbrae	CA	Mid-Am	85	89	174
	Kevin	Clark	Modesto	CA	Mid-Am	wd
	Will	Johnson	San Francisco	CA	Mid-Am	wd
	Kevin	Kobalter	San Rafael	CA	Mid-Am	wd
	Jerry	Ledzinski	Carmel	CA	Mid-Am	wd
	Wayne	McClintock	Palo Alto	CA	Mid-Am	wd
	SENIOR DIVISION
Pos	First	Last	City	ST	Division	R1	Rd2	Tot
1	Dave	Carroll	Napa	CA	Senior	70	74	144
2	Carl	Selkirk	Chico	CA	Senior	73	73	146
3	Tom	Lyons	Pleasanton	CA	Senior	75	73	148
T4	Frank	Abbott	Napa	CA	Senior	79	72	151
T4	Earl	Stewart	Fairfax	CA	Senior	74	77	151
6	Greg	Saiki	Sanger	CA	Senior	75	77	152
T7	David	Fein	San Francisco	CA	Senior	77	76	153
8	Raul	Perez	Modesto	CA	Senior	79	75	154
T9	Greg	Futch	Santa Rosa	CA	Senior	76	79	155
T9	Frank	Pieper	carmel	CA	Senior	76	79	155
T9	Robert	Rowland	Danville	CA	Senior	72	83	155
T9	Mike	Spellman	Brentwood	CA	Senior	71	84	155
T13	George	Kelley	Stevinson	CA	Senior	79	77	156
T13	Rob	Thompson	Merced	CA	Senior	76	80	156
T15	Terry	Ackerman	Monterey	CA	Senior	82	75	157
T15	Patrick	Rauber	La Quinta	CA	Senior	77	80	157
T15	Bob	Schoenherr	San Jose	CA	Senior	78	79	157
	Bob	Olds	Brentwood	CA	Senior	78	80	158
	Vic	Shellenberg	Santa Rosa	CA	Senior	74	84	158
	Doug	Dusenbury	Monterey	CA	Senior	78	81	159
	Leith	Anderson	Palo Alto	CA	Senior	77	83	160
	Jeff	Early	Pleasanton	CA	Senior	81	80	161
	Jim	Welsh	San Jose	CA	Senior	78	83	161
	Tony	Wilmer	San Mateo	CA	Senior	82	80	162
	Bob	Ackerman	Oakdale	CA	Senior	84	81	165
	Ron	Erkenbrecher	clovis	CA	Senior	82	83	165
	Jeffrey	True	Pleasanton	CA	Senior	88	78	166
	Dave	Patty	Newport Coast	CA	Senior	78	89	167
	Bob	Wikse	Rocklin	CA	Senior	93	86	179
	Shelton	Washburn	Novato	CA	Senior	dq	dq
	NET DIVISION
Pos	First	Last	City	ST	Division	R1	Rd2	Tot
1	James	Priscaro	Santa Clara	CA	Net	65	78	143
2	Jeff	Traweek	Auburn	CA	Net	71	74	145
T3	Tim	Maas	San Anselmo	CA	Net	73	76	149
T3	Al	Richardson	Santa Clara	CA	Net	77	72	149
T5	Richard	Mathers	Palo Alto	CA	Net	75	77	152
T5	Jim	Thurman	Clayton	CA	Net	80	72	152
T6	Brian	Holt	San Mateo	CA	Net	76	77	153
T6	Todd	Knapp	Salinas	CA	Net	73	80	153
8	James	Grensted	Belmont	CA	Net	77	77	154
9	Gary	Koshaba	San Francisco	CA	Net	81	76	157
10	Bill	Strahan	Burlingame	CA	Net	73	85	158
	Sean	Price	Discovery Bay	CA	Net	80	79	159
	Peter	Hlavin	Trabuco Canyon	CA	Net	82	83	165
	Michael	Schoeder	Corral de Tierra	CA	Net	80	85	165
	Andrew	Brooks	San Francisco	CA	Net	96	87	183
	Terry	O'Donnell	San Jose	CA	Net	82	wd
	Noel	Rush	Pacifica	CA	Net	76	wd

ENTRIES OPEN: Entries are now open for 2024 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship

15-year-old Miles Russell climbing the leaderboard on Sunday

Miles Russell shatters records in Korn Ferry Tour and professional golf debut

ENTRIES OPEN: 2025 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball

Meet the five amateurs teeing it up at The 2024 Masters