Southern California's No. 1 Golf Source
SITE
SEARCH
GOLF RESOURCE GUIDE:
People
|
||||
 With Merrick trailing by a shot, both players reached the 520-yard, par-5 18th hole in two shots. Merrick missed his putt for eagle, and Tomasulo calmly two-putted to win the event at 16-under par. “Growing up as a little kid, this is the event that everybody talks about locally,” Tomasulo said. “It was pretty fun. John and I have been playing against each other for so long, but this is the first time we’ve done it as pros. I think it helped us stay relaxed.” Tomasulo is the first Long Beach native to win the championship since Paul Goydos in 1990. The finish earned Tomasulo and Merrick, both 23, the largest checks of their young careers — $27,000 and $15,000, respectively. The friendly rivalry began in high school with Tomasulo at Long Beach Wilson and Merrick at Long Beach Poly. In college, Tomasulo was on the University of California’s 2004 NCAA title team, and Merrick enjoyed a stellar career at UCLA that included a Pac-10 championship in 2003. They regularly travel together to Nationwide Tour events, and both received honorary memberships at Virginia Country Club. Tomasulo continued his hot play the week after the Long Beach Open by winning the Montreal Open on the Canadian Tour. Both he and Merrick plan to play in the PGA Tour Qualifying School this fall. — GREG FLORES MILLER CAPTURES SCPGA CLUB PRO TITLE Scott Miller of Oak Park fired a final-round 67 then birdied the first hole of a four-way sudden-death playoff to win the 2005 Southern California PGA Club Professional Championship in dramatic come-from-behind fashion. Miller started the day five-shots behind 36-hole leader Alan Sorensen of Bakersfield, but after turning the front nine in 32 on The Champions course at the PGA of Southern California Golf Club, he had cut the deficit to only two. “Words don’t describe it,” said the 32-year old head golf professional from Moorpark Country Club. “The club I work at recently sold to a new owner and I’ve been working a lot and not playing at all. I’ve been cramming for this event for the last week and a half like you would for a final exam. I hit a ton of balls and did a lot of chipping and putting. I just played solid.” In the playoff, Miller defeated Sorensen, Paul Holtby of Simi Valley and Gary Sowinski of Rancho Santa Fe. With the victory, Miller collected $8,000, but more importantly, he earned exemptions into the 2005 Mark Christopher Charity Classic and trips to the Bob Hope Classic, the Buick Invitational and the Nissan Open on the 2006 PGA Tour. “The exemptions are huge to guys like me. It’s the only way that most of us will ever play in a PGA Tour event,” said Miller. “I’ve never even set foot on Riviera, so I think I’m looking forward to that the most. I guess I’ll have to set up a few practice rounds.” BARTMAN WINS TRANS-MISSISSIPPI MID-AMATEUR TOURNEY David Bartman of Los Angeles defeated Mark Lindberg of Coppell, Texas, 3 and 2, to win the 102nd Trans-Mississippi Mid-Amateur Championship at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kansas. The 34-year-old Brentwood Country Club member won six matches in four days to become the second Southern Californian to win the title in as many years. Scott McGihon of Bermuda Dunes was last year’s champion. |
||||
RSS Subscribe
