Age-Shooter Little Leads Wildhorse SNGA Tour Champions
LAS VEGAS, Nev. (February 26, 2018)–The SNGA Tour’s 2018 season is under way and Eric Bauman (Championship), Scott Gardner (Senior) and Loren Little (Silver) opened the year with gross division titles at the SNGA Tour–Wildhorse event, held at Wildhorse Golf Club. The 76-year-old Little wowed everyone by shooting 75 and bettering his age. — By Bill Bowman, Las Vegas Golf Insider staff.
Silver
Loren Little birdied the 18th hole to win the Silver Division crown by a stroke. It was Little’s first gross win on the SNGA Tour. It was also Little’s first time shooting his age as the 76-year-old carded a 3-over-par 75.
“I shot 75 about four years ago but I was younger,” he said with a laugh. “I just tried to stay calm today. I usually have two or three bad holes but this time I stayed consistent and played good golf.”
He came to the 18th knowing what needed to be done. “I knew I needed a birdie and I got it,” he said.
Little not only defeated Father Time but he beat perennial favorite and multi SNGA player of the year Frank Abbott in the process.
Silver
Loren Little, 75
Frank Abbott, 76
John Kelley, 80
Championship
Eric Bauman carded a three-over-par 73 to post a three-shot victory in the Championship Division. His round included a birdie and four bogeys.
“I just outlasted everyone on the greens,” said Bauman, a mortgage broker. “I think the longest putt I made today was three feet.”
He said his tee to green play made up for putting woes. “I had a good ball-striking day,” Bauman, who also won last fall at Las Vegas Muni, said. “I think I only missed one fairway and hit a lot of greens. I’m happy with the way I hit the ball and that’s where you’ve got to start, right?”
Championship
Eric Bauman, 73
Jason Cordon, 76
Lorenzo Gillenwater, 76
Net
Larry Hanson breezed around the course in even-par 70 to win the Net Division by three strokes. Hanson had six net birdies during his round. It was his second win on the SNGA Tour as he won a two-day event in 2017 at Cascata.
“It was a good day,” he said. “I shot 43 on the front and 40 on the back. The greens were a little tough so I just told myself not to over-putt and deal with what you can control.”
And that control came off the tee. “The wind picked up a little on the back so I put the driver in the bag and hit three-wood a lot,” he said. “I gave up distance to keep it in the fairway and everything worked out. It feels good to put a decent round together.”
Net
Larry Hanson, 70
Christopher Scheneman, 73
Jayar Hawley, 75
Senior
Scott Gardner’s three birdies (including one on a par-3, one on a par-4 and one on a par-5) were good enough for him to breeze to a Senior Division win. It was Gardner’s first SNGA event and earned him his first victory.
“It was the first time I had played the course so I was pretty happy,” he said.
He credited his wedge game for the win. “Flighting my wedges really helped,” he said. “These greens were pretty soft and held pretty well. The birdies I had were all wedges to within two or three feet.”
He added his first SNGA experience was definitely a positive one. “It was a great time and the SNGA is awesome,” he said. “The tournament was really run well.”
Senior
Scott Gardner, 74
David Koch, 82
Pat Thompson, 83
Senior Net
Clayton Barrow’s first SNGA Tour experience proved to be a winning one. He wound up with a one-under-par 69 and breezed to the victory in the Senior Net Division.
“It’s always a good day when you can play golf,” he said. “I definitely had a good round. A 79 is pretty good for me.”
His goals were simple for his maiden tournament voyage. “I tried to keep it in the fairway and hit the middle of the greens,” he said. “Those were my swing thoughts and they seemed to work out.”
He added a practice round at the course helped his game plan. “After the practice round, this was a course I thought I could play pretty well and it turned out I did,” he said.
Senior Net
Clayton Barrow, 69
Donald Klier, 77
Graham Doyle, 78
Silver Net
It took a playoff but James Kirkwood picked up his first SNGA Tour title in a scorecard playoff over Walter Sabati in the Silver Net Division. Both players wound up with one-under-par 69s.
“It was my first time playing the Tour,” Kirkwood said. “I basically wanted to get into the Tour and work on my game, play against good competition and meet a bunch of good golfers.”
And winning is also a good addition. “I was surprised to hear that I won,” he said. “I guess the one thing that worked today was my handicap (16.5 index). It all worked out today but I had some three putts so I know part of that bit about working on my game will include working on my putting.”
Silver Net
James Kirkwood, 69
Walter Sabati, 69
Carson Day, 72
