SNGA Tour Arroyo Champs: McLoughlin, Corey, Garrett, Berton, Kim, Bartmus
Michael McLoughlin (Championship), James Corey (Senior) and John Garrett (Silver) won titles in the SNGA Tour’s stop at Arroyo Golf Club on Aug. 28, 2020. Jason Berton (Net), James Kim (Senior) and Peter Bartmus (Silver) were the net champions. –by Bill Bowman, Las Vegas Golf Insider staff.
Championship
Michael McLoughlin birdied two of his final three holes to finish off a two-under-par round and post a three-stroke victory in the Championship Division. It was McLoughlin’s first SNGA Tour victory in his first event.
“We just moved here from San Diego and I wanted to play in some tournaments but with Covid-19 and limited fields it’s been tough,” he said. “I’m trying to get ready for the club championship (at TPC Summerlin) and this was a good way to do it.”
McLoughlin made the turn at one-over-par but put four birdies on the card on the back nine, along with a lone bogey, to win.
“I hit the ball very well,” he said. “I think I hit 15 greens. I did have a three-putt for par on No. 5 so that wasn’t good but overall I just kind of hung in there and made a lot of pars and a couple of birdies coming in.”
He said the final hole was a great reflection on how he’s approaching the game of golf recently.
“The last hole I knocked one stiff,” he said. “I was 115 out and hit it to about 2½ feet. I still really focused on making the putt because you have to concentrate all the way through.”
He’s working with Mario Bevilacqua at TPC Summerlin and said the focus part of his game has been a big part of their concentration.
“I’m working thinking birdie, birdie, birdie,” he said. “I want to stay more aggressive in competition and think of it as almost like a skins-game mindset.”
McLoughlin, who is in real estate securities, said the move to Vegas has been a good one for his family…most of the time.
“We’re enjoying it,” he said. “Well, except for the Covid thing. But both my wife and I work from home so that’s made it easier. And working from home I have more flexible hours so I can get out and practice when I need to.”
Championship
Michael McLoughlin, 70
Landon Shultz, 73
Dylan Garrett, 73
Net
Jason Berton put a pair of net eagles on the scorecard en route to a three-shot victory in the Net Division. It was Berton’s first SNGA Tour title of the year and fourth overall. He also won at Arroyo two years ago for his first title.
“It was just one of those days,” Berton said. “I was just trying to look at the shot in front of me and I wasn’t looking at the scorecard.”
He added his play was good, but not as consistent as he would have liked.
“I hit it good enough to stay out of real trouble,” he said. “Seventy-five percent of my tee shots were solid and I putted pretty well. I only had two three-putts.”
He said the 11th hole summed up his round perfectly.
“I did have one epic recovery shot,” he said. “I hit a great drive and then my second shot was embarrassingly bad…I topped a shot that went about five yards. Then I hit an eight-iron and hit it to about five feet and made the putt for a birdie.”
Net
Jason Berton, 69
Greg Pyszko, 72
Michael Godfrey, 72
Senior
James Corey birdied three of his last four holes to complete a roller coaster round and breeze to a six-stroke victory in the Senior Division. Corey had eight birdies and four bogeys in his round. It was his second SNGA Tour win.
Corey was rolling right along until the 12th hole when he stumbled and bogeyed three straight holes. He then finished with his three-under-par burst over the final four holes.
“Overall I kept it steady and down the middle and made good putts,” Corey said.
He said his entire game was solid.
“It was a pretty impressive round,” he said. “But I’ve been playing good all of August. I’ve been concentrating through the round and hitting a lot of solid putts. Nothing too complicated.”
But the stumble on the back nine was a little disheartening.
“I must have gotten a little tired, right,” he said with a laugh. “When I stumbled I didn’t hit the greens. It was that simple. I had a little chat with myself and told myself to slow it down, take your time and get it on the greens.”
Senior
James Corey, 68
Todd Roberts, 75
David Koch, 76
Senior Net
James Kim had a net eagle on the final hole to come away with the Senior Net title, his second SNGA Tour win.
Kim played his final five holes in four-under-par (net) to rally for the victory.
“My goal was to try to play even on the par 5s and I did that,” he said. “A big help was my putting. I had two putts or less and I ended up with birdie putts on three holes and that really helped lower my score.”
He said he’s still going to work hard on his game.
“I want to work on my weak areas to make sure I can win bigger events like the state senior championship in the future,” he said.
He added the final hole birdie worked out well for him…eventually.
“I was supposed to drive left of the bunker but I hit a bad slice to the right of the bunker,” he said. “Luckily I had 110 yards to the pin from the rough and had a beautiful birdie putt of five feet.”
Senior Net
James Kim, 69
Colin McTernan, 70
Brian Freymueller, 72
Silver
John Garrett used a one-birdie, one-bogey round to win the Silver Division title by a stroke. It was his first victory since 2018 when he won three times in the division.
“I hit the ball really well,” he said. “I didn’t putt that great but I didn’t putt that badly either. I made a bunch of par saves that helped.”
He said the birdie opportunities were out there.
“I had a lot of chances in the six-to-10-foot range,” he said. “I just couldn’t get the feel of the greens.”
Garrett said he and Frank Acker, who finished second one shot back, both struggled on the greens.
“He really only made one putt and that’s not like him,” Garrett said. “It would have been really fun if he would have made all of his putts and I would have made all of mine. We both could have really gone low.”
He said the rest of his game is solid.
“I’m hitting my driver, irons and wedges really well,” he said. “I just couldn’t make any putts. It’s that simple.”
Silver
John Garrett, 72
Frank Acker, 73
Bruce Chamberlain, 73
Silver Net
Peter Bartmus won for the third time in 2020, winning by four strokes. But in between the second and third victories was a whole lot of disappointment.
“I was very frustrated the last four or five events I played in,” Bartmus said. “It was very disheartening to not be competitive and not understanding why.”
The answer finally came to him.
“I took a golf lesson,” he said. “I took a lesson from Kim Dolan and he made a very easy adjustment and I was able to keep the ball in play better.”
He added it should have been an obvious solution.
“I just said I needed a fresh set of eyes,” he said. “Kim taught my kids and my granddaughter…and I said, ‘I know this guy, what am I waiting for?’ He showed me how a better weight transfer relates to a better swing. Just like softball and tennis and other sports, he showed me the difference and then it all made sense.”
So Dolan gets the credit–and the paycheck–for the victory?
“Well, I netted about a dollar for winning,” he said with a laugh. “So he gets 10 percent so I owe him a dime.”
Silver Net
Peter Bartmus, 66
Jack Schwartz, 70
Darwin Rogers, 71
