SNGA Players Peak for Majors Such as Southern Nevada Amateur at Paiute

Like professional golfers, the SNGA players look at the four majors as a little more impactful when it comes to victories. Just ask Gary Carpendale, who is nearing 20 major titles in a long and illustrious career on the Southern Nevada golf scene. The SNGA’s second major, the 2023 Southern Nevada Amateur, will be held July 8-9, 2023, at the Sun Mountain Course at the Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort. –by Bill Bowman, Las Vegas Golf Insider

Register for Southern Nevada Amateur Now

Carpendale, who won the final two SNGA majors in the 2022 season, said when players win a major it is always special.

“You can’t pick the tournaments you win,” Carpendale said. “But you can certainly practice a little more and work on your game a little more coming into a major.”

Carpendale added the intensity is obvious when it comes to the majors.

“It’s the history,” said Carpendale, who has won this event in the past. “Tour players have won the majors. (Ed) Fryatt, (Chris) Riley, (Craig) Barlow, (Scott) Piercy…they have all won and it’s fun to be able to follow in those footsteps. And then you’ve got a guy like Brady Exber who has won so many times and so many majors it’s hard to keep track. It’s what we play for.”

The bottom line for Carpendale is: “The bigger the tournament, the more excited you are to play in it. They make you raise your game if you’re going to win.”

Lt. Paul T. Cook won the first Southern Nevada Amateur in 1942. The tournament is the oldest championship in Southern Nevada. Charlie Teel has won the most Southern Nevada Amateur titles with 11 victories coming in the 40s and 50s.

The tournament’s site, the Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort, is the serene home to three Pete Dye Signature designed layouts–Snow Mountain, Sun Mountain and Wolf. The three courses are packed with Dye trademark design elements including railroad ties and an island green.

The Sun Mountain Course will be in the spotlight this week as 140 top golfers will take on the course which was the second one at the resort to open its doors.

Sun Mountain is the most player-friendly of the three if players can hit fairways and greens. Desert outcroppings, bunkers and ponds will catch errant shots and can wreak havoc on players’ scorecards.

The final three holes give players scoring options…but also feature trouble.

The par 5, 16th, at 527 yards, gives the big hitters the chance to go for it in two and possibly set up an eagle putt.

The par 3, 17th, at 198 yards, requires pinpoint accuracy off the tee or players will scramble for a par.

Then there’s the par 4, 18th. At just 404 yards, it should be an easy finishing hole. The emphasis is on ‘should.’

A pond along the left side and a large bunkering guarding the front-right of the green will force players to focus a little more both off the tee and on the approach shot.

Click for more information on the Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort