Fortunato, Pena, Hawley. Frey Win SNGA Tour Chimera Titles
Jospeh Fortunato (Championship), Marty Pena (Senior), Mark Hawley (Silver) and Sam Frey (Net) won titles at the 2023 SNGA Tour stop at Chimera Golf Club. The event was held Aug. 23, 2023.–by Bill Bowman, Las Vegas Golf Insider
Championship
Joseph Fortunato birdied three holes in a four-hole stretch to close out his front nine en route to a five-shot victory in the Championship Division.
It was Fortunato’s first SNGA Tour title.
Fortunato, who was second in the 2021 Nevada State Mid-Amateur, said this was a solid round.
“I hit it close to the hole all day,” he said. “And you’re going to make a lot of seven-footers.”
Fortunato, who works for the Findlay Automotive Group, said for him, hitting it close is always the gameplan.
“My ball-striking was really good today,” he said. “I’ve never been a great putter but when you hit it close, it takes a lot of the pressure off.”
He said his play on the ninth hole was the key.
“Once I hit my second shot on nine, I knew it was going to be a good day,” he said. “I had about 150 yards and hit a sand wedge to four feet and made the putt.”
He’s hoping to take this caliber of play forward.
“I definitely want to do this again Monday in the four-ball (a USGA qualifier at Mountain Falls),” he said.
Championship
Joseph Fortunato, 68
Arpepanya Phonsavanh, 73
Kevin Lee, 74
Senior
Marty Pena overcame an early double bogey and rallied for a one-stroke win in the Senior Division.
It was Pena’s first SNGA title.
“That double bogey rattled me,” he said. “But I only made a few mistakes and played a decent round of golf. I thought if I made some putts I would have a chance.”
He said his play on the final hole also was key.
“Coming home on No. 9 (the 18th hole of the round) was big,” he said. “It’s always been a tough hole for me. I hit a wedge for my second shot rather than going for it and then hit another wedge to about four feet and made the putt for par. My playing partners went for it and it didn’t work out.”
He said despite the win, he knows where the weakness is in his game.
“I’ve never been accused of being long,” he said with a laugh. “I’m always working on my length. It’s disappointing to be 40, 50 or 60 yards behind off the tee. But I’ve been working on my second shots and short game and that’s helped. They say practice makes things better.”
Senior
Marty Pena, 73
John Bobroski, 74
Michael Andrews, 75
Silver
Mark Hawley played steady golf–16 pars, one birdie and one bogey–and won by three strokes for his first SNGA crown.
“It surprised the heck out of me,” he said of the victory. “I’ve missed about four months with a back problem. I just started playing toward the end of July so I’m still working on getting back.”
He said his back isn’t perfect, but he’s on the mend.
“It is getting better,” he said. “It’s still sore but I’m just glad I could come back and hit the ball better.”
He said his he’s happy with the progress he’s made.
“I’ve played better but I can’t complain about even-par,” he said. “I’ll take that every day of the week. The game is getting better.”
He added fairways and greens are the name of the game for his play.
“I usually keep the ball in play and hit a lot of greens,” he said. “I did that today. I didn’t always strike it in the center of the clubface but it worked out. And even though the greens were slow, I dialed in the speed pretty well.”
Silver
Mark Hawley, 72
Sheldon Clifton, 75
Bruce Swanson, 75
Net
Sam Frey played a five-hole stretch in four-under-par (a net eagle, two net birdies and a natural birdie) in winning the Net crown for his first SNGA Tour win.
Frey does have a second as well as three third-place finishes in 2023.
He said getting into the winner’s circle shows his work is paying off.
“This is the first time I ever broke 72 and I shot 69 so this was a great day,” Frey said. “I’ve been playing out here forever. In fact, I think the last time I won was back in 1999 when I was 12 or 13 at Nellis Air Force Base. Hopefully it’s not 23 years before another win.”
He said an injury actually helped his game.
“I hurt my wrist and had to change my swing and take it easier,” he said. “I’m standing a little taller and swinging a little easier and this reworked swing has really helped.”
Frey is playing more golf recently and said that has also helped.
“The majority of where I needed work was my short game and playing more often has helped me work on that,” he said.
This win is also the third in the last 10 months for the Frey family. Greg Frey, the father, won in October of 2022 while sons Ayden won in May of this year before Sam claimed his win.
“I guess it’s now a family affair,” Sam said.
Net
Sam Frey, 64
James Baylis, 67
John Diclaro, 69
