Heiman, Pena, Foggia, Kanthak Win 2023 Las Vegas GC SNGA Tour Titles
David Heiman (Championship), Marty Pena (Senior), David Foggia (Silver) and Chris Kanthak (Net) won titles at the 2023 SNGA Tour stop at Las Vegas Golf Club. The tournament was held Oct. 20, 2023.–by Bill Bowman, LasVegasGolfInsider.com
The event marked the start of Las Vegas City Am week that features this event, the Las Vegas City Junior Am, the Las Vegas Women’s Am, the Las Vegas City Senior Am and the Las Vegas City Am. Each event is played at Las Vegas Golf Club. Also being played during this time is a Kirby Golf Association–an SNGA member club– two-day event at the course.
Championship
Devin Heiman gave the players in the Championship field a chance…for three holes.
Heiman was one-over-par through the first three holes before hitting high-gear and played the final 15 holes in 10-under-par en route to an eight-stroke victory.
In that stretch, Heiman put two eagles, six birdies and seven pars on the scorecard in picking up his first SNGA victory in just his second SNGA start.
“It was a very good round,” said Heiman who is in marketing for a solar company. “I play here pretty often and it’s one off my best score at the course.”
Heiman, who graduated from Desert Oasis High School in 2018, said despite the final score, his start was a little shaky.
“I had a few nerves starting off,” he said. “I had the three-putt for bogey but then everything started feeling a little better.”
It showed…especially on the scorecard.
“I trust my wedges,” Heiman said. “I hit every green and as long as you’re on the green, you’ll make a putt every now and then. I’ve got to thank the golf gods for that.”
He also had a chip-in for an eagle.
“I holed out from about 20 yards off the first green,” he said of the eagle on his 10th hole of the round. “It was a nice little pitch shot.”
Heiman added he’s still looking to improve.
“I’m working with a swing coach (Mario Bevilacqua at TPC Summerlin) and it’s definitely working well,” he said. “The swing changes were a little weird at the start as I tried to figure it out but it’s certainly paying dividends.”
He said there’s one big payoff with his swing changes.
“The consistency is much better off the tee,” he said. “I can tell where the ball is going 90 percent of the time now where before it was 50-50.”
Now he’s looking for more success.
“I’ve got the City Am next weekend and I’m hoping we’re talking again after that,” he said. “I’m just trying to play a lot of tournaments and see how well my golf game comes around and eventually see how far I can take my game and try to become a professional.”
Championship
David Heiman, 63
Kevin McEvoy, 71
Bradley Bourn, 72
Senior
Marty Pena is back in the winner’s circle.
Pena opened the 2023 season with a win in the Tournament of Champions event but hasn’t been back since because of scheduling conflicts.
“It’s nice to play again,” Pena said. “I know the course pretty well but playing the gold tees is kind of a stretch for me but it all worked out.”
He went in with a solid game plan.
“I just wanted to keep it in play,” he said. “I didn’t have any birdies but I had some pretty good looks. The putts just didn’t drop.”
He had three bogeys on the scorecard for his three-over total.
“When I did get in trouble I salvaged a par or at worst a bogey,” he said. “Scrambling has been part of my game I’ve worked on. At times, for me, it’s easy to get out of position and be looking at a bogey or a double but I saved some nice pars today.”
He said he looks at each hole as a challenge.
“I’d love to have birdies,” he said. “But I never frown on a par. Pars are always acceptable…especially on the harder holes.”
Senior
x-Marty Pena, 75
Michael Andrews, 75
Phil Erickson, 75
x-Won scorecard playoff
Silver
David Foggia had a five-birdie, one-bogey round in posting his third SNGA title of 2023.
Foggia birdied two of his first four holes and was off and running in posting a four-stroke victory.
“I like playing Muni a lot,” Foggia said. “It’s a fairly short course and I hit it pretty straight so that’s a good combination.”
He said the par 5s are the key to scoring at LVGC.
“They are basically long par 4s so I try to finish four-under on those,” he said. “I was only minus-two today but I had a couple of other good looks.”
He said the work he’s put in on his game is showing up.
“I retired a year ago so I’ve had plenty of time to practice,” he said with a laugh. “This is my second 68 so I know it’s in me. I had just one bogey so that’s always good.”
He said overall, it was a solid round.
“I’ve played the course enough to know where to hit it,” he said. “I hit a lot of greens and made a few putts. I had a lot of stress-free tap-ins for par and then a couple of birdies so it was just a fun day.”
Silver
David Foggia, 68
Jeffrey English, 72
James Hill, 73
Net
Chris Kanthak had net birdies on two of his final three holes in winning an SNGA Tour event for the first time.
Kanthak posted six birdies (three natural and three net) in his round. It was just Kanthak’s fourth SNGA start.
“I just joined the SNGA earlier this year so this is just great,” he said.
He added coming down the stretch his nerves were tested.
“I was scrambling a lot,” he said. “I just tried to keep it together.”
And he kept it together by relying on his short game.
“I don’t hit a lot of greens in regulation so I’ve got to rely on my chipping,” he said. “The last three holes I missed all three greens but was able to chip it close for three pars (two net birdies).”
He said it was an historic day.
“It tied my low round ever, a 75,” he said. “So now I have a soft spot for this course.”
In the end, Kanthak said his confidence is now very high.
“Now that I’ve won one of these tournaments, I know it’s not impossible,” he said with a laugh.
Net
Chris Kanthak, 68
Samuel Frey, 69
John Chicas, 69
