Heiman, Roberts, Turk, Choi Open Las Vegas City Am Week with Titles
Devin Heiman (Championship), Todd Roberts (Senior) John Turk (Silver) and Jin Ho Choi (Net) won championships at the SNGA Tour’s stop at Las Vegas Golf Club. The tournament was held May 31, 2024, and was the official kick off to 2024 Las Vegas City Am Week. —Bill Bowman, Las Vegas Golf Insider
The 3rd Annual Las Vegas City Am Week features prestigious City championships for men, women, senior men and juniors. The 1-day SNGA Tour event was the first event of the week.
Championship
Devin Heiman came out hot–birdieing four of his first six holes–and won his second SNGA title as he defended his 2023 victory in this tournament.
Heiman also birdied his final hole of the day to secure the win.
“Just being comfortable at this course is a big plus,” he said. “I call it my home course. I just went out there like it’s any other day.”
He said he sees the course differently than most golfers.
“I look at Muni as a par-68 course,” he said. “Every par-5 is a par-4 for me. I just try to put myself on the green in two and go from there.”
He said his first hole of the day set the tone for the round.
“I have to give myself a little pat on the back,” he said. “I hit about a 90-yard punch shot from under a tree to about 15 feet and made that putt for birdie.”
Heiman said he’s working on his game and would love to eventually play on a professional golf tour.
“I work in sales to support my golf game,” he said. “I’ll see where that takes me.”
Right now it’s taken him into his garage.
“I’m doing a few swing changes,” he said. “I do them inside my garage into a net. I’m just trying to get comfortable with the changes but it’s a weird feeling not being able to tell where the ball goes.”
Championship
Devin Helman, 67
Greg Horodesky, 68
Benjamin Hatfield, 68
Senior
Another SNGA tournament, another victory for Todd Roberts.
Roberts won for the fourth time in 2024, posting a six-birdie, one-bogey round.
“The good news is I played very well,” Roberts said. “I went back to my old putter that I have putted with the longest and actually made more makeable putts which I usually miss out here.”
He said the day was just a solid round.
“It was a nice, stress-free round,” he said.
He attributed part of that to an instructor people may know.
“I went and saw Butch Harmon on Wednesday,” he said. “I made a change in my setup and I wanted to run it past him and he liked it. It’s something he would have told me anyway and he OK’d it. He also gave me a little putting tip…he’s just the best.”
Senior
Todd Roberts, 67
Brian Hurlburt, 70
Greg Hudson, 70
Silver
John Turk is back in the winner’s circle for the first time since 2021 as he won the Silver title in a scorecard playoff.
Turk won four times in 2021.
He used an eagle and three birdies to highlight his round.
“A win is always a good thing,” Turk said. “I put a new driver in the bag and I’m getting used to that. Actually, the only thing I kept is my putter…everything else is new.”
He said he did accomplish one big goal this week.
“I finished 18 holes and that’s a positive,” he said with a laugh. “The mind is willing but the body doesn’t always follow the mind.”
He added the eagle got him going.
“It kind of jump-started me,” he said. “I bogeyed the first hole and then picked up a birdie before making the eagle and it got me going.”
Silver
x-John Turk, 71
Rex Reese, 71
Barry Davis, 72
x-won in a scorecard playoff
Net
Jin Ho Choi had three natural birdies and three net birdies en route to victory in the Net Division in a three-way scorecard playoff.
It was Choi’s first SNGA victory.
Choi played his final nine holes in two-under-par to secure the victory.
“I was just staying focused on every shot rather than worrying about my score,” Choi said. “And I stopped beating myself up after making mistakes. I just refocused and brushed them off. That was the key.”
He said his round was a little on the scenic side.
“I had a few drives that ended up in the trees but I had nice recovery shots,” he said. “On the fifth hole I had to hit a four-iron under the trees and wound up hitting it on the green and made a (net) birdie. That was pretty awesome. Then on the next hole I hit it into the trees again and a few branches were kind of in the way of my swing but I somehow hit it onto the green and made par (net birdie). So I didn’t hit it super well but I did recover very well…most of the time.”
He added he’s confident in his game, but he’s also realistic.
“I certainly don’t want to get ahead of myself,” he said. “I still saw a lot of mistakes I can improve on. I’m not going to rest on my laurels.”
Net
x-Jin Ho Choi, 69
David Haddock, 69
Samuel Frey, 69
x-won in a scorecard playoff
