McKay, Bobroski, Cookson, Wolf, Knievel, Bingham Win SNGA Titles at Aliante
LAS VEGAS, NV (Feb. 16, 2025)–Grant McKay (Championship), John Bobroski (Senior) and Chris Cookson (Silver) won titles in the 2024 North Las Vegas Amateur. George Wolf (Net), Kelly Knievel (Senior) and Brent Bingham (Silver) won net titles at the tournament which was held Feb. 15-16, 2025, at Aliante Golf Club.–by Bill Bowman, Las Vegas Golf Insider staff
Championship
Grant McKay started off slowly in the first round with six straight pars.
Then he hit his stride as he rattled off four straight birdies en route to a four-shot victory.
It was McKay’s first individual title since winning the Cascata Amateur in 2021. He did earn low amateur status in the 2023 Nevada Open.
McKay, who is working with the SNJGA, opened the final round with a bogey before playing the next 17 holes in four-under-par.
“I just kept telling myself to stay patient,” he said. “I told myself to accept the result…whatever it may be.”
He said the first day was a challenge.
“Yesterday the weather was iffy and I told myself it’s going to be an uphill battle,” he said. “I just told myself to make the best swing possible and stay patient.”
He said staying patient wasn’t always easy for him.
“It was one of those things that over time I had to learn,” he said. “One thing that helped was just staying present and focusing on the shot at hand and making the best decision at the time.”
He added there’s one other factor that he’s tried to remember.
“It’s important to minimize big numbers,” he said. “You can make a bogey here and there but it’s tough to bounce back from the big numbers.”
Championship
Grant McKay, 68-69—137
Preston Harris, 68-73—141
Daichi Molde, 69-77—146
Net
George Wolf rode a two-day roller coaster to a scorecard playoff victory in the Net Division.
Wolf’s two rounds included everything from a net eagle to a quad as he rallied from a six-shot deficit after the first round.
“Yesterday I hung in there and kept things close,” he said. “I hadn’t played in three weeks and I was sick all week. I played yesterday kind of like a practice round. I was tired and weak when I got done.”
The final round was another test.
“Today, I told myself that every mistake I made yesterday I’m not making today,” he said. “And I kept things in play except on No. 16 (a quad) where I almost threw the tournament away.”
He added the course was a challenge.
“There’s trouble lurking on this course,” he said. “It’s easy to get into the rocks but if you stay out of trouble, you can score OK.”
He added that in the end, his work on the greens was key.
“I felt very comfortable with my putter,” he said. “I made a lot of putts I needed to make. My lag putting also kept me in a lot of holes as well. I’m always thinking make par, make par, make par. Par will never hurt you.”
Net
x-George Wolf, 75-71—146
Joseph Noya, 69-77—146
Tad Barger, 77-75—152
x-won in scorecard playoff
Senior
John Bobroski fired a steady one-over-par round in the finale to claim the Senior crown.
Bobroski won four times in 2024, three individual titles and a team crown, and started off 2025 in the winner’s circle as he rallied from six shots back.
“I had a couple of lucky breaks,” Bobroski said. “I was hitting it left all day. I found my ball a couple of times barely in-bounds and managed to make par. In fact, I hit three balls off the tee on No. 9. I thought the first two were gone but I found the first one and wound up making birdie. It was that kind of day.”
He said despite some errant shots, his game was solid.
“I putted well all day,” he said. “I only had one three-putt and that was on the last hole. I had a 15-footer for birdie and knocked it four-feet past the hole and wound up three-putting.”
He said this win will be a confidence booster.
“I’m hitting it good and my mental game is good,” he said. “I’ll just try to keep it going.”
Senior
John Bobroski, 76-73—149
Rick Sepp, 83-72—155
Ray Nomura, 80-75—155
Senior Net
All Kelly Knievel could do was laugh.
Knievel opened with a strong first round and had a six-shot lead as he fired a two-under-par 70 (net 69).
But then came the struggles of the second round as he shot an 82 (gross, net of 81) that still left him as the Net winner.
“Thank God I’m an amateur and it didn’t cost me money,” he said with a laugh of his second-round struggle. “It was just a bad day today.”
The good news was Knievel held a six-shot lead after the first round. The bad news is he had three ‘sevens’ on his scorecard during the final round.
“I played the par 5s way too aggressively and I got in trouble on all of them,” he said. “I just played stupid. I had such a big lead I should have played conservatively but I thought I would go out and make a ton of birdies and just bury them. It certainly didn’t work out that way.”
On the bright side, he still won the net title.
“It was one of those days…sometimes the world conspires against you,” he said with another laugh. “But you still get money for winning the Net and I’ll take it.”
Senior Net
Kelly Knievel, 69-81—150
Artie Miller, 81-70—151
Dave Golder, 77-74—151
Silver
Chris Cookson birdied five holes in the final round to rally for a two-stroke victory.
Cookson comes into 2025 after a three-victory 2024 season.
He said his game was surprisingly good…during the second round. Cookson opened with a 76 before improving eight shots in the second round to a 68.
“Today was much better than yesterday,” he said. “I hadn’t seen the golf course before and with the wind, it was kind of brutal.”
What a difference a day makes.
“I just played solid today,” he added. “I took quite a bit of time off over the winter and it kind of reared its ugly head yesterday. Today, I was much calmer. I committed to my shots today much better and it showed.”
He said the toughest part was club selection.
“There are some really short par 4s where I hit a six-iron off the tee and wedged it into the green,” he said. “That’s just the way it goes sometimes. You have to figure out where you can be aggressive on this course and where you have to play it a little more cautious.”
Silver
Chris Cookson, 76-68—144
John Steele, 73-73—146
Dan Kras, 81-73—154
Silver Net
Brent Bingham had net birdies on his final two holes to win the Silver Net title.
Bingham won twice in 2024 including the SNGA Shootout late in the year.
He said starting off 2025 with a win gives him confidence going forward.
“You always wonder where your game is at starting the year out,” he said. “I played in the Tournament of Champions and didn’t play too badly. I just didn’t putt well. This weekend I putted a lot better and it showed.”
His game off the tee also helped out.
“I drove it really well,” he said. “And I didn’t get into any trouble. If you keep it in play, you won’t have many problems.”
Despite the win, he knows there’s a lot more work to do.
“I’m just going to keep working on my game,” he said. “You’re always trying to get better. I always say that you only get out of this game as much as you put into it. I’m going to keep working to get better.”
Silver Net
Brent Bingham, 71-70—141
Ron Harwood, 76-73—149
Jeffrey English, 75-76—151
