Invitation-Only SNGA Shootout Brings Out the Best Golfers In Each Division
Matt Mitchell (Championship), John Bobroski (Senior) and Chris Cookson (Silver) won titles in the 2nd Annual SNGA Shootout, which brings together from each of the six SNGA divisions. Joe Alvarez (Net), Dave Golder (Senior) and George Yocum (Silver) won net titles in the tournament held Nov. 23-24, 2025, at Red Rock Country Club and Arroyo Golf Club. –by Bill Bowman, Las Vegas Golf Insider
The SNGA Shootout is an Invitation Only Event. Invitations were determined by the final Player of the Year Points Standings after the 2025 SNGA Clark County Amateur Championships.
Championship
Matt Mitchell came out of the gate hot, eagling the first hole of the tournament, and held on to win for the sixth time in 2025.
He carded a first-round 63, nine-under-par, but had to go to a tiebreaker to beat Grant McKay for the title.
Mitchell played baseball at UNLV and is now working in the gaming industry.
Mitchell, who had a ‘9’ on the ninth hole and added a ‘7’ on the 18th hole, said despite those two big numbers in the final round, it was a solid two days.
“I definitely played very good golf except for those two blowup holes,” he said. “Yesterday was one of the better rounds I’ve ever played. I’m very happy with that. Today I had a little trouble with the driver so it was a challenge. We started on (hole) five and on our fourth hole (No. 9), I hit a bad tee shot and tried to hit a punchout and we just never found it in the rough. It was a disaster but that happens in golf. I wasn’t worried about it. I just had to try to re-focus.”
He added as good as his first round looked on the scorecard, the second round was, well, different.
“It was definitely one of the weirder scorecards I’ve had,” he said with a laugh. “I didn’t have any bogeys…just a double and a quad so it wound up being a little ugly.”
Still, there were plenty of positives.
“With the exception of the two bad holes it was a solid two days,” he said. “My whole game is pretty good right now with the exception of a few drives. I’ll work on that and it should take away the chances of those big numbers.”
Championship
x-Matt Mitchell, 63-77—140
Grant McKay, 69-71—140
Garret Kieffer, 75-71—146
x-won tiebreaker
Net
Joe Alvarez rallied from a five-stroke deficit after the first round to win the Net title for his second win of 2025.
Alvarez had five birdies (three net, two natural) to go along with a par and bogey in a seven-hole stretch late in the final round to run away from the pack in winning by eight strokes.
“I knew it would be tough to win but my mindset was just to stay positive,” he said. “This tournament, with the best players, you want to have a great time but you also want to show that you belong here.”
He added the key for him was around the green.
“My chipping and putting kept me in it,” he said. “I went eight straight holes without hitting a green in regulation but got up and down on all of them. That really helped me. I stayed composed. It shows how far my game has come.”
He said he wasn’t sure where he stood coming down the stretch.
“I don’t watch the scores,” he said. “I just try to stay focused and I hoped that I stayed relevant. Then I looked and saw I had a five-stroke lead with a couple of holes left and I just tried to stay calm down the stretch.”
Net
Joe Alvarez, 74-70—144
Ayden Frey, 69-83—152
Michael Clark, 73-79—152
Senior
John Bobroski overcame a slow start (three-over-par through his first three holes) and rallied to win the Senior crown.
It was Bobroski’s fourth win of 2025 including three individual titles and a team crown.
Despite the slow start, Bobroski birdied four of his last 10 holes to close out the first round.
“It seemed like everyone got off to kind of a slow start so I wasn’t worried,” he said. “But, at the same time, I wasn’t happy about it. I did finish strong so that really got my confidence going.”
He said he’s happy with his game…with one exception.
“My game has really come around in the last few months,” he said. “But I just need to putt a little better. Today I hit 16 greens in regulation but still had 37 putts. I just need to figure out how to putt better. But, I did enough things right over the two days to win.”
Senior
John Bobroski, 71-74—145
Todd Roberts, 71-76—147
Joe Sawaia, 71-76—147
Senior Net
Dave Golder finished up the first tournament day with a four-under-par back nine including a net eagle and two birdies (one net and one natural) and won the Senior Net title for his second win of 2025.
“The first round is what saved me,” Golder said. “I shot terrible on the front and played the back nine like I used to play. It was great to see that. It’s the first good nine holes I’ve had in a year.”
He added the momentum of the first day’s final nine holes carried over to the second day.
“It really boosts the confidence,” he said. “It was a relief to play that well. I thought after that finish that if I could hold it together for today I would be OK and be able to hang in there.”
He did hang on but there were some rough patches.
“The rough was very rough,” he said. “The hard part was the second shots…especially from the rough. Where I would usually hit a nine-iron or a wedge, I hit an eight-iron and it only went about 80 yards. It was that thick. It really made it a challenge.”
Senior Net
Dave Golder, 72-79—151
Greg Pyszko, 75-79—154
Mike Haas, 79-75—154
Silver
Chris Cookson had four birdies in a six-hole stretch late in the first round and went on to win the Silver title by four strokes.
It was Cookson’s third win of 2025.
“Yesterday was kind of an easy round,” he said of the first day. “There was no stress. It was a comfortable round.”
He added that surprised him.
“I hadn’t played either course so I kind of tried to nurse my way through it,” he said.
He also said the flat stick stood out.
“I’ve been working on my putting and it’s paid off,” he said. “I had 20-to-30 foot putts and lagged them up to the hole…no stress. Those are always the great second putts to have.”
He said it’s a great way for him to close out 2025.
“It’s a nice way to end the season,” he said. “I’ll go into the holiday with a good feeling and something to build on for next year.”
Silver
Chris Cookson, 67-70—137
Steve Fink, 70-71—141
Steve McPherson, 73-75—148
Silver Net
George Yocum rode a roller coaster final round and held on to win the Silver Net title…although it came in a tiebreaker. It was Yocum’s third win of 2025.
Yocum admitted it was a struggle as his round included an more sixes and sevens than he’s used to putting on the scorecard.
But, a natural birdie on his final hole, the par-3 15th, saved the day.
“It was almost a hole-in-one,” Yocum said of his final tee shot. “It was cool. It was so close to going in.”
He said he knew where he stood on the final hole.
“I was playing with Anthony (Becker) and knew the only chance I had was to make a birdie,” he said. “I took dead aim and barely missed a hole-in-one. It was just a little short and left and stopped about four inches from the hole. I made the birdie and he made a bogey and I was lucky enough to win the tiebreaker.”
He said he was excited with the way he finished.
“You just can’t give up,” he said. “Everyone was struggling sometime during the round. There were times where I said, ‘OK, we’ll try to finish second or third.’ But then I made enough shots to give myself a chance at the end and it all paid off.”
Silver Net
x-George Yocum, 71-79—150
Anthony Becker, 74-76—150
Brent Bingham, 71-86—157
x-won tiebreaker
