Cascata Amateur Champs: Barzekoff, Turk, Abbott, Zyla, Carlin, Little
Cameron Barzekoff put together rounds of 73-73—146 and beat Josh Wescott (71-75—146) in a playoff to win the Championship Division of the 2018 Cascata Amateur Championship. The tournament was held Aug. 11-12, 2018, at Cascata. John Turk (Senior) and Frank Abbott (Silver) also won gross division titles. Steve Zyla (net), Patrick Carlin (Senior) and Loren Little (Silver) posted Net Division victories. –By Bill Bowman, Las Vegas Golf Insider staff.
Championship
Barzekoff, a Palo Verde product, who is leaving Thursday for Boise State to begin his college golf career, trailed by two strokes heading into the second round but a second-straight one-over-par round put him into the playoff. He birdied the first hole from 15-feet in the playoff for the victory.
“It’s my first SNGA tournament of the year so I’m one-for-one for this summer,” he said.
But, the victory was no easy task. “I just tried to keep it in position and scrapped it around,” he said. “I was 2-over through the first six holes (Sunday) and then kept making pars. I had a good par on 12 but a 45-footer for eagle on 16 tied me for the lead and really got me going.”
Now it’s on to the college scene.
“This was a great boost for my confidence in college,” he said.
Championship
Cameron Barzekoff, 73-73—146
Josh Wescott, 71-75—146
Richard Pawlasek, 74-75—149
Net
Steve Zyla celebrated his return to SNGA action after a 3½-year absence with a victory in the Net Division.
“I had really, really good course management,” he said. “I played smart golf and had a really solid two days. I played 17 really good holes both days.”
That one bad hole? “I played the 14th hole double-bogey, double-bogey so that wasn’t my best,” he said with a laugh. “Otherwise everything else was solid.”
His goal was simple. “You just have to take what the course gives you,” he said. “I hit it pretty well off the tee and made putts when I needed to.”
Net
Steve Zyla, 73-71—144
Spencer Drawe, 72-76—148
Jeffrey Gilliame, 79-70—149
Senior
John Turk and Todd Roberts put on a golf clinic on Sunday with Turk coming away the victor.
“It was a battle royale,” Turk said. “Todd didn’t make a bogey and shot 68. I had seven birdies and a double and shot 67 and managed to beat him by one.”
Turk added that Roberts’ solid play helped spur the victory. “I was riding with Todd and we started the day tied,” Turk said. “(Sunday), we just kept going back and forth with birdies.”
Turk, who is coming off earning a qualifying spot in the 2018 U.S. Senior Amateur, said his game is getting stronger. “I’m just getting back in the swing of things and played really well, especially (Sunday),” he said.
Senior
John Turk, 72-67—139
Todd Roberts, 72-68—140
David Koch, 83-76—159
Senior Net
Patrick Carlin’s game-plan was simple: “Hit the ball, go find it and hit it again.”
He did it to perfection–well, with a couple of good breaks along the way–and won his first SNGA crown.
“I had a couple of really good breaks on a couple of shots I hit badly,” he said. “I probably had six shots where I should have been dead and reaching for another golf ball but got good breaks and took advantage. When you get the breaks, you want to make sure you capitalize on them.”
He added it was one of those weekends where the breaks made all the difference. “I made some 10 footers for pars that really kept the rounds going in the right direction,” he said. “And on this course, pars are good. Overall, I’m really happy with the way I played.”
Senior Net
Patrick Carlin, 67-71—138
Richard Mier, 74-70—144
Chris Boyer, 75-70—145
Silver
Frank Abbott found himself in the winner’s circle for the fifth time in 2018, picking up the victory in the Silver Division at a favorite course.
“I’m 9-for-9 at Cascata,” he said. “This course just sets up really well for me.”
He fired a two-under-par opening round but was one-over in the finale. “(Saturday) I played really well even though the wind blew,” he said. “(Sunday) I made some mistakes but they didn’t cost me too much. I made some good up-and-downs early in the round but it was kind of a struggle. Like I’ve said before, this game is harder on some days than on others.”
Silver
Frank Abbott, 70-73—143
Dan Parkinson, 73-75—148
Kevin Parrish, 86-77—163
Silver Net
Loren Little won his second SNGA title (one gross and now this net crown) and said practice has been the key.
“I’ve done a lot of hard practicing the last few weeks and it really paid off,” the 76-year-old said. “And I did have some luck over the two days.”
He said the flat stick kept him going. “My putting has really improved,” he said. “I didn’t have much of a short game but I was getting on the greens so I didn’t really need it a lot. And then I made some nice putts over the two days.”
Silver Net
Loren Little, 71-69—140
John Kelley, 76-70—146
Mark Barrett, 75-74—149
