Fryatt, Acker, Abbott win gross titles at SNGA Tour Championship finale
It was business as usual to end the 2017 SNGA Tour as Ed Fryatt (Championship), Frank Acker (Senior) and Frank Abbott (Silver) all finished in the winner’s circle at the 2017 SNGA Tour Championship. All three were multiple winners in SNGA events this year. Eduardo Ramirez, Charlie Roy and Neil Driscoll picked up net victories in the finale. — By Bill Bowman, Las Vegas Golf Insider staff.
The finale was played Nov. 30 at Bear’s Best Golf Club, a Jack Nicklaus Signature course.
Championship
Ed Fryatt came to the 16th hole at even par, but birdies on the 16th and 17th holes helped him post a two-shot victory over Nathan Maas.
“The weather was perfect,” Fryatt said. “It was an ideal day not to screw it up with a bad round of golf.”
Fryatt has been taking some time off to work on his health. “I just felt sluggish the whole year and I’m tired of it,” he said. “I’m just trying to get in better shape. I’m down to 204 (pounds) and I’m trying to get down to 190 by the spring and see if it helps my golf game.”
That work certainly has shown good results so far. “I really played well today,” he said. “I maybe missed one or two greens and never really got in trouble. I rolled in a couple of putts and got it up and down a couple of times. It was kind of boring, but it was good. I just played solid.”
Especially coming down the stretch. “I made about a 20-footer for birdie on 16,” he said. “I had to lay up on 17 but hit it to about three feet for birdie (on a par-5). I hit a real good drive on 18 and that took the pressure off.”
Championship
Ed Fryatt, 70
Nathan Maas, 72
Lorenzo Gillenwater, 75
Net
Eduardo Ramirez birdied the par-4 14th hole for a net eagle en route to a two-stroke win in the Net Division.
The net eagle helped him rally from a struggle on the front nine. “It just killed me on the front nine,” Ramirez said. “After that I just tried to relax. I tried to clear my mind and started to play better.”
His strategy worked as he had a net 37 on the back nine including that net eagle. “I hit driver and a short iron to about 12 feet and made the putt,” he said. “It really helped calm me down.”
Net
Eduardo Ramirez, 74
George Yocum, 76
Todd McDevitt, 76
Senior
Frank Acker posted three birdies in a six-hole stretch on the back nine to edge Todd Roberts by a stroke in the Senior Division finale.
Acker rallied for his one-over-par 73 score after making the turn at two-over-par with a pair of bogeys on the front nine.
As the final putt fell, Acker wasn’t sure of his standing. “I bogeyed the last hole and I thought that would probably cost me,” he said of his fourth one-day event win of the year. “But it wound up that I nipped Todd (Roberts) by a shot.”
Acker added the one-day events mean there’s no time for finesse. “You’ve got to go for it,” he said. “I started off slow but made three birdies on the back. You’ve got one shot so you’ve got to be a little more aggressive.”
Senior
Frank Acker, 73
Todd Roberts, 74
Darin Garness, 84
Senior Net
Charlie Roy’s three-under-par 69 was good enough for a four-stroke win in the Senior Net Division. It was his first SNGA win.
Roy opened with a double bogey on the first hole, but he ran off five net birdies on the back to breeze to the victory.
“Tournament neves,” Roy said of his opening double bogey. “I haven’t played a tournament in quite awhile and it showed.”
But he did get it back in the right direction. “I got it leveled out and started hitting fairways and greens,” he said. “I just tried to be consistent and not do anything too risky.”
He said his putting didn’t help the cause. “I really didn’t putt well at all,” he said. “I left a bunch out there…mostly short and right in the jar.”
Senior Net
Charlie Roy, 69
James Corey, 73
Don Blanton, 77
Silver Gross
Frank Abbott won his 10th event of the year, posting a five-shot victory in the Senior Gross portion of the event.
It wasn’t easy. “I started out strong,” he said of his 1-over-par 73 round. “I was a couple under through five holes and then played the last three holes on the front in five-over.”
But, he managed to get the ship righted quickly.” I started the 10th with a birdie and just kept going,” he said. “Overall, I had five birdies to go with a couple of uglies. But any time you get in the house ahead you feel pretty good.”
Silver Gross
Frank Abbott, 73
Mark Griffin, 78
Bruce Swanson, 79
Silver Net
The Silver Net saw Neil Driscoll post his first victory of the year, posting an even-par 72. He edged Jim Wise by a stroke.
Driscoll’s final hole, the always-tough par-4 18th at Bear’s Best, proved to be the key.
“I made a nice par on the last hole and it turned out to be a winning par,” he said. “I had a real good second shot, a three-wood from 200 yards to about 12 feet. I two-putted for par and I was more than happy with a par on that hole.”
Silver Net
Neil Driscoll, 72
Jim Wise, 73
Al Kueker, 77
