Henderson Amateur Champs: Fryatt, Acker, Parrish, Gilliame, Mier, Kueker
LAS VEGAS, Nev. (February 19, 2018)—Ed Fryatt took up right where he left off in 2017, finding a way to win a SNGA title at the Henderson Amateur at Revere Golf Club. Frank Acker (Senior) and Kevin Parrish (Silver) also won gross division titles over a wind-swept weekend while Jeffrey Gilliame (Net), Richard Mier (Senior Net) and Al Kueker (Silver Net) won net titles. — By Bill Bowman, Las Vegas Golf Insider staff
The two-day tournament was held Feb. 17-18, 2018, and featured rounds on both the Concord and Revere layouts at The Revere Golf Club.
Championship
It was anything but easy. Fryatt and Josh Goldstein battled into a playoff in the championship division before Fryatt won with a scrambling par on the first playoff hole. Both he and Goldstein stumbled down the stretch on 16 and 17 in the final round on a windy day. But each then made a birdie on the par-5 18th to force the playoff.
Fryatt’s par on the first hole sealed his first win of the 2018 SNGA season. He has won the SNGA Player of the Year award three straight years and won four tournaments in the 2017 season.
In the playoff, Fryatt and Goldstein both hit the green in regulation but Fryatt’s birdie putt was offline and he had a 10-footer left for par while Goldstein had a short putt for par.
“I figured I had about a 10-15 percent chance of making the putt with the wind blowing and not having the smoothest of greens,” Fryatt said. “But after I hit it, I knew it was in when it was about a foot from the hole.”
But, after Goldstein then missed his putt, that stroke gave the victory to Fryatt. “I was as surprised as anyone when he missed it,” Fryatt said. “I figured we were going on to a second playoff hole.”
Overall, Fryatt said perseverance was the key. “We were all fighting the wind and the greens were quick,” he said. “It wasn’t easy to get stable over some of the putts. It’s the old saying…sometimes you make them and sometimes you miss.”
Championship
Ed Fryatt, 73-74—147
Josh Goldstein, 73-74-147
Daren Johnson, 74-78—152
Net
Jeffrey Gilliame had to go overtime to record his second SNGA victory as he beat George Yocum on the first playoff hole to win the Net Division title.
“I turned it around at the end and I feel good about that,” Gilliame said. “I just tried to stay away from the double bogeys.”
He admitted the win didn’t come easy. “I was all over the place today but I did putt really well and that helped,” he said.
In the playoff, he said focus was the key as he won with a par. “I just tried to get it down the fairway and get on the green in two,” he said.
Net
Jeffrey Gilliame, 71-79—150
George Yocum, 78-72—150
Larry Hanson, 76-82–158
Senior
Frank Acker admitted this tournament was a tough one as he held on to beat Gary Carpendale by two strokes.
“There was definitely a lot of grinding going on out there,” he said of his win. “There wasn’t much offense. I only made one birdie (the the final hole) today. I was just trying to hold them off.”
Acker had a simple game plan. “I was looking to hit it in the middle of the greens,” said Acker. “I didn’t aim at flags. I knew it was too windy to make many birdies and that we would all make mistakes. Luckily we ran out of holes.”
Senior
Frank Acker, 76-76—152
Gary Carpendale, 81-73—154
Kelly Knievel, 78-82—160
Senior Net
Richard Mier breezed to victory in the Senior Net Division, beating Donald Blanton and Nicolas Bock by six strokes. It was his first win in an SNGA event.
“My tee shots were pretty good and that helped,” said Mier, who didn’t hear he had won until late Sunday.
Mier finished par, birdie (net eagle), par (net birdie). “That finish will definitely help a lot of scorecards,” he said. “It was definitely a challenging two days but it was a lot of fun.”
Senior Net
Richard Mier, 75-79—154
Donald Blanton, 82-78—160
Nicolas Bock, 80-80—160
Silver
Kevin Parrish held on to win the Silver Division crown by five strokes over Frank Abbott and John Garrett.
Parrish is working his way up the ladder as he has previously won SNGA tournaments in the Senior Division and, more recently, has added crowns in the Silver Division.
“There’s a lot of stiff competition in the Silver Division,” he said. “We have a very strong over-60 group and it’s good to have that type of competition.”
His putting kept Parrish atop the leaderboard this weekend. “I think I had the fewest putts of anyone,” he said. “I made a lot of four and five footers.”
He added the first day play for everyone was the difference. “Playing well the first day was the key,” he said. “I played well yesterday when a lot of others didn’t play as well and that certainly helped.”
Silver
Kevin Parrish, 75-79—154
Frank Abbott, 82-77—159
John Garrett, 80-79—159
Silver Net
Al Kueker rallied with a one-over-par 73 to win the net title by a stroke over Keith Redmann.
It was his final two holes that proved to be the difference. “I finished birdie, birdie and hoped that would be good enough to help me,” he said. “In fact, I had about a 10-footer for eagle on the last hole. It’s a good thing I had a tap-in for birdie because I really wasn’t making anything.”
He added the key was his ball-striking. “For the first time in a long time I was hitting the ball squarely,” he said. “Because with the wind, if you got the ball going sideways, you were in big trouble.”
Silver Net
Al Kueker, 74-73—147
Keith Redmann, 73-75—148
John Kelley, 81-72—153
