Jensen, Schiring, Chamberlain, Taylor Win Boulder Creek SNGA Tour Titles
Nic Jensen (Championship), Gordon Schiring (Senior), Bruce Chamberlain (Silver) and Robert Taylor (Net) won titles at the SNGA Tour stop at Boulder Creek. The tournament was held March 16, 2023. –by Bill Bowman, Las Vegas Golf Insider
Championship
Nic Jensen had a roller-coaster round (seven birdies, three bogeys, a double bogey and eight pars) in winning his first SNGA crown.
Jensen, who finished up his high school days at Las Vegas High School in Dec. 2020, is just getting back into the golf scene after serving a two-year mission.
“Sometimes things are more important than golf and this mission definitely was,” he said of his time at California Riverside where he was teaching Mandarin-speaking students as part of his mission. “I’m hoping to use golf to get an education and support a family one day. I’m hoping to play college golf and use it and Mandarin in a future career.”
To that end, he spent the past two years without playing golf.
“Well, I did get to play one round at a little par-3 course with a seven-iron,” he said with a laugh. “That was it.”
He’s been back for about two months and is working on the game.
“The swing feels pretty good but it’s a lot of little things I need to polish,” he said. “It’s more the feel things…the chipping and putting…that I really need to work on.”
During his roller coaster round, he said it was a matter of staying focused.
“I just tried to keep everything together,” he said. “If I made a bad shot I just tried to tell myself there was still a lot of golf ahead of me.”
He said the round was capped off with his play on the 16th.
“I had about 90 yards into the green and hit it to five-feet,” he said. “I made the putt for birdie and that got me ready for the last two holes.”
Championship
Nic Jensen, 70
Will Reeves, 72
Greg Horodesky, 74
Senior
Gordon Schiring shook off a slow start en route to winning an individual SNGA event for the first time since late 2021.
Schiring bogeyed five of his first six holes (with a birdie thrown in for good measure) before playing his final 12 holes three-under to secure the win in a scorecard playoff.
“I definitely got off to a really bad start,” Schiring said. “But then on No. 7, a par-5, I hit a drive I thought was in the bunker but it skipped through. Then I hit a 3-wood down the water line. I hit a provisional on the line I wanted and as we’re driving I see my ball. It must have hit a rock because it bounced back about 30 yards. I hit a wedge to about 10 feet. I didn’t make the birdie putt but I made a par when I thought I’d be making a seven. It was just a great break.”
He capitalized over the final 12 holes.
“I started putting better, I started hitting better irons…well, I started doing everything better,” he said with a laugh. “It’s amazing that a lucky break can help change your whole attitude.”
And there were more changes.
“I’ve got a new driver, 3-wood and wedges,” he said. “And I went to a long putter. I had a lot of issues I was dealing with and it’s nice to get some things working well.”
Despite the slow start, he stayed positive.
“I could have cashed it in,” he said. “But it’s an age-old thing: I know I’m not golfing well but there are still a lot of holes left. And boom…things started turning around.”
Senior
Gordon Schiring, 73
Robert Futrell, 73
John Bobroski, 74
Silver
Bruce Chamberlain got back into the winner’s circle, posting his first SNGA victory since late 2021, winning a scorecard playoff.
Chamberlain birdied the 17th hole to get back to one-over-par for the day after opening up with three straight bogeys.
“It was a horrible start,” he said of the three bogeys. “My first shot of the day went into the hazard. I actually made three good bogeys on those holes or it could have been worse.”
He said his birdie on No. 17 was a welcome sight.
“I was playing with Tom Hyland and I knew he was playing pretty well,” Chamberlain said. “He birdied 17 and 18 and after I made the birdie on 17 the pressure was on to play the 18th well. I made a par from just off the green so I thought I had him by one.”
As it turned out he went to a scorecard playoff in beating Jeffrey English.
“Except for the first three holes, it was a pretty solid round,” Chamberlain said. “I didn’t let the start follow me. I just tried to stay focused and play smart shots.”
It worked and now he’s qualified for next year’s Tournament of Champions event.
“It’s always nice to get into that event,” he said. “It’s one everyone wants to play.”
Silver
Bruce Chamberlain, 73
Jeffrey English, 73
Tom Hyland, 74
Net
Robert Taylor started off each nine red-hot in cruising to the Net title, winning his first SNGA title in more than two years.
Taylor opened his play with three birdies (two net, one natural) over his first four holes and then made the turn. He opened his second nine with four birdies (two net, two natural) and a net eagle as he played that six-hole stretch in six-under-par.
“I made a 40-foot birdie from about 40 feet on the first hole and that kind of set the tone for the day,” Taylor said. “I started real well and just kept it going.”
He added his score was one he will remember…for a variety of reasons.
“It’s the lowest round I’ve shot in two years,” he said of his 74. “The last time I shot that was at Bandon Dunes two years ago.”
But with the good also comes the bad.
“I didn’t know it was going to be that low because I had a four-putt, a three-putt and two double bogeys,” he said. “But the birdies and eagle offset a lot of the bad shots.”
He said despite the round, he wasn’t sure it would hold up.
“It’s the second SNGA Tour event I’ve played this year,” he said. “I finished second at Highland Falls. I was the leader in the clubhouse but Jeff Canarelli made up four shots in the final three holes to win. So I was just hoping for the best.”
Net
Robert Taylor, 65
Samuel Frey, 70
George Wolf, 70
