Johnson, Randolph, Hyland, Pappas Win SNGA Tour Championship Titles
Daren Johnson (Championship), Byron Randolph (Senior), Tom Hyland (Silver) and John Pappas (Net) won titles in the SNGA Tour Championship, the season’s final event, held Dec. 1, 2022, at the historic Las Vegas National Golf Club. –By Bill Bowman, Las Vegas Golf Insider
There was more than titles on the line this week as the point totals were doubled for the tournament in the race for Player of the Year honors. Look for a complete story on the players of the year soon.
Championship
Daren Johnson won for the third time in 2022, winning the Championship Division by two strokes.
Johnson won a team event, won a modified Stableford title and won this event, a stroke-play tournament.
Johnson, who finished with a one-over-par 72 round, said the victory in the season-finale was a great way to end the year.
“I was in pretty good control of my game,” he said. “I kept it in play and gave myself a lot of opportunities to make pars.”
He said the key actually wasn’t with his game.
“We had a 45-minute frost delay so it was all about being patient,” he said. “And there were tough pins. I made two birdies and the bogeys I did make were a little unlucky.”
He said his short game also helped out and kept the bogeys to a minimum.
“I got it up and down a couple of times for par which was good,” he said. “I just tried to stay patient and keep it in play. I knew I was going to make a few bogeys and told myself that making them wasn’t the end of the world. I just tried to keep my game steady.”
Now it’s a waiting game for the 2023 season.
“I wish we weren’t going into the offseason because I’m playing much better at the end of the year,” he said. “But in 2023 I’ll definitely stick to the game plan which is not being so hard on myself. I know I’m going to make mistakes but at the same time I want to maximize my scoring opportunities.”
Championship
Daren Johnson, 72
Marcus Mullins, 74
Kamden Ganir, 75
Senior
Byron Randolph closed out the season with his third victory, posting a one-shot win in the Senior Division.
“This was a good way to end the year,” Randolph said. “It was winter golf. There were some rough lies and I certainly had some bad shots. But overall, my wedge game was working pretty well and kept me in it.”
Randolph said there are rounds where not everything is going to go smoothly and finding a way to still compete is vital.
“You’ve got to play to your strengths,” he said. “You’ve just got to rely on what’s working for you. Today it was the wedge game. I just tried to get those wedge shots close and not make any double bogeys.”
Randolph said the season-ending event let him put his game into perspective.
“It’s winter golf,” he said. “I’m not playing as much. I’m just going out and trying to enjoy the game and keep the big numbers off the scorecard. It’s that simple.”
Senior
Byron Randolph, 76
Artie Miller, 77
Tim Dugan, 78
Silver
Tom Hyland got into the winner’s circle for the first time in about eight years with a one-shot victory in the Silver Division.
Hyland, who had a pair of runnerup finishes as well as a third earlier this year, said winning again was a long time coming.
“At my age, any win is great,” he said with a laugh. “I played very well for me.”
He said he had mixed success on the day.
“It was a combination round,” he said. “I putted pretty well on the front. On the back nine I hit the ball well but didn’t putt as well.”
But in the end, he said it was just consistency as he wound up with one birdie, one bogey and 16 pars.
“I had some good par saves on the back and that really helped,” he said. “I definitely could have shot worse on the front but I got up and down from two bunkers and those kept me going.”
He had the bogey and birdie in back-to-back holes late in the round.
“It was a bad bogey on 16,” he said. “I three-putted from about 12 feet. But then on 17 (a par-4), the tees were really up and I hit it to about five feet (off the tee) and had about a five-footer for eagle. I never putt for eagle anymore. I missed but still wound up with a birdie.”
Silver
Tom Hyland, 71
Jeffrey English, 72
John Steele, 75
Net
John Pappas started and ended the 2022 SNGA season with victories as he won the Net Division in a scorecard playoff.
Pappas started the year with a victory in the Tournament of Champions event and got his second win of the year in the finale.
“I parred some difficult holes and that really got me going,” he said. “To be honest, I play this course more than any other in Las Vegas so that helped me.”
He gave all the credit for the win to his driver.
“I hit the driver very well and that was cool because on this course, you have to stay in the fairway,” he said. “It’s an older course and there are a lot of mature trees that can cause problems.”
He added his putting was OK, but certainly could have been better.
“I putted fair but on some holes I didn’t get the ball to the hole,” he said. “I had some birdie putts where I left the ball short but, as I’m sure most players will admit, I made some good bogeys out there that kept the momentum going.”
Net
John Pappas, 70
Dario Gonzales, 70
Ernie Ortega, 72
