Major Preview – 2022 Southern Nevada Amateur at Paiute Sun Mountain

Like the PGA Tour, LPGA Tour and many other tours and associations, there are a few tournaments that stand above the rest: the majors. The SNGA is no different. Which brings us to the 2022 Southern Nevada Amateur, the SNGA’s second major of the year. This year’s tournament will be played June 25-26, 2022, at the Sun Mountain Course at the Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort.–Bill Bowman, Las Vegas Golf Insider staff

Scott Lytle, who won the Championship Division in 2021, said the majors definitely bring out the best players in SNGA play and winning again won’t be easy, but he does feel like he has an ace in the hole

“At my age of 44 there are only certain courses in town I can compete on with these young guys and Paiute is one of them,” he said. “The course plays fairly difficult and the scores are not as low. It’s definitely a better course for us older folks.”

The Southern Nevada Amateur is the oldest golf championship in Southern Nevada with the first one played back in 1942. Lt. Paul T. Cook won the title.

And when it comes to titleholders, the champ is Charlie Teel, a member of the Southern Nevada Golf Hall of Fame, who won it 11 times in the 1940s and 1050s.

The Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort is home to three Pete Dye Signature designed layouts–Snow Mountain, Sun Mountain–and Wolf. All three feature trademark design elements such as railroad ties and an island green.

But it’s the Sun Mountain Course that will take center stage for the Southern Nevada Amateur. It was the second course opened at the resort and is the most player-friendly of the three—if you find fairways and greens. The final hole on this layout will be front-and-center as players finish up their rounds. A pond guards the entire left side of the hole and perfect bunkering adds to the difficulty.

For players like Lytle, it’s a course that will put players to the test.

“It’s a tough course, there’s no doubt about it,” he said. “To be able to compete on that course with those conditions and that field is great to look back on.”

So is Lytle’s goal to defend his title?

“I’d love to play well and defend but I also have to be realistic,” he said of last year’s win, his first in SNGA play. “I have a full-time job that doesn’t involve golf and last year was unique to say the least. I had more time to practice and play and everything just kind of worked out. This year, winning probably isn’t on the radar. I’m just going to hit one shot at a time and play the best I can. The young guys really bring it every week and it’s just fun and a challenge to compete with them.”

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