Six Champions Crowned During First Major of 2024 at Golf Summerlin
Joe Sawaia (Championship), Todd Roberts (Senior) and Chris Cookson (Silver) won gross titles at the 2024 SNGA Championship, the year’s first major. Joe Noya (Net), David Ramirez (Senior) and Stephen Sitar (Silver) captured net titles in the tournament held March 9-10, 2024 at Highland Falls and Palm Valley golf clubs. –by Bill Bowman, Las Vegas Golf Insider
Championship
Joe Sawaia won for the second time in 2024, this one a major and an individual title.
In February, he teamed up with Robert Futrell to win the SNGA Tour Four-Ball Senior title.
Sawaia took eight years off from competitive golf to help two sons involved in golf (Ben and Brett who are both on the UNLV golf team) before returning to competitive golf in 2022.
Now, he’s back in the winner’s circle.
“It was a fun weekend,” he said. “(Saturday) I had a great day with the wedges and made every putt inside of eight feet. I didn’t make a lot of long putts but I made a lot of par putts to keep the round going. I also chipped in for birdie on No. 8 and that was a bonus.”
He said his game is coming around
“When you go from (age) 46 to 55 it’s tough on the body,” he said. “I tried to stay in as good a shape as possible and still work on my game but it’s not the same as when you’re in competition.”
He said he likes what he sees.
“Parts of my game are better,” he said. “I’m way more patient and I manage my game better. I’m definitely a better putter and my short game has improved.”
Championship
Joe Sawaia, 65-74—139
Matt Mitchell, 69-71—140
Nick Horodesky, 66-74—140
RJ Arone, 75-66—141
Net
Joe Noya had a net eagle and a stretch of three straight birdies (two net and one natural) in the final round as he won the Net Division by one shot.
It was Noya’s second SNGA win and both have been majors. He also won last fall’s Clark County Amateur.
Noya said the win was anything but easy.
“I started out with a three-shot lead and triple-bogeyed the first hole,” he said. “I thought ‘great, I’m going to be out of it.’ But then I got it back a little and didn’t make any big scores…until the end.”
Ah, yes, the end.
“I had a five-shot lead and tried to play it smart and didn’t,” he said with a laugh.
He finished double bogey, double bogey but still won by a shot.
“I wish I could talk to you and say I went birdie-birdie and I could say that I am the man,” he said. “But I don’t make it easy on myself.”
After the double bogey on 17, he thought it was over.
“But then my playing partner said I just needed a six,” he said. “I hit a hybrid right down the middle and I was in good shape. I had just 123 yards left. I hit the next shot short and spun it in the water. I took a drop and two-putted for a six. It was a pathetic finish.”
But overall, it is a major victory.
“I hung on for the win by my fingernails,” he said. “I just can’t finish…but I will figure it out.”
Net
Joseph Noya, 70-78—148
Aron Suci, 73-76—149
Robert Taylor, 75-75—150
Chris Kanthak, 75-76—151
Senior
Todd Roberts made it two straight Senior Division titles as he raced to a four-stroke victory.
Roberts also won the Nye County Amateur in late February.
“I’ve been playing well,” Roberts said. “Last year I played well but putted poorly. I just missed too many makeable putts and I’ve worked on that.”
He said this weekend really solidified his positivity.
“I’ve always been a good ball-striker,” he said. “But now I’m able to score better because I’m making more putts. You have a lot of talks with yourself and that self-talk can be a positive if you can figure out how to use it.”
He said his putting was put to the test all weekend.
“The greens were tricky at both courses,” he said. “I putted them pretty well but I also read them well. My green reading was spot-on…my speed, at times, was a different story. But if I missed a short putt, I would make up for it by making a 15-footer.”
He said two wins, especially one of them being a major, is a great way to start the year.
“One of my goals is always to play better in the majors,” he said. “I did that this weekend and it all worked out.”
Senior
Todd Roberts, 70-71—141
Kelly Knievel, 69-76—145
Scott Roser, 76-73—149
Steven Fink, 75-75—150
Senior Net
David Ramirez is back in the winner’s circle after a four-year absence.
Ramirez had 14 birdies (five natural and nine net) in rallying from a slow start that saw him bogey his first three holes of the tournament. Ramirez is hearing impaired and communicated via translator.
“My gosh, this was so unexpected,” Ramirez said. “I haven’t played for three months because my hip was in a lot of pain. My friend, James Kim, said ‘C’mon, let’s play’ and it turned out great. James also had a hole-in-one today so that was great.”
Ramirez said he had help getting back into form.
“James just kept making me work hard,” he said. “It was hard work but it was worth it.”
He said two parts of his game helped secure the win.
“The driver and my putter were the key,” he said. “The first day I was a little off but today was better.”
He said this victory will give him confidence down the line.
“James and I are going to the deaf worlds in August (World Deaf Golf Championships) in Australia so we both want to be playing our best,” he said.
Senior Net
David Ramirez, 75-72—147
Luis Morais, 73-76—149
James Strejcek, 65-84—149
Brian Freymueller, 78-73—151
Silver
Chris Cookson went back-to-back, winning the Silver Division for his second major victory in SNGA play.
Cookson also won the previous tournament, the SNGA Tour stop at Highland Falls earlier this month.
“Today was a little bit of a struggle,” he said. “I had about 75 to 80 percent of my game so I just had to grind it out. I struggled but still pulled it off.”
He said the greens were definitely a challenge.
“Not really knowing the greens that well was tough,” he said. “It made it tough to manage angles off the tee. I wound up playing pretty conservative but it worked out.”
Overall, Cookson said one part of his game carried him.
“I hit some real quality iron shots,” he said. “Off the tee I was pretty good but my iron game got me close to the hole. The putting was a struggle at times but that’s a different story.”
He also said his approach to the tournament was also a big factor in the win.
“You learn something about your game and yourself every time you play and that’s what I like,” he said. “I saw I didn’t have my game but was still able to win. That’s the positive I’ll take away from this tournament.”
Silver
Chris Cookson, 70-75—145
Patrick Woerner, 75-71—146
Dan Kras, 82-72—154
John Turk, 81-73—154
David Foggia, 78-76—154
Silver Net
Stephen Sitar had an up-and-down two days en route to a one-stroke win in the Silver Net Division.
It was Sitar’s first win in more than a year.
For the two days, Sitar had 12 birdies (net and gross) to go along with nine bogeys, a double bogey and a triple bogey.
“I had some good holes and some bad holes, for sure,” Sitar said. “But that’s normal for someone with my skill level.
The roller-coaster scoring aside, Sitar was happy with the weekend.
“Despite having bad holes, I played pretty consistent,” he said. “Everyone’s going to have bad holes but you can’t let them get you down. You just have to remind yourself to do everything you’ve been practicing.”
And Sitar has been putting in the work.
“My instructor, Taehee Lee at GOLF TEC, has been very patient with a 71-year-old guy,” he said. “I’ve been driving the ball longer than I have been because of all the work on clubhead speed.”
He also said his work on the greens was a factor in the win.
“My lag putting was also good and took off some of the pressure,” he said.
Silver Net
Stephen Sitar, 72-74—146
Brent Bingham, 75-72—147
Barry Boudreaux, 75-76—151
George Yocum, 75-78—153
