SNGA Tour Four-Ball Results Show Team Efforts
The team of Jason Cordon and Daren Johnson fired a two-under-par 70 to win the Championship Division of the SNGA Tour Four-Ball event. The tournament was held Feb. 12, 2021, on the wind-swept Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort’s Sun Mountain course. The format was best-ball for the two-man teams. –by Bill Bowman, Las Vegas Golf Insider staff.
Championship
Jason Cordon and Daren Johnson put five birdies and an eagle on the scorecard and breezed to a five-shot victory in the Championship Division.
Cordon birdied their first hole (the 10th) but the duo then put a couple of bogeys on the card before righting the ship with back-to-back birdies on 15 and 16 and wound up making the turn at one-under-par. They also had a one-under-par front nine with an eagle and a birdie that offset a pair of bogeys.
“The wind and the course conditions made it tough out there,” said Johnson. “Patience was definitely the key. We had a lot of hard-working pars and we just tried to get as many good looks at par as we could. The birdies and the eagle were bonuses.”
He added the course setup was also a challenge.
“It seemed like all the downwind holes had the pins up front and it was tough to stop the ball,” he said. “And the holes into the wind had the holes in the back and they were a challenge to get to. It wasn’t a course you were going to tear up today.”
Championship
Cordon-Johnson, 70
DeSantis-Hawk, 75
Lytle-Walford, 75
Net
Andrew Buonincontro and John Sangster each made a natural birdie and two net birdies to lead the team to a three-shot victory in the Net Division.
The due had an even-par first nine before putting four birdies on the scorecard on their back nine, including three in a four-hole stretch, in picking up the win.
“We ham and egged it today for sure,” Buonincontro said. “There were a few holes where I was totally out of it and vice versa. It was one of those rounds where it was definitely a team effort.”
He said the team format worked out well.
“This was one of those days, especially with the wind, where it would have been tough to play an individual round,” he said. “It would have been a grind.”
He added 18 holes for the day was just the right amount.
“We were leaking oil out there,” he said with a laugh. “We had to avoid getting in our own way at the end. But we managed to hold on.”
Net
Buonincontro-Sangster, 70
Golden-Golder, 73
Diclaro-Haas, 73
Senior
David Koch and Darin Garness posted a five-birdie, one-bogey round at their home track and their four-under-par 68 was good enough for a two-stroke victory.
Koch said playing at Paiute, even in the windy conditions, was definitely a home field edge.
“It always helps a lot,” Koch said of the Paiute play. “We have a game plan going in and try to stick with it. We’re both very familiar with the course and played smart today.”
He said the tough pins added another twist to the round.
“We didn’t short-side ourselves very often and that was good,” he said. “We gave ourselves a lot of good looks. And when one of us was out of the hole, the other one made the three-footer to keep us going.”
Senior
Koch-Garness, 68
Futrell-Sawaia, 70
Roberts-Corey, 74
Senior Net
Greg Collins and Mel Collins, Jr. put six birdies on the scorecard (one natural by Mel and five net by Greg) in posting a two-shot victory.
The duo had a run on the first through fifth holes (their second nine) where they had four birdies in a five-hole stretch to help them rally for the win.
“Greg played some pretty good golf going through that stretch of holes,” Mel said of his cousin. “He had some great up and downs and that really helped.”
He said the duo, playing as a team for the first time, got off to a shaky start.
“We just kind of hung in there,” Mel said. “We didn’t have a good front nine. The putting was difficult but on the back Greg had a key up-and-down for us. I hit the ball into the trash and he had to play the hole by himself. He made bogey (net par) so it could have been a whole lot worse. It let us hold on.”
Senior Net
Collins Jr.-Collins, 70
Bobroski-Coppens, 72
Whatley-Schiring, 75
Silver
Steven Fink and Doug Pool played a three-hole stretch in four-under-par with two birdies and an eagle and coasted to a five-shot victory.
The three-hole stretch, holes 14, 15 and 16, included a par-3 (birdie by Fink), a par-4 (birdie by Pool) and a par-5 (eagle by Fink).
“When you play with a Hall of Famer like Doug Pool it’s pretty low stress,” said Fink. “It was very windy out there and we just kind of hung in there.”
Fink added the three-hole scoring stretch was definitely the key.
“That was on our front nine,” Fink said. “Doug kept us in it early and we took advantage.”
Pool said the round was tense.
“We lucked out all the way around,” he said. “We didn’t have any double bogeys but they were lurking.”
Silver
Fink-Pool, 69
Parrish-Garrett, 74
English-Woerner, 75
Silver Net
The team of Tony Troilo and Vincent Capko came out red-hot as they were four-under-par through the first three holes (a natural birdie, a net birdie and a net eagle) and posted a one-shot win in the Silver Net Division.
They also finished the day on a high note with a net birdie on their final hole to seal the victory.
“We were on fire when we started,” Trolio said. “Then the wind picked up and things changed.”
Trolio said Capko was the star.
“Vince carried us,” Trolio said. “I made a couple of putts but he was solid.”
Even an injury couldn’t derail the team.
“Vince hurt his knee during a practice swing on the 4th hole (their 13th hole),” he said. “He managed to hit a good shot and make a par but he was in pain.”
Silver Net
Troilo-Capko, 71
Weiss-Paulsen, 72
Sabati-Becker, 73