Southern Nevada Amateur Report: Fryatt Breezes to 7-stroke Victory
LAS VEGAS, Nev. (June 25, 2017)—Ed Fryatt used a 3-under-par 33 on the front nine of Sunday’s final round en route to 2-under-70 and coasted to a 7-stroke victory in the Championship Division of the 2017 Southern Nevada Amateur Championship played June 24-25 at the Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort. Fryatt carded rounds of 69-70—139 to race to the victory. –By Bill Bowman.
The tournament used two courses at the resort as players teed it up on Sun Mountain for the first round and Snow Mountain for the finale.
Fryatt led the way by one shot after the first day at three-under-par 69 with a round that included five birdies. Just four players broke par in the first round. He kept up the hot streak during the first nine holes of the second round.
“I played pretty solid,” Fryatt said. “I had a couple of hiccups with three-putts but I drove it well, ironed it well and I’m pleased with the direction I’m headed.”
And that direction is back up. “I’m working real hard on my game,” he said. “About a month and a half ago I wasn’t in a very good place. I was kind of lost. I follow quite a few teachers on Instagram. One of those is Amanda Carlson (Angel Park) who communicates it in the right way. I called her up and started working with her. She works with a lot of junior golfers and makes a lot of sense in building up confidence. I feel like I’m heading in the right direction now.”
This tournament was reinforcement. “I was three-under through the first six or seven holes (Sunday) and the other guys got off to a rough start,” he said. “I got a little ahead and just tried to make a lot of pars and not make mistakes.”
Championship Division
Edward Fryatt, 69-70—139
Gregory Whittemore, 72-74—146
Josh Goldstein, 78-69—147
Bradley Collet, 76-72—148
Net Division
Nate Ross picked up his first victory in the SNGA Net Division, rallying for a two-stroke victory over Lee Martin and Kenneth Paul, Jr.
“I had a couple of up and downs that really saved me,” he said. “I putted pretty well and a big part of the up and downs was the putting.”
He added he played solid golf both days. “I was pretty steady,” he said. “I shot 81-82. Sunday was a little better but I did have a couple of strokes get away from me.”
Net Division
Nate Ross, 73-75—148
*Lee Martin, 73-77—150
Kenneth Paul, Jr., 65-85—150
*-Won playoff
Senior Division
John Turk fired a two-under-par 70 during the second round to win the Senior Division. Turk had rounds of 73-70—143 to win by four strokes over Gary Carpendale.
Turk had five birdies on the final day in his two-under-par round including three in a row during one stretch on the front nine.
He came into the weekend with low expectations. “I haven’t played in a long time,” he said. “I went down to Arizona to do some training to go overseas (to the Middle East). I was as shocked as anyone to play decent.”
He said one key was the putting. “I had perfect speed on the greens and that was great,” he said.
Before the event he stopped at TPC Las Vegas to get his clubs and talked to one of the instructors, Matt Henderson.
“I told him I needed a band-aid because I hadn’t played in so long that I couldn’t keep it on the planet,” Turk said. “Whatever he said worked out well.”
Senior Division
John Turk, 73-70—143
Gary Carpendale, 73-74—147
Gary Lanzen, 74-76—150
Senior Division Net
Chris Whatley’s 70-70—140 was good enough for a two-stroke victory over Luis Morais in the Senior Division Net.
Senior Division Net
Chris Whatley, 70-70—140
Luis Morais, 72-70—142
Joe Rada, 72-74—146
Silver Division
Kevin Parrish’s second-round one-under-par 71 vaulted him to victory in the Silver Division. Parrish trailed second-place finisher Frank Abbott by a stroke after the first round. Abbott opened with a 67 while Parrish carded a 68.
“I played very steady golf all weekend and made a lot of pars and some birdies and very few bogeys,” Parrish said. “I hit a lot of greens in regulation and I think I only missed six greens all weekend. (Sunday) I kept the ball under the wind in the windy conditions out here and played for par. I pretty much took an extra club or two on all shots and let the wind help the ball.”
The victory is Parrish’s third major on the SNGA circuit and he now only needs the LV City Amateur.
Silver Division
Kevin Parrish, 68-71—139
Frank Abbott, 67-75—142
Neil Driscoll, 78-76—154
Silver Division Net
Larry Agan and Bruce Swanson tied at 139 for the Silver Division Net crown with Agan coming away with the victory on the second playoff hole.
“I made about a 20-footer for par to win it,” Agan said. “I hit it into a bunker and then popped it onto the green and the putt rolled in.”
He said he played pretty solid in the tournament, especially on Sunday. “I only had one double (bogey) on Sunday,” he said. “My putting was good and I scrambled very well. The difference was I was scrambling for bogey on Saturday and scrambling for par on Sunday. That made the difference.”
Silver Division Net
*Larry Agan, 73-66—139
Bruce Swanson, 71-68—139
John Kelley, 67-74—141
*-Won in playoff
