| Winner | Runner-UP | |||
| Player of the Year | S. Cook | 132 | M. Hurst | 113 |
| Points Champion | D. Menzel | 31.5 | M. Hurst | 30.0 |
| Scoring Champion | M. Katz | 70.60 | B. Simonson | 71.00 |
| Pyramid Tournament | D. Pearce | M. Katz | ||
| Winners Tournament | C. Kelly | 68 | K. Peck | 70 |
| Valero Cup Tournament | C. Kelly | 68 | M. Cook | 71 |
| Club Championship | J. Crumrine | 44 pts | M. Hurst, M. Osada, K. Peck | 38 pts |
| Low Gross Club Champion | M. Hurst | 87 | J. Crumrine | 89 |
| K. Peck | 87 | D. Storbeck | 89 | |
| Barbara Juris Award | S. Cook | |||
| #1 Ranked Golfer at the end of the year | C. Kelly | 12.48 | K. Peck | 10.27 |
| Most Tour. as the # 1 Ranked Golfer | D.. Storbeck | 5 | C. Kelly, D. Pearce | 3 |
| Most Improved Handicap | S. Menzel | 21.6-16.7 | D. Menzel | 27.1-23.1 |
| Most Improved Player | S. Cook, C. Kelly | M. Hurst, M. Katz, K. Peck |
| Most Tournament Wins | S. Menzel | 4 |
| Most Eagles | E. Vegas | 1 |
| Most Birdies | N. Williamson | 9 |
| Most Long Drives | D. Menzel | 3 |
| N. Williamson | 3 | |
| Most Closest to the Pin | F. Duggins | 3 |
| M. Hurst | 3 | |
| N. Williamson | 3 |
| Number of Tournaments | 12 |
| Avg. # of players per tournament | — |
| # different players winning first place | 19 |
| # different players winning second place | 22 |
| # of players eligible for the Winners Tournament | 23 |
Notes:
First Time Winner – Jerry Crumrine (2)
New Players; Trent Van Nieuwburg, Glen Campbell, Todd Lopez, Bob Brown
| Achieved 375 Tour. Points, Denzil Storbeck – 380.5 |
| Achieved 300 Tour. Points, Nemon Williamson – 301.5 |
| Achieved 275 Tour. Points, Sandie Cook – 286.0 |
| Achieved 225 Tour. Points – Matt Hurst – 227.0 |
| Achieved 150 Tour. Points, Kevin Peck – 155.5 |
| Achieved 125 Tour. Points, Debbie Menzel – 132.0 |
| Achieved 125 Tour. Points, Sonny Menzel – 126.5 |
| Achieved 75 Tour. Points, Sheldon Custer – 82.5 |
| Achieved 50 Tour. Points, Bob Bohnet – 56.0 |
| Achieved 50 Tour. Points, Mike DeHart – 50.0 |
| Achieved 50 Tour. Points, F. Duggins – 62.5 |
| Valero Golf Club Records set or tied | Previous Record or Runner-UP |
| Most Tournaments @ the # 1 Ranking | |
| 5 – D. Storbeck, 2006 | 3 – R. Simonson, R. Yarbrough, 2005 |
| Most Consecutive Tour. @ the # 1 Ranking | |
| 5 – D. Storbeck, 2006 | 2 – D. Pearce, R. Simonson, R. Yarbrough, 2005 |
| Highest Avg. Ranking Points | |
| 14.63 – N. Stachowicz, 2006 | 14.63 – R. Simonson, 2005 |
| Most Pyramid Tournaments Wins | |
| 3 – D. Pearce, 1984, 2005, 2006 | 3 – M. Cook, 1991, 1992, 1998 |
| Most Major Tournament Wins | |
| 7 – D. Pearce | 7 – M. Cook |
| Most Eagles All Time | |
| 2 – E. Vegas | 2 – N. Williamson |
| Number of Different Players winning 2nd place | |
| 22 – 2006 | 22 – 1984 |
| Course Record – Low Gross Score | |
| 3 over par, N. Williamson, Bethel Island, 2006 | 5 over par, M. Cook, Bethel Island, 2003 |
| 5 over par, M. Cook, Wildhorse, 2006 | 6 over par, Wildhorse, N. Williamson, 2001, M. Hurst, 2004 |
| 11 over par, M. Cook, Rooster Run, 2006 | none |
| 16 over par, M. Hurst, K. Peck, Deer Ridge, 2006 | none |
| 10 over par, M. Cook, Windsor, 2006 | none |
| Course Record – Low Net Score | |
| 7 under par, B. Simonson, Rooster Run, 2006 | none |
| 9 under par, J. Crumrine, Deer Ridge, 2006 | none |
| 7 under par, D. Menzel, Chardonnay, 2006 | 2 under par, R. Yarbrough, Chardonnay, 2003 |
| 4 under par, C. Kelly, Windsor, 2006 | none |
2006 Highlights
The 36th Valero Golf Club season started out with the playing of the traditional 21st annual Tom Stead memorial scramble at Green Tree G.C. on March 25th starting at 8am. Real “Tom Stead Weather” faced us as La Nina returned. It rained for 19 days in March prior to the tournament, 184% of normal. You could argue these were the worst conditions we’ve played the scramble in, cool and wet in 1982, rained the entire day at Chimney Rock in 1993, cool and very windy in 1995, snowflakes in 1998 and a hail storm in 2001. The course was extremely wet and soggy with the bunkers completely full of water. With rain showers and wind gusts up to 40 mph it was a real test. The good news was that 35 of 40 players that had signed up played with one additional player. The first flight was won by the team of Matt Hurst, Michael Katz, Kevin Peck and Rob Yarbrough with a one under par 70. Two teams tied for second place one stroke back, the team of Larry Campbell and Mike and Sandie Cook and the team of Mike DeHart, Ken Dorsey, Jake Finnegan and Nemon Williamson. Taking third place was the team of Steve Blotzer, Bob Bohnet, Rick Morgan and John Ortiz. The second flight was won by the two person team of Sheldon Custer and Eddie Pereira who shot a 8 under par 63 with an astounding 9 birdies. In the four person scramble team category it was the team of Gary Coleman, Pete Gonzales, Don McFatter and Marge Talbot in first place with a one under par 70. Two strokes back was the second place team of Bob Brown, Chris Kelly, Alex Tegenkamp and Trent Van Nieuwberg. Taking third place was the team of Phil Eubanks, Debbie and Sonny Menzel and Don Wilson with a five over par round. Sheldon Custer and Steve Blotzer won the closest to the pins. Steve also won the long drive along with Mike DeHart. This year we raised $460.00 in contributions to the American Heart Association in “Tom’s” memory. Total to date of $6041.00. Some of the players gave back their prize money so it could be added to the contribution, we appreciate that. Pray for good weather next year!
Valero Golf Rankings, to start the year off Dave Pearce held the # 1 spot, Neal Stachowicz # 2, Jim Spurgeon # 3, Debbie Menzel # 4 and Mike Cook # 5.
The 5th annual Menzel Classic best-ball tournament scheduled for Saturday, April 8th at the first time venue of Rooster Run G.C. was postponed due to continued rainy weather. March was the wettest in history and the rain continued into the first two weeks of April. The tournament was played on Saturday, April 22nd starting at 9am. We played under overcast skies and cool weather but no rain. Mike Cook and Bob Simonson teamed up to win the first flight with a best-ball score of 64 with Bob shootoing a net 65 on his own ball. The teams of Larry Campbell – Nemon Williamson and Jim Aton – Dave Pearce tied for second place with net 75’s. The team of Jerry Crumrine (Jerry’s 1st win) – Floyd Duggins tied for first place in the second flight with the team of Sandie Cook – Don Scribner (Don’s 25th career win) with net 66’s. Sandie and Don were the only team with both players at net par or better. The Crumrine – Duggins team won the tie breaker for Winners Tournament eligibility. The team of AJ Jones – Chris Kelly took second place with a 69. The Kevin Peck and Rob Yarbrough team finished in third place with a 74. The continuing red hot team of Debbie and Sonny Menzel won the third flight posting a best-ball score of 66, this was their 3rd win in the last 4 years and their 4th win together as a best-ball team. Finishing second was the team of Sheldon Custer and Ken Dorsey with a 69. The team of Bob Bohnet – Matt Hurst took third with a 70. The greens were the thing, if you were pin high or above you were in big trouble. Only 5 players shot net scores below par, the rest of the field averaged a net 79. John Ortiz won the CP on the 2nd hole. The other CP was won by Debbie Menzel (her first) who also won both the LD’s. Debbie Menzel started off the year with the points lead, Bob Simonson started off with the scoring average lead. Larry Campbell, Mike Cook, AJ Jones, Debbie Menzel and Rob Yarbrough all had birdies for net eagles. Other birdie shooters were Ken Dorsey, John Ortiz and Don Scribner. Bob Bohnet and Sheldon Custer each made a par for a net eagle. Debbie and Sonny handed out very nice cash prizes ($520.00) to all the first, second and third place finishers in the first, second and third flights. The flight winners had their pictures taken with the Menzel Classic traditional crystal vase. Dave Pearce maintained his # 1 ranking but the gap was reduced by # 2 Neal Stachowicz. Mike Cook moved from the # 5 spot to the # 3 position. Jim Spurgeon and Debbie Menzel slipped to the # 4 and # 5 spots respectively.
Our first major championship of the year was played at the first time venue of Deer Ridge C.C. on Saturday, April 29th starting at 9am. The playing conditions were good, temperature in the high sixties and low seventies with no wind to start with, some wind came up half way through the front nine. Jerry Crumrine after shooting a net 62 gathered 44 points and won the second flight and the Club Championship, his second win in a row and his first major championship. Finishing in second place in the second flight was Mike Osada with 38 points. Sheldon Custer took third place with 37 points. The first flight winners were Matt Hurst and Kevin Peck who tied with 38 points. Finishing second three points behind was Denzil Storbeck, another four points back was Dave Pearce and Don Scribner who tied for third. Don Scribner and Nemon Williamson won the CP’s. Dave Pearce and Matt Hurst won the LD’s. Jerry Crumrine took over both the points lead for the year and the scoring average lead from Bob Simonson. The greens were hard but if you could get close enough you could make some birdies. John Ortiz, Kevin Peck and Nemon Williamson had two birdies apiece. Michael Katz also had a birdie. Shot of the day went to Nemon Williamson who hit a 3 wood to within 12 feet on the tough 207 yard par 3 fifteenth hole (CP) and then made the putt for a birdie. Some changes took place in the golf club rankings, Dave Pearce increased his lead in the # 1 spot, Mike Cook moved into the # 2 spot as Neal Stachowicz dropped out of the rankings. Jim Spurgeon who didn’t play took over the # 3 position. Kevin Peck with his win moved into the # 4 spot. Mike Osada just barely inched out Debbie Menzel for the # 5 position.
Again this year the winter weather would not go away, the conditions were miserable for the Rancho Solano tournament held on Friday, May 19th starting at 12:38. It was cold, temperature in the low to mid fifties, wind blowing and steady rain showers starting on the back nine. Neal Stachowicz overcame the elements and won the first flight (his 10th career win) with a net 67. Matt Hurst took second with a net 73. Mike Cook, Denzil Storbeck and Rob Yarbrough tied for third place. Sonny Menzel also overcame the bad conditions to win the second flight with an excellent net 63 (tied his best low gross score). Sheldon Custer was two strokes back to take second place. Another two strokes back was Michael Katz in third place. Sandie Cook and Kevin Peck won the CP’s, Dave Pearce and Ed Vegas won the LD’s. The greens were good, the field made 9 birdies. Birdie shooters were Steve Blotzer, Bob Bohnet, Larry Campbell, Mike Cook, Jerry Crumrine, Matt Hurst, Mike Osada, Kevin Peck and Ed Vegas. Matt Hurst took over the points lead from Jerry Crumrine. Neal Stachowicz took over the scoring average lead from Jerry. In first round pyramid play it was Mike Cook over Bob Bohnet, Sheldon Custer over Rob Yarbrough and Matt Hurst over Steve Blotzer. Sandie Cook, Dave Pearce and Kevin Peck received first round byes. The players rankings were shook up as Neal Stachowicz re-entered in the # 1 position, Dave Pearce slipped to # 2, Mike Cook dropped to the # 3 spot, Sonny Menzel moved from # 7 to the # 4 spot and Larry Campbell came back into the rankings in the # 5 position. Jim Spurgeon and Ken Dorsey dropped out of the rankings (not enough tournaments played)
Summer finally arrived for the playing of the Wildhorse tournament held on Saturday, June 3rd starting at 9am. The temperature was in the low 70’s to start with, a northeast wind came up during the middle of the round but dropped off at the end, the temperature reached 96 degrees at the end of the round. Denzil Storbeck won the first flight with a net 65. Mike Cook broke the low gross course record and finished second with a net 66. Dave Pearce took third place. In the second flight the very hot Sonny Menzel won his second in a row and his third tournament this year. He shot his career best gross score and netted a 62. Finishing only one stroke back was Debbie Menzel in second place. There was a three way tie for third place, Sandie Cook, Sheldon Custer and Ed Vegas all with net 67’s. Matt Hurst and Todd Lopez (his first on the tough par 3 twelfth hole) won the CP’s, Debbie Menzel and Trent Van Nieuwburg (his first) won the LD’s. Shot of the day went to Ed Vegas making a 40 foot putt on the par 5 seventh hole for an eagle three. (his career second, ties a record). Dave Pearce shot a gross 39 on the front nine, Mike Cook had a 37 on the front and shot a gross 77. Sonny Menzel took over the points lead from Matt Hurst and the scoring average lead from Neal Stachowicz. Matt Hurst and Nemon Williamson had two birdies apiece. Other birdie shooters were Sheldon Custer, Todd Lopez, Jim Spurgeon, Trent Van Nieuwburg and Rob Yarbrough. In first round pyramid play it was Sonny Menzel over Chris Kelly. In second round play it was Dave Pearce over Kevin Peck and Sandie Cook and Sheldon Custer tying in their match. The rankings were shook up again with Denzil Storbeck entering in the # 1 position, Dave Pearce held at # 2, Neal Stachowicz dropped into the # 3 spot, Sonny Menzel held at # 4 with Mike Cook slipping to # 5.
The fifth “Greater PeckBrough Open” was held at Franklin Canyon G.C. on Friday, June 30th starting at 12:30. The weather was OK with the temperature in the mid seventies and the normal prevailing west wind. The field was vying for the largest prize money purse for the year provided by Kevin Peck and Rob Yarbrough who sponsored the tournament. Denzil Storbeck with his second win in a row and Kevin Peck tied for first place in the first flight. Nemon Williamson and Rob Yarbrough tied for second place with last years winner Mike Cook in third. The Second flight was won by Sandie Cook (her 20th career win) who tied with AJ Jones for first place. Bob Simonson took second place with Floyd Duggins in third. Sandie and Kevin joined Mike Cook and Rob Yarbrough as two time winners of the Open. Bob Bohnet and Nemon Williamson won the LD’s, (Nemon moves past Mike Cook into second place in career long drives). Nemon also won a CP along with Kevin Peck. The greens were in good shape this year but the field only managed 7 birdies. Mike Cook and Rob Yarbrough had two birdies each. Other birdie shooters were Dave Pearce, Jim Spurgeon and Nemon Williamson. Denzil Storbeck took over the points lead for the year from Sonny Menzel. Neal Stachowicz who didn’t play took over the scoring average lead for the year from Sonny Menzel. In first round pyramid play it was John Ortiz over Debbie Menzel and AJ Jones over Nemon Williamson.. With his win # 1 Denzil Storbeck increased his lead in the rankings. Dave Pearce stayed at the # 2 spot, Neal Stachowicz at # 3, Mike Cook moved up into the # 4 position with Sonny Menzel slipping to # 5.
The conditions were good for the Bethel Island Tournament held on Saturday, July 15th starting at 9am. We had the normal prevailing west wind but beat the heat, when we finished it was 95 degrees. Nemon Williamson shot an excellent gross 75 (new course record), net 63 and won the Bethel Tournament for the third time in the last four years. He also accumulated 11.5 tour. points tying Bruce Campbell’s 20 year old runner-up record for the most tour. points in one tournament. Finishing second with identical gross (83) and net scores (68) were Dave Pearce and Sonny Menzel. Ken Dorsey took third place. Sonny Menzel won the second flight for the second year in a row with a net 66. Two strokes back were Sandie Cook and Mike DeHart who tied for second place. Mike Osada took third place. Matt Hurst and Nemon Williamson won the CP’s, Nemon and Mike DeHart won the LD’s. The greens were slower than last year and very grainy. It didn’t bother Nemon who had 3 birdies. Other birdie shooters were Mike DeHart, Matt Hurst, Michael Katz, Sonny Menzel, Mike Osada, Dave Pearce and Neal Stachowicz. (not eligible, Joe Bateman also had one birdie) Sonny Menzel took over the points lead from Denzil Storbeck. Mike DeHart joined Neal Stachowicz for the scoring average lead for the year. In first round pyramid play it was Ken Dorsey and Michael Katz tying their match and Bob Boyer over Alex Tegenkamp (at Blue Rock-east). The Player rankings tightened up but Denzil Storbeck maintained the # 1 spot, Dave Pearce at # 2, Neal Stachowicz at # 3, Sonny Menzel moved up into the # 4 position with Mike Cook slipping to # 5.
Saturday the 29th of July was the date for the 5th “Boyd Cook Memorial Classic” held this year at Mare Island G.C. starting at 8 am. The weather was vey cold and windy, the mist being so heavy it felt like rain. A great turnout, we missed a three flight tournament by one player. Mike and Sandie Cook who sponsored the tournament passed out Augusta National “Masters” ball markers to each player before they teed off. Matt Hurst won the first flight with a net 67 for his second tournament win this year. Chris Kelly took second place and qualified for the Winners Tournament. The # 1 ranked Denzil Storbeck continued his good play by taking third. Debbie Menzel became a two time winner of the Boyd Cook Classic by winning the second flight with a net 69. Sandie Cook and Floyd Duggins tied for second place two strokes back. Glen Campbell won his first tournament points by finishing in third place. Mike DeHart and Chris Kelly (his first) won the CP’s, Matt Hurst and John Ortiz (his 20th career LD) won the LD’s. Mike Cook and Matt Hurst shot gross 39’s on the front nine, Nemon Williamson shot a gross 39 on the back nine. Sonny Menzel barely maintained his points lead for the year. Neal Stachowicz who didn’t play kept his lead in the scoring average for the year. The greens were in very good shape but were fast and hard to read which led to only 5 birdies for the field. Matt Hurst with 2 led the way. Other birdie shooters were Mike Cook, Mike DeHart and Jim Spurgeon. In first round pyramid play it was Mike DeHart over Trent Van Nieuwburg by forfeit. In second round pyramid play it was Matt Hurst over AJ Jones, John Ortiz over Sonny Menzel, Sandie Cook over Sheldon Custer (in their rematch) and Mike Cook over Bob Boyer. The rankings were shook up again with Denzil Storbeck maintaining the # 1 position, Sheldon Custer entered the rankings in the # 2 spot, Neal Stachowicz slipped into the # 3 spot, Dave Pearce slipped to the # 4 spot with Sonny Menzel holding the # 5 spot.
The Paradise Valley Tournament was held on Saturday, August 19th starting at 10am. Well that’s when it was supposed to start, a foul up at the course delayed our start to 11am. The weather was good, temperature in the eighties with a modest westerly wind on the back nine. The course conditions were a different story, we followed the NCGA Fairfield Amateur Championship, many difficult pin placements, faster than normal greens and a lot of the white tees were back with the blues. This led to many high scores being turned in. In the first flight Dave Pearce took first place with a net 71, Kevin Peck and Nemon Williamson tied for second place wiith 72’s, Mike Cook finished third with a 73. The second flight was won by Mike DeHart after getting off to a great start making birdies on three of his first four holes he shot a net 71. Bob Simonson was 2 strokes back for second place. Chris Kelly and Mike Narodzonek took third with net 77’s. Steve Blotzer and Bob Bohnet tied for first place in the third flight with net 71’s. Steve Page took second place one stroke back, Floyd Duggins was third with a net 74. Floyd also won a CP, Mike Cook won the other CP (his 50th career CP). Nemon Williamson and Bob Bohnet won the LD’s. Sonny Menzel just held his points lead for the year with Neal Stachowicz maintaining his scoring average lead. Birdie shooters other than Mike DeHart were Bob Brown (his first), Bob Bohnet, Sonny Menzel, Dave Pearce, Kevin Peck and Nemon Williamson. Mike Cook shot a gross 39 on the back nine. In pyramid play the first round rematch was won by Michael Katz over Ken Dorsey (@ Bodega Harbour Golf Links), in third round play it was John Ortiz over Sandie Cook (@ Blue Rock Springs-west) and Dave Pearce over Mike Cook. Debbie Menzel on behalf of the golf club presented Mike Cook with a Sky Caddie range finder in appreciation for his work in maintaining the golf club website. Denzil Storbeck maintained his # 1 ranking, Dave Pearce moved up to the # 2 spot, Sheldon Custer slipped to # 3, Neal Stachowicz slipped to # 4, with Kevin Peck moving up to the # 5 spot from # 7.
The fifth “Matt Hurst shootout featuring Rick Carr” was played on Saturday, September 9th starting at 12:30 pm at Chardonnay G.C.(Lakes & Meadows nines) Indian Summer was not present nor was Rick Carr but the Shootout went on. The weather was unseasonably cool, temperature in the sixties with the normal westerly wind blowing throughout the round. Matt Hurst handed out the traditional goodie bags to each player. Chris Kelly won the first flight with a net 68. Michael Katz was second two strokes back and took the last qualifying spot for the Winners Tournament. Larry Campbell was third. Debbie Menzel with an excellent net 65 (broke the low net course record) won the second flight. Floyd Duggins was second with a net 67, Mike Osada took third with a net 69. The rest of the field had a very tough long day, lots of high scores were turned in. Who says the Lakes par five third hole is tough, one unnamed foursome turned in the following scores on that hole: 14, 11, 11, 11. Matt Hurst and Floyd Duggins won the CP’s, Michael Katz and Chris Kelly won the LD’s. Matt Hurst took over the points lead from Sonny Menzel and Michael Katz took over the scoring average lead for the year from Neal Stachowicz. Matt Hurst led the birdie parade with two. Other birdie shooters were Steve Blotzer, Bob Bohnet, Mike DeHart, Michael Katz, Chris Kelly and Sonny Menzel. Only one more player qualified for the Winners Tournament bringing the final total to 23 for the year. Chris Kelly and Debbie Menzel had their pictures taken in the traditional lavender blazer worn by the first place finishers. In second round pyramid play it was Michael Katz over Mike DeHart (@ Rancho Solano). Sandie Cook and Sheldon Custer won the low net money in the second round. The rankings again changed with Dave Pearce taking the # 1 spot, Denzil Storbeck slipped to # 2, Kevin Peck at the # 3 spot, Debbie Menzel moved up to # 4 with Sheldon Custer taking the # 5 position.
The “36th” annual Winners Tournament was played for the first time at Shadow Lakes G.C. on Saturday, September 30th with a 9am start time. The temperature was unseasonable cool with reading’s only in the low to mid sixties. A somewhat cool persistent west wind blew throughout the round. Only fourteen of the twenty-three eligible players played plus four ineligible for a total of eighteen. Chris Kelly claimed his first Winners Tournament and first major shooting an excellent net 68. He improved his front nine score by 10 strokes on the back nine. Kevin Peck shot a net 32 on the front nine but slipped coming in to finish in second place with a net 70. Sandie Cook finished third with a net 71. With his win Chris Kelly moved into the top eight point places for the Valero Cup bumping Dave Pearce into 9th place. Floyd Duggins and Neal Stachowicz took the CP’s. In another very competitive year 13 different players won a CP, Floyd Duggins, Matt Hurst and Nemon Williamson with 3 each lead the way. The LD’s were both won by Sonny Menzel, these two points moved him past Matt Hurst and gave him the Points Championship for the year. In a very competitive year 8 different players had a chance to claim the Points Championship going into the Winners Tournament. We had 12 different players claim a LD, Debbie Menzel and Nemon Williamson had 3 apiece. Michael Katz won the Scoring Average Championship for the year. Birdies were rare again for this tournament, Ken Dorsey, Chris Kelly and Dave Pearce had one apiece. Nemon Williamson was the birdie leader for the year with 9. Ed Vegas had one eagle for the year and tied Nemon Williamson for the most career eagles with two. In third round Pyramid play it was Michael Katz over Matt Hurst in a very close match (@ Rancho Solano). Michael will face John Ortiz and Dave Pearce in the finals. Chris Kelly with his win moved into first place in the Valero Golf Rankings, Kevin Peck with his second place finish moved into the # 2 spot, Denzil Storbeck slipped into the # 3 spot, Dave Pearce slipped from # 1 to the # 4 spot with Debbie Menzel claiming the # 5 spot.
The 20th Valero Cup tournament was played for the first time at Windsor G.C. on October 7th starting at 11:38am. The temperature was in the mid to high seventies with essentially no wind and the golf course was in excellent shape. On the front nine Mike Cook shot a net 36, Chris Kelly a net 38 and Sonny Menzel a net 38. On the back nine Mike shot a net 35, Sonny shot a net 34 but Chris Kelly shot a net 30 to win his second major in a row and his third consecutive win of the year. Other top eight players included; Sandie Cook, Jerry Crumrine, Matt Hurst, Debbie Menzel and defending champion Dave Pearce (Kevin Peck, Nemon Williamson and Denzil Storbeck were eligible but didn’t play) By winning the Valero Cup, Chris at the # 1 spot in the rankings increased his lead, Kevin Peck held at the # 2 spot, Denzil Storbeck held at the # 3 spot, Sandie Cook moved up to # 4 with Dave Pearce and Sonny Menzel tied at the # 5 position.
The 30th Pyramid Tournament finals were held at Eagle Vines G.C. on October 11th, a beautiful fall day with temperatures in the high seventies and essentially no wind. Michael Katz, John Ortiz and Dave Pearce made up the final threesome for the championship. Michael took the early lead over the first three holes. The first major change in the match took place on the short par 4 fourth hole. Dave’s layup shot looked like it was going into the hazard but held up just short, John hit a very good layup shot, Michaels’s tee shot went way left and ended up in an unplayable lie. John hit the green but was long, Michael after a penalty drop hit an excellent 150 yard second shot to the greenside fringe, Dave hit his second shot in the hazard. Dave took his penalty drop and then holed out his shot for a par. John made a 40 foot putt for a birdie. Michael hit his chip shot short and then two putted for a double bogey. Dave made a birdie on the seventh hole, Michael a par, John took a big number and the match was dead even. Dave made a bogey on the par 3 eighth but picked up 3 strokes on both John and Michael. John took another big number on the par 5 eleventh so it was then a two player match. Dave only picked up one more stroke over the next five holes and came to the 17th hole 4 strokes up. Michael after missing his birdie putt made a par and picked up 2 strokes on Dave going to the 18th hole. Michael’s tee shot was very short leaving him 200 yards to the green. Dave hit a good tee shot and then hit the green in two. Michael’s second shot went into the very heavy grass left of the green and after a long search it was found. His chip shot ended up short into the bunker and so went his championship hopes. Dave would 2 putt for a par and a 4 stroke win. Dave will have his name engraved for the third time on the “Tom Stead Trophy” as the winner of the 30th Pyramid Tournament, his second Pyramid win in a row.( $90.00 ). Finishing second was Micheal Katz ( $46.00 ). Finishing third was John Ortiz ( $28.00). Low net money went to Sandie Cook ( $22.00 & $14.00 ), Sonny Menzel ( $18.00 ), Sheldon Custer ( $12.00 ) and Ken Dorsey ( $10.00 ). After the Pyramid Tournament Chris Kelly maintained the # 1 spot in the golf rankings, Kevin Peck holds at # 2, Dave Pearce with his win moves up to # 3, Sandie Cook holds at # 4 and Denzil Storbeck slips to the # 5 spot.
The # 1 position in the Valero Golf Club Rankings was held by Dave Pearce from the start of the year through the Rooster Run and the Deer Ridge tournaments, Neal Stachowicz took over after Rancho Solano, Denzil Storbeck took the top spot after Wildhorse and through Franklin Canyon, Bethel Island, Mare Island and Paradise Valley, Dave Pearce returned to # 1 after Chardonnay. Chris Kelly after winning the Winners Tournament at Shadow Lakes took the # 1 position and increased his lead by winning the Valero Cup at Windsor. Chris ended the year as the # 1 ranked golfer.
By finishing 6th in Tournament Points, 3rd in the Scoring Average Championship for the year, and 4th in the Pyramid Tournament, Sandie Cook was the Valero Golf Club’s “Player of the Year” for 2006.
The annual Revenge Scramble Tournament returned to Kennedy GC in Napa after a one year absence. The 12th annual Revenge at Kennedy Scramble Tournament was played on a beautiful fall day, October 21st with a 9am start time. The temperature was in the mid eighties with a mild northeast wind. Shooting a 11 under par score of 61 the team of Bob Brown, Al Cano, Mike Johnston and Chris Kelly won the revenge tournament for the first time. Finishing in second place with a 63 was the team of Jake Finnegan, Debbie and Sonny Menzel and Tim Tadler. The team of Mike and Sandie Cook and Michael Katz finished in third with a 64. Closest to the Pins went to Tim Tadler, Mike Cook, Mike Johnston and Floyd Duggins. The greens were in awful shape having been aerated 4 days earlier which led to some interesting putting. It was a good way to end the golf year, everyone had fun.
2006 was the fifth year for the Valero Golf League, nine hole team play starting officially at 4:30 pm every Thursday afternoon at Blue Rock Springs – East G.C. in Vallejo. The League ran from mid April through September. The Hackers Unlimited were in first place for the start of the year and became the first team in league history to hold the lead throughout the entire regular season. At the end of the regular season the first place team ( the Hackers Unlimited ) received a bye, the second place teams the Seadlings and the Birdies-R-Us played off on August 17th to determine who would play the top team. The Seadlings won 6.0 to 2.0 and advanced on to play the Hackers on August 24th. The Championship match was one of the closest since the start of the league. The Seadlings won by 5 1/2 to 4 1/2, the match not being determined until the last foursome played out on the last hole. This gave the Seadlings their second straight championship. Mike Cook shot video of the match showing play on the first, third and ninth holes. The first place team the Seadlings consisted of John Endicott, Michael Katz, Tom Kelly, Al Middleton, team captain Neal Stachowicz, Gene Stangel and Casey Walker. The Hackers Unlimited finished in second place. The team consisted of Will Grinslade, AJ Jones, team captain Debbie Menzel, Sonny Menzel, Trent Van Nieuwburg, Don Wilson and Rob Yarbrough. In third place was the Birdies-R-Us team consisting of Mike Connally, Susan Cortez, Jerry Crumrine, Sheldon Custer, Andrew Estrada, team captain Sue Gustofson and Gary Jeffcoats. Finishing in fourth place was The Hookers consisting of Ken Gibson, Rick Hastings, Tom Lorsbach, Jack Merrill, James Minkel, team captain Tim Tadler and Marge Talbot. Finishing in fifth place was the Rovers consisting of team captain Mike DeHart, Steve Duff, Chris Kelly, Dave Pearce, Jim Petrellese, Jim Rollins and Bob Simonson. Defending champion Team Albatross finished sixth. The team members were Dave Barnholt, Lauren Bird, team captain Matt Hurst, Mike Osada, Glenn Overman Kevin Peck and Todd Yarbrough. Year long individual honors went to Dave Pearce, low gross of 36 in the regular season, low net of 26 in the regular season went to Ken Gibson. In the playoffs low gross went to Trent Van Nieuwburg with a 42. Low net in the playoffs went to Jerry Crumrine with a 31. Will Grinslade had the most improved handicap for the year. In the league individual rankings Will Grinslade and Al Middleton finishing the year in the # 1 position. During the season Will Grinslade broke the highest player ranking % record and held or shared the # 1 spot for 15 weeks and 15 consecutive weeks, both new league records, Al Middleton held or shared # 1 spot for 5 weeks, Michael Katz for 3 weeks, Kevin Peck for 2 weeks with Matt Hurst and John Endicott for 1 week each. The Hackers Unlimited tied numerous league records, Will Grinslade and Al Middleton due to their excellent play set or tied numerous records for the league. In post season tournament play; in the three club tournament it was Gary Jeffcoats and Don Wilson with a new record net 32’s and Neal Stachowicz with gross 43, in the two person best-ball it was the Jerry Crumrine- Neal Stachowicz team with a net 27. In the bingo, bango bongo tournament it was Tom Kelly, John Endicott and Trent Van Nieuwburg. On September 27th there was play on the back nine of the west course followed by an awards banquet where league president Sue Gustofson presented the league awards.
This golf year came to a close following the Revenge at Kennedy Scramble Tournament. This year we continued our weekday tournament play and players sponsoring tournaments, thanks to all the sponsors. The Valero Golf League was excellent all year with many good matches especially the championship match. Our thanks go out to Debbie Menzel for doing an outstanding job again as our Tournament Director and to Sue Gustofson for running the Valero Golf League, also to Sheldon Custer who was the league statistician. As always we’re looking forward to next year, let’s pray for a year of wonderful weather for a change. Mike Cook