| Winner | Runner-Up | |||
| Player of the Year | D. Menzel | 130 | K. Peck | 102 |
| Points Champion | D. Menzel | 30.5 | D. Pearce | 29.0 |
| Scoring Champion | AJ Jones | 68.25 | R. Yarbrough | 69.33 |
| Pyramid Tournament | N. Williamson | 72 | D. Menzel | 74 |
| Winners Tournament | D. Menzel | 62 | D. Pearce | 63 |
| Valero Cup Tournament | M. Cook | 70 | J. Crumrine | 73 |
| Club Championship | J. Crumrine | 36 pts | D. Scribner | 35 pts |
| Low Gross Club Champion | N. Williamson | 86 | M. Cook | 88 |
| Barbara Juris Award | D. Menzel | |||
| #1 Ranked Golfer at the end of the year | D. Menzel | 10.30 | K. Dorsey | 9.97 |
| Most Tour. as the # 1 Ranked Golfer | J. Crumrine | 3 | B. Simonson | 3 |
| Most Improved Handicap | D. Pearce | 12.0-9.3 | K. Peck | 16.1-12.8 |
| Most Improved Player | D. Menzel, D. Pearce | R. Yarbrough | ||
| Comeback Player of the Year | K. Peck |
| Most Tournament Wins | D. Menzel | 3 |
| R. Yarbrough | 3 | |
| Most Top 3’s | M. Cook | 5 |
| D. Menzel | 5 | |
| M. Osada | 5 | |
| Most Eagles | D. Menzel | 1 |
| Most Birdies | D. Pearce | 10 |
| Most Long Drives | D. Menzel | 2 |
| D. Pearce | 2 | |
| Most Closest to the Pin | M. Cook | 3 |
| Number of Tournaments | 8 |
| Avg. # of players per tournament | 24 |
| # different players winning first place | 12 |
| # different players winning second place | 16 |
| # of players eligible for the Winners Tournament | 20 |
Notes:
First Time Winner – Bob Boyer
New Players; Randy Butler, Brittany Hurst
| Achieved 475 Tour. Points, Dave Pearce – 486.5 |
| Achieved 200 Tour. Points, Bob Simonson – 201.0 |
| Achieved 200 Tour. Points, Larry Campbell – 206.0 |
| Achieved 175 Tour. Points – Kevin Peck – 179.0 |
| Achieved 175 Tour. Points, Debbie Menzel – 176.5 |
| Achieved 75 Tour. Points, Mike Osada – 89.5 |
| Achieved 50 Tour. Points, Ken Dorsey – 55.0 |
| Achieved 50 Tour. Points, Jerry Crumrine – 52.0 |
| Achieved 25 Tour. Points, Glenn Campbell – 25.0 |
| Valero Golf Club Records set or tied | Previous Record or Runner-UP |
| Most Consecutive Years with a Tournament Win | |
| 9 – D. Menzel, 2000 – 2008 | 8 – M. Cook, 1996 – 2003 |
| 8 – D. Pearce, 2001 – 2008 | |
| Highest Avg. Ranking Points | |
| 15.11 – B. Simonson, 2008 | 14.97 – R. Simonson, 2007 |
| Most Club Championship Wins | |
| 2 – J. Crumrine, 2006, 2008 | 2 – S. Menzel, 2001, 2007 |
| Most Major Tournament Wins | |
| 8 – M. Cook | 7 – D. Pearce |
| Low Gross Score in the Winners Tournament | |
| 2 over par, D. Pearce, Foxtail -N, 2008 | 3 over par, G. Barrett, Blue Rock Springs, 1978 |
| 3 over par, G. Beckman, Franklin Canyon, 1993 | |
| 3 over par, M. Cook, Cypress Lakes, 1997 | |
| Course Record – Low Gross Score | |
| 11 over par, M. Cook, N. Williamson , Deer Ridge 2008 | 12 over par, D. Scribner, Deer Ridge, 2007 |
| 5 over par, D. Pearce, Shadow Lakes, 2008 | 5 over par, N. Williamson, Shadow Lakes, 2007 |
| 2 over par, D. Pearce, Foxtail -N, 2008 | 6 over par, M. Cook, Foxtail -N, 1999 |
| Course Record – Low Net Score | |
| 10 under par, D. Menzel, Foxtail – N, 2008 | 10 under par, M. Smith, Foxtail – N, 1999 |
2008 Highlights
The 38th Valero Golf Club season started out with the playing of the traditional 23rd annual Tom Stead memorial scramble at Green Tree G.C. on April 26th starting at 9am. Again this year we had a later than usual start to the season, the bonus was we had beautiful weather again this year. We had 28 players sign up and play. The first flight was won by the team of Larry Campbell, Mike Cook, Sandie Cook and Rob Yarbrough with a 63. Sandie Cook made a 40 foot downhill putt on the 18th hole to give her team the win. Finishing in second place one stroke back was the team of Glenn Campbell, John Ortiz, Dave Pearce and Denzil Storbeck. Tying in third place was the team of Bob Bohnet, Michael Katz, Rick Morgan and Eddie Pereira and the team of Ken Dorsey, Jake Finnegan, Don McFatter and Nemon Williamson with 67’s. The second flight was won by the team of Bob Aton, Jim Aton, Darwin Richey and Jim Spurgeon with a 72 and tied by the team of Floyd Duggins, Todd Lopez, Debbie Menzel and Sonny Menzel. One stroke back was the second place team of Ron Cupid, AJ Jones, Nick Stubblefield and Casey Walker. Taking third place was the team of Gary Coleman, Brittany Hurst, Matt Hurst and Karen Webster with a 74. Rob Yarbrough and Bob Bohnet won the closest to the pins. Sonny Menzel and Brittany Hurst won the long drives. This year we raised $360.00 in contributions to the American Heart Association in “Tom’s” memory. Total to date of $6711.00.
Valero Golf Rankings, to start the year off Bob Simonson held the # 1 spot, John Ortiz # 2, Nemon Williamson # 3, Michael Katz # 4 and Neal Stachowicz # 5.
The first regular tournament of the year was held at Deer Ridge CC on Saturday, May 17th starting at 9:16 am. Hot, Hot, Hot was the weather, it was already 85 degrees when we arrived at the course and well over 100 degrees when we finished play. Kevin Peck and Jerry Crumrine repeated their tournament wins from two years ago at Deer Ridge. Kevin won the first flight by shooting a gross 39 on the front nine and hanging on through the back nine to shoot a net 65. Finishing in second place 2 strokes back was the # 1 ranked Bob Simonson. Mike Cook and Neal Stachowicz tied for third place with net 68’s. Jerry Crumrine won the second flight with a net 66 with Todd Lopez and Mike Osada 3 strokes back for second place. AJ Jones took third with a net 70. The CP’s were won by Denzil Storbeck and Mike Cook. Mike won his on the tough 211 yard par three 15th hole and then made a birdie two to cap it off. Jerry Crumrine and Bob Simonson won the LD’s. Jerry starts off the year with the points lead, Kevin Peck leads the scoring average. The greens were hard and crusty but 6 birdies were made by the field, the birdie shooters were Mike Cook, Matt Hurst, Kevin Peck, Debbie Menzel, Sonny Menzel and Nemon Williamson. Mike Cook and Nemon Williamson broke Don Scribner’s low gross course record by one stroke. The Rankings were changed, Bob Simonson at # 1, Nemon Williamson moved into # 2, Michael Katz moved up to # 3, John Ortiz slipped to # 4 with Jerry Crumrine moving up into the # 5 spot.
The 7th annual Menzel Classic best-ball tournament was held on Saturday, June 7th at Rancho Solano GC starting at 8:04 am. The weather was beautiful, temperature in the mid 80’s at the end of play, a slight NW wind on the front nine and a small prevailing wind on the back nine. Kevin Peck and Rob Yarbrough teamed up to win the first flight with a best-ball score of 60, this was their 3rd Menzel Classic win. The team of Matt Hurst and Nemon Williamson took second place with a net 64. The team of Dave Pearce and Bob Simonson finished in third place with a 66. Mike Osada and Denzil Storbeck shot an excellent net 28 on the front nine and then hung on with a one under par back nine to win the second flight with a 63. Two time defending winners of the second flight, Sandie Cook and Don Scribner finished second one stroke back. Tournament hosts Debbie and Sonny Menzel took third place with a 65. The greens were very fast and had difficult pin placements but the field came through with 12 birdies. Larry Campbell led the way with 3 followed by Kevin Peck with 2. Other birdie shooters were Bob Brown, Mike Cook, Debbie Menzel, Dave Pearce, Bob Simonson, Denzeil Storbeck and Rob Yarbrough all having one apiece. Net Eagles were made by Larry Campbell with 2, Debbie Menzel, Dave Pearce, Kevin Peck, Bob Simonson, Denzil Storbeck and Rob Yarbrough had one apiece. Dave Pearce shot a gross 38 on the front nine, Kevin Peck had a 39 on the same nine. Nemon Williamson shot a gross 39 on the tough back nine. The CP’s were won by Larry Campbell and John Ortiz. The LD’s were won by Rick Carr and Nemon Williamson. Kevin Peck took over the points lead but gave up his scoring average lead to Jerry Crumrine. Debbie and Sonny handed out very nice cash prizes to all the first, second and third place finishers in the first and second flights. The flight winners had their pictures taken as winners of the Menzel Classic. In first round Pyramid play it was Kevin Peck over Sonny Menzel. Bob Simonson maintained his # 1 Ranking, # 2 was Nemon Williamson, Jerry Crumrine moved up to the # 3 position, Neal Stachowicz moved up to # 4 with John Ortiz dropping to the # 5 spot.
Our first major championship of the year was played at Eagle Vines GC on Saturday, June 28th starting at 9am. The weather was cool with a strong coastal influnence the entire day. Jerry Crumrine survived a triple bogey (- 2 points) on the 18th hole, gathered 36 points and won the second flight and the Club Championship. This was his second as he also won it in 2006. Finishing in second place in the second flight was Ken Dorsey with 31 points. Rick Morgan took third place with 29 points. The first flight winner and finishing runner-up in the Club Championship was Don Scribner with 35 points. Finishing second in the first flight only one point behind was Bob Simonson, another two points back was Mike Cook and Nemon Williamson who tied for third. Steve Blotzer and Nemon Williamson (Nemon’s 20th CP) won the CP’s. Randy Butler (his first) and Dave Pearce won the LD’s. Jerry Crumrine took over the points lead for the year and tied with Denzil Storbeck for the scoring average lead. The greens were very fast and combined with difficult pin placements made for some tough putting. Out of the 22 player field only 2 birdies were made, Dave Pearce and Don Scribner both made a birdie on the 7th hole. Some changes took place in the golf club rankings, Bob Simonson held his # 1 spot over Jerry Crumrine who moved up to the # 2 spot, Nemon Williamson slipped to the # 3 spot, Neal Stachowicz held his # 4 spot with Don Scribner moving up to the # 5 position. In first round Pyramid play it was Ken Dorsey over Mike Cook, Nemon Williamson over Dave Pearce, Debbie Menzel over Matt Hurst and Sheldon Custer over Rob Yarbrough (@ Green Valley CC).
After a one year absence The Greater PeckBrough Open returned and was played at Franklin Canyon GC starting at 8:00 am on Saturday, June 19th. The temperature was in the mid seventies with a less than normal westerly wind blowing, a huge improvement over last years very cold and windy conditions. Dave Pearce won the first flight after shooting a even par gross score of 36 on the back nine, his first win at Franklin Canyon. Three strokes back in second place was tournament sponsor Kevin Peck. Nemon Williamson took third place with a net 70 after shooting a gross 39 on the front nine. The second flight was won by Debbie Menzel for the second year in a row. Debbie shot her best ever gross score of 89 (net 64) and set a new record for most consecutive years with a tournament win with 9. One stroke back was Mike Osada for second place. Last years winner AJ Jones took third place with a net 69. Tournament sponsors Kevin Peck and Rob Yarbrough again awarded gift certificates and generous cash payouts to all the winners. Sonny Menzel and Don Scribner won the CP’s. Debbie Menzel and Kevin Peck (his career 10th) won the LD’s. Kevin Peck retook over the points lead for the year, with Mike Osada taking over the scoring average lead. The greens were very slow and bumpy, only 5 birdies made by the field. Dave Pearce had 2, Kevin Peck, Sonny Menzel and Nemon Williamson had one apiece. In first round Pyramid play it was Sandie Cook over defending champion Neal Stachowicz. The Rankings changed with Jerry Crumrine taking over the top spot, Bob Simonson slipped to # 2, Nemon Williamson held at # 3, the same for Neal Stachowicz who held at # 4, John Ortiz moved up into the # 5 Position.
Saturday the 9th of August was the date for the 7th “Boyd Cook Memorial Classic” held this year at Shadow Lakes G.C. starting at 7:50 am. The weather was good, a slight breeze in the morning with the temperature in the mid eighties at the end of play. Mike and Sandie Cook who sponsored the tournament passed out golf towels to each player after the round was over. Dave Pearce shot his best career gross score of 76 for a net 64 and won his 40th Valero tournament. Dave also tied the low gross course record. Denzil Storbeck took second place one stroke back. Mike Cook was another stroke back and took third place. Rob Yarbrough became a first time winner of the Boyd Cook Classic by winning the second flight with a net 63 (his 15th tournament win). Glenn Campbell took second place three strokes back. Floyd Duggins and Mike Osada were another 2 strokes back and finished tied for third place. Mike Cook won both the CP’s, Debbie Menzel and Dave Pearce (his 20th career LD) won the LD’s. Randy Butler shot a gross 36 on the front nine (and a round of 77), also on the front nine Nemon Williamson had a 37. On the back nine Dave Pearce shot a gross 36, Mike Cook and Denzil Storbeck shot 38’s. Dave Pearce took over the points lead for the year. Mike Osada maintained the scoring average lead for the year. The greens were slower than normal in speed but the field did make 9 birdies. Mike Cook and Dave Pearce led the way with 2 apiece. Other birdie shooters were Steve Blotzer, Randy Butler, Ken Dorsey, Sonny Menzel and Kevin Peck. In first round pyramid play it was Bob Boyer over Michael Katz and John Ortiz over Rick Morgan. In second round pyramid play it was Nemon Williamson over Brittany Hurst, Sandie Cook over Bob Brown and Debbie Menzel over Steve Blotzer. The rankings were shook up with four players being added, Larry Campbell, AJ Jones, Kevin Peck and Denzil Storbeck. Jerry Crumrine maintained the # 1 position, Bob Simonson holds at the # 2 spot, Nemon Williamson holds the # 3 spot, Neal Stachowicz has the # 4 position with Mike Osada moving up into the # 5 spot.
The seventh “Matt Hurst shootout” was played on Saturday, August 30th starting at 9:00 am at Paradise Valley G.C. After 3 days of temperatures of 100 degrees plus the weather cooled down to the high 80’s for the playing of the shootout. On the back nine we had the normal westerly wind. Matt and Brittany Hurst handed out the traditional goodie bags to each player before they teed off. Larry Campbell won the first flight with a net 67, his second win in a row at Paradise. Mike Cook was second one stroke back. Neal Stachowicz was third with a net 71. Rob Yarbrough with an excellent net 62 won the second flight. AJ Jones took second pl;ace with a net 64. Tournament host Matt Hurst took third with a net 67. The third flight was won by the trio of Bob Boyer, Debbie Menzel and Sonny Menzel with net 68’s. Sandie Cook and Floyd Duggins tied for second place two strokes back. Mike Osada took third place with a net 78. Larry Campbell and AJ Jones won the CP’s, John Ortiz and Brittany Hurst ( her first) won the LD’s. Randy Butler shot an even par gross 36 on the front nine, Mike Cook had a 39 on the back nine. Dave Pearce barely maintained his points lead. AJ Jones took over the scoring average lead for the year. The greens were in excellent shape, the field took advantage making 15 birdies. AJ Jones led the way with 3, Larry Campbell, Sonny Menzel and John Ortiz had 2 apiece. Other birdie shooters were Mike Cook, Matt Hurst, Kevin Peck, Don Scribner, Bob Simonson and Rob Yarbrough. It was a mad dash to qualify for the Winners Tournament. Bob Boyer, Larry Campbell, Mike Cook, Sandie Cook, Floyd Duggins, AJ Jones and Sonny Menzel took the last qualifying spots for the Winners Tournament bringing the final total to 20 for the year. Larry Campbell, Rob Yarbrough and Bob Boyer had their pictures taken in the traditional lavender blazer worn by the first place finishers. In first round pyramid play it was Bob Boyer over Michael Katz by a coin toss. In second round play it was John Ortiz over Kevin Peck. In third round pyramid play it was Debbie Menzel over Sandie Cook. The rankings had some changes, Jerry Crumrine held the # 1 spot, Bob Simonson held the # 2 spot, Neal Stachowicz moved up to the # 3 spot, Mike Osada moved up to # 4 with Nemon Williamson slipping to the # 5 position.
The “38th” annual Winners Tournament was played for the first time at Foxtail – North G.C. on Saturday, September 27th with a 9am start time. The weather conditions were ideal, temperature in the low nineties with essentially no wind. The greens that were aerated just a week and a half before the tournament were lumpy and bumpy but the field came through with an astounding 21 birdies and an eagle. A great turnout, eighteen of the twenty eligible players played plus five ineligible for a total of twenty three. At Foxtail if you don’t go low you might as well go home. Debbie Menzel claimed her second Winners Tournament and third major shooting an excellent gross 84 net 62. She shot a gross 39 on the front nine and started out her back nine by holing out her second shot on the par 4 tenth hole for an eagle two. With all that she only managed to win by one stroke as Dave Pearce shot a two over par gross score of 74 (new course record) which included 4 birdies (ties John Justus’ runner-up record). He also broke the low gross record for the Winners Tournament by one stroke. Four players tied for 3rd place with net 67’s, Ken Dorsey, Todd Lopez, Sonny Menzel and Kevin Peck. Brittany Hurst, not eligible for the WT won the third place points with a net 66. Kevin Peck and Todd Lopez had gross 39’s on the front nine, Ken Dorsey shot a 39 on the back nine. With her win Debbie won the Points Championship for the year. In another very competitive year 10 different players had a chance to claim the Points Championship going into the Winners Tournament. Floyd Duggins and Brittany Hurst (her first) took the CP’s. In another very competitive year 11 different players won a CP, Mike Cook with 3 led the way. The LD’s were won by Todd Lopez and Matt Hurst. We had 12 different players claim a LD during the year, Debbie Menzel and Dave Pearce led the way with 2 each. AJ Jones won the Scoring Average Championship for the year after losing a tie breaker last year for the title. Ken Dorsey had three birdies, Randy Butler and Kevin Peck had two apiece. Other birdie shooters were; Bob Boyer, Larry Campbell, Mike Cook, Brittany Hurst (her first), Todd Lopez, Debbie Menzel, Sonny Menzel, Don Scribner and Bob Simonson. Dave Pearce was the birdie leader for the year with 10. In second round pyramid play it was Bob Boyer over Ken Dorsey (@ Green Tree GC). In third round pyramid play it was Todd Lopez over Bob Boyer. The absent Neal Stachowicz moved into first place in the Valero Golf Rankings, Jerry Crumrine slipped into the second spot, Kevin Peck moved up from # 7 to the # 3 spot and joined Mike Osada, John Ortiz is at # 4 with Nemon Williamson holding the # 5 position.
The 22nd Valero Cup tournament was played for the first time at Wildhorse G.C. on Saturday, October 4th starting at 9:28 am. We played in the morning following the first rain storm of the season. The temperature made it into the low seventies but a brisk wind that seemed to blow across almost every hole we played made for some tough conditions. On the tough par 5 fifth hole some scores posted were 7, 7, 8, 9, 12 and 14. The greens had not been aerated but were inconsistent in speed and hard to read. Only 3 birdies were made, one each by Mike Cook and Rob Yarbrough, Sonny Menzel birdied the # 1 handicap hole. Mike Cook won first place after shooting a net 70 and ended a 3 year individual tournament win drought. This was Mike’s second Cup win and his 8th major championship. Jerry Crumrine who was 3 strokes back finished runner-up for the second year in a row. Floyd Duggins and Sonny Menzel tied for third place another 3 strokes back. Other top eight players included; Rob Yarbrough, Dave Pearce, Debbie Menzel and Nemon Williamson. (Kevin Peck and Mike Osada were eligible but didn’t play). Not eligible but played were Sandie Cook, Brittany Hurst and Matt Hurst. The absent Kevin Peck and Mike Osada moved up into the # 1 and # 2 ranking positions. Jerry Crumrine slipped into the # 3 spot, Neal Stachowicz moved into the # 4 spot with Debbie Menzel just squeaking out Rob Yarbrough for # 5.
The 32nd Pyramid Tournament finals were held at Paradise Valley G.C. on Friday, November 7th, a beautiful fall day with temperatures in the low seventies and an unusual intermittent northeast wind blowing. The course was in good shape, the greens speed slower than normal. Todd Lopez, Debbie Menzel and Nemon Williamson made up the final threesome for the championship. The problem was with a 1pm start time to finish before dark. Mike Cook didn’t play as planned but tended pins, raked bunkers, looked for wayward golf balls and made an occasional ruling. This round was highlighted by some excellent shots by all three players. On the opening hole Todd hit the shortest drive but came through with a bogey 6. Nemon’s drive was just short of the left fairway bunker, hit a short second, his 3rd was long left and then had some short game problems to end up with a 7. Debbie hit a good drive but then put her second shot in the right side hazard. Her short game gave her problems which led her to taking a 9. On the second hole Todd was way left with his drive but made a very good shot over the trees to just off the green back, from there he made a bogey 5. Debbie again hit a good drive but thinned her second shot into the front hazard, the ball ran through and was just short of the green. A good chip and putt saved her par 4. Nemon hit a very good drive leaving him a 100 yard second shot. He used a pitching wedge and holed out his shot for an eagle 2. On the par 3 third hole both Todd and Nemon made par 3’s. Debbie put her tee shot into the hazard, this led to a triple bogey 6. On the par 5 fourth hole Todd hit his tee shot OB left but came back and made a double bogey 7. Debbie again found the hazard behind the green but made a very good bogey 6, Nemon also took a 6. On the par 4 fifth hole Nemon hit his tee shot left towards OB but hit a tree and bounced foward. Debbie hit a good drive, got on in 2 and 2 putted for a par 4. Nemon and Todd took bogey 5’s. On the par 4 sixth hole both Nemon and Todd hit their tee shots left, Debbie right down the middle. Nemon hit a very good shot from a difficult position to just on the green front. Todd hit his second shot right and into the water hazard. His ball was in the water a couple of inches with about 5 feet of very wet mud to stand on. He stood in the mud and hit a wedge over the huge frontside bunker and just off the back of the green. You had to see it to believe it! From there he made a great bogey 5. Nemon and Debbie also had 5’s. On the short par 4 seventh hole Nemon hit a good drive, wedged pin high a 2 putted for a par 4. Debbie was long with her second shot and took 4 more shots for a 6. Todd 3 putted for a 6. On the par 3 eighth hole Nemon hit the front of the green, Debbie rolled just by the hole and was just long, Todd was way left of the green but got in for a bogey 4. Nemon 2 putted for a par. Debbie made a 15 foot downhill putt for a birdie 2. On the par 4 ninth hole both Nemon and Todd were left with their drives, Debbie right down the middle and long. All three players took bogey 5’s. At the end of the front nine both Debbie and Todd were 3 strokes up on Nemon. On the par 5 tenth hole Todd payed the price for not being familar with the course hitting his second shot right into the right side water hazard but still made a bogey 6. Nemon also took a 6. Debbie hit the left fairway bunker with her tee shot, this eventually led to a double bogey 7. On the par 4 eleventh hole Todd hit his tee shot left, almost OB, Nemon was in the left fairway bunker, Debbie hit a very good tee shot down the middle. Todd hit his second shot right and into the rightside hazard. Nemon hit a low runner out of the bunker and onto the green and 2 putted for a par. Debbie took a bogey 5. Todd after his drop hit a tree and almost into the hazard again, all this led to him taking an 8 on the hole. On the short par 3 twelfth hole Debbie and Nemon made both par 3’s, Todd had a bogey 4. The par 4 thirteenth hole was the turning point in the match. Nemon would make a par 4, Debbie a double bogey 6 to go one down in the match. Todd hit his drive left, had a bad stance and put 2 balls left OB. The match was now down to two players. On the short par 4 fourteenth hole Debbie almost drove the green, Nemon was in the right side bunker, Todd left in the fairway. Todd made a par 4, short game errors led to bogey 5’s for Debbie and Nemon. On the par 3 fifteenth hole with a blue pin left Nemon hit the very right side of the green, Debbie hit a beautiful shot pin high about 10 feet from the hole. Todd hit the hazard with his tee shot. Nemon 3 putted for a bogey 4, Debbie just missed her birdie but made a par 3 to even the match. On the par 5 sixteenth hole Nemon hit his tee shot left. Debbie hit a good drive around the rightside fairway bunker but the ball then went right into the hazard. Debbie went into the hazard and hit a fairway wood out of it, an excellent shot. Nemon layed up with his second shot, then hit his third shot just in the right side fringe on the green. Debbie hit a fairway wood for her third shot, it just missed going on the green and ended up in the right greenside bunker. To make things worse the bunker was in horrible shape, large footprints all over it. Debbie took a big swing but barely got out. A bad chip shot followed. She then just barely missed an uphill putt, just short by a couple of inches and took a 7. Nemon 2 putted for a par 5 and was up 2 strokes for the match. Arriving at the 17th hole it was getting dark, the moon was out to help us with the light. On the par 4 seventeenth hole Debbie was short with her second shot, chipped on and 2 putted for a bogey 5. Nemon was on the green in two but 3 putted for a 5. The match was still Nemon 2 up going to the eighteenth hole. One thing you don’t want to see is a bad shot right before you hit your tee shot. Todd hit his tee shot into the rightside water hazard. Nemon gets on the tee, aiming at the left fairway bunkers, comes off the shot and puts his drive into the lake. Debbie hit her drive into the leftside fairway bunkers. Nemon lays up short with an iron. Debbie hits another great shot out of the bunker just short and right of thr green. Nemon hits the green with his fourth shot but leaves himself a long putt. Debbie chips her third shot on about 10 feet short of the pin. Nemon hits his putt within a coulple inches of the hole and taps in for a 6. Debbie has to make her putt for a tie, hits an aggressive putt but it goes by the hole, then 2 putts for a 6. We finished the round in 3 hours, 56 minutes. Nemon will have his name engraved for the first time on the “Tom Stead Trophy” as the winner of the 32nd Pyramid Tournament, ( $90.00 ). Finishing second was Debbie Menzel ( $46.00 ). Finishing third was Todd Lopez ( $28.00). Low net money went to Bob Boyer ( $22.00 ), Kevin Peck ( $18.00 ), Sandie Cook ( $14.00 ), Brittany Hurst ( $12.00 ) and Sonny Menzel ( $10.00 ). After the Pyramid Tournament Debbie Menzel took over the # 1 spot in the golf rankings, Ken Dorsey enters at # 2, Kevin Peck at # 3, Mike Osada at # 4 and Jerry Crumrine at the # 5 spot.
The # 1 position in the Valero Golf Club Rankings was held by Bob Simonson from the start of the year through Deer Ridge, Rancho Solano and the Eagle Vines tournaments. Jerry Crumrine took over after Franklin Canyon and held # 1 through the Shadow Lakes and Paradise Valley tournaments. After the Winners Tournament at Foxtail – North Neal Stachowicz took # 1 spot, after the Valero Cup at Wildhorse Kevin Peck took over the top spot. Debbie Menzel after finishing second in the Pyramid Tournament at Paradise Valley took over the # 1 position. Debbie ended the year as the # 1 ranked golfer.
By finishing 1st in Tournament Points, 8th in the Scoring Average Championship for the year, and 2nd in the Pyramid Tournament, Debbie Menzel was the Valero Golf Club’s “Player of the Year” for 2008 (her second).
The annual Revenge Scramble Tournament normally played at Kennedy GC in Napa in October was not held this year.
2008 was the seventh 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. Birdies-R-Us became the second team in league history to hold the first place position from the start of the year until the end of the regular season. At the end of the regular season the first place team ( Birdies-R-Us) ) received a bye, the second place team the Seadlings and the third place team the Rovers played off on August 7th to determine who would play the top team. The Rovers team won 5.5 to 4.5 and advanced on to play Birdies-R-Us on August 14th. The Championship match was very close coming down to the final foursome on the final hole with the Rovers winning by a score of 6.0 to 4.0. This gave the Rovers their third league championship. Mike Cook shot video of the match showing play on the first, third and ninth holes. The first place team the Rovers consisted of team captain Mike DeHart, Steve Duff, Rick Morgan, Jim Petrellese, Jim Rollans, Margie Talbot and Karen Webster. The defending champions Birdies-R-Us finished in second place. The team consisted of team captain Glenn Campbell, Andrew Estrada, Sue Gustofson, JD Johnson, Todd Lopez, Lacey Sutherland and Alex Tegenkamp. The Seadlings finished in third place. The team consisted of co-captain John Endicott, Michael Katz, Tom Kelly, Al Middleton, co-captain Neal Stachowicz, Gene Stangel and Casey Walker. Team Albatross finished in fourth place. The team consisted of Dave Barnholt, Lauren Bird, team captain Matt Hurst, Mike Osada, Glenn Overman, Mark Patterson and Terrence Vallely. The Hackers Unlimited took fifth place, the team consisted of Will Grinslade, AJ Jones, team captain Debbie Menzel, Sonny Menzel, Randy Pockrandt, Trent Van Nieuwburg and Don Wilson.The Mulligans (formally the Hookers) finished sixth, the team consisting of team captain???Bob Boyer, Rick Hastings, Ben LaFountain, Jack Merrill, James Minkel, Eddie Pereira and Lelsie Sullivan..Year long individual honors went to Eddie Periera, low gross of 36 in the regular season, a record low net of 21 in the regular season went to Jim Minkel. In the playoffs low gross went to John Endicott and Neal Stachowicz with 39’s. Low net in the playoffs went to Neal Stachowicz with a 31 (Margie Talbot had a net 32). AJ Jones had the most improved handicap for the year. In the league individual rankings Glenn Campbell finished the year in the # 1 position. During the season Glenn tied the highest player ranking % record with a perfect 10 and held the # 1 spot for the final 8 weeks (and 8 consecutive weeks). Jim Rollans held # 1 spot for 4 weeks to start off the year followed by Sue Gustofson who then held it for the next 6 weeks The Birdies-R-Us team tied the league record for most team match points won, most total team points won and the total team winning percentage. Glenn Campbell set 4 new league records, tied 3 league records, set 2 new runner-up records and tied 2 more runner-up records. Eddie Periera, John Endicott and Neal Stachowicz tied a couple of low gross records. Casey Walker set a new low net runner-up record for the regular season, also Neal Stachowicz in the playoffs. League President Bob Boyer set a new runner-up record in most improved handicap. Andrew Estrada tied the runner-up record for match points winning % through the playoffs. In post season tournament play; in the three club tournament it was John Endicott with a new record gross 42, in the two person best-ball it was the Dave Barnholt-Rick Hastings team and the Casey Walker-Terrence Vallely team with net 27’s. In the bingo, bango bongo tournament it was Guy Young, Neal Stachowicz, Sonny Menzel and Terrence Vallely. In the Points Tournament it was Casey Walker in first with 20 points (birdied the 9th hole), Guy Young in second with 19 points and John Endicott in third with 18 points (and a gross 38). On September 20th there was play followed by an awards banquet where league president Sue Gustofson presented the league awards.
This golf year came to a close following the Pyramid Tournament Finals. This year we continued the players sponsoring tournaments, thanks to all the sponsors. We never tire of thanking Debbie Menzel for doing an outstanding job again as our Tournament Director in a very busy year for her. The Valero Golf League had another good year with the Rovers return to glory after winning their third League Championship. Thanks to Sue Gustofson for running the Valero Golf League for the past ???? years, Bob Boyer took over as League President this year. Thanks also Mike DeHart, Treasurer & Membership Coordinator, Jim Rollans who was again the league statistician and Will Grinslade who was the farm league statistician. As always we’re looking forward to next year.
Mike Cook