2014 Highlights

WinnerRunner-Up
Player of the YearB. Boyer146N. Williamson116
Points ChampionB. Boyer25.0F. Duggins23.0
Scoring ChampionB. Boyer69.20L. Campbell70.33
Pyramid TournamentN. Stachowicz78B. Boyer81
Winners TournamentK. Peck71S. Cook74
Club Championship )* – won tie breaker)S. Blotzer43 pts *A. Tegenkamp43 pts
Low Gross Club ChampionshipR. Butler77N. Williamson80
Valero Cup TournamentR. Villarreal71K. Peck72
N. Williamson72
Barbara Juris AwardS. Cook
# 1 Ranked Golfer at the end of the yearB. Boyer13.87F. Duggins12.42
Most Tour. as the # 1 ranked golferB. Boyer7N. Williamson1
Most Improved HandicapB. Boyer18.5-14.4M. Hurst15.2-13.0
Most Improved PlayerB. BoyerS. Blotzer
F. DugginsS. Cook
R. Villarreal
Most Tournament WinsB. Boyer3K. Peck2
R. Villarreal2
Most Top 3’sB. Boyer6S. Cook5
F. Duggins5
N. Stachowicz, 5
N. Williamson, 5
Most Eaglesnone
Most BirdiesN. Williamson7B. Boyer6
M. Hurst6
K. Peck, 6
Most Long DrivesM. Hurst4S. Blotzer2
K. Peck2
Most Closest to the PinM. Cook3
R. Villarreal3
Number of Tournaments7
Avg # of players per tournament17
Different players winning 1st place13
Different players winning 2nd place12
Players eligible for the Winners Tournament19

2014 Highlights Notes;

Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2014; Kevin Peck
New Player – Tim Rickabaugh, First Time Winners, John Perrin, Rob Villarreal



Achieved 850 Tournament Points – M. Cook, 852.0
Achieved 425 Tournament Points – N. Williamson, 443.5
Achieved 375 Tournament Points – S. Cook, 375.5
Achieved 350 Tournament Points – M. Hurst, 354.5
Achieved 275 Tournament Points – K. Peck, 277.5
Achieved 225 Tournament Points – N. Stachowicz, 237.5
Achieved 150 Tournament Points – F. Duggins, 158.0
Achieved  75 Tournament Points – B. Boyer, 79.0, R. Butler, 85.5

Valero Golf Club records set or tiedPrevious record or runner-up
Most Pyramid Tournaments Won
3 – N. Stachowicz, 1995, 2007, 20143 – M. Cook. 1991, 1992, 1998
3 – D. Pearce, 1984, 2005, 2006
Low Gross Score, Club Record for 18 Holes
2 under par 70, F. Longoria, Wildhorse, 20142 under par 70, J. Justus, Cypress Lakes, 1996
Course Record – Low Gross Score
2 under par, 70 (par 72), F. Longoria, Wildhorse, 20141 over par, 73, (par 72), R. Butler, Wildhorse, 2012
6 over par, 77, (par 71), R. Butler, Foxtail-S, 20146 over par, 77, (par 71), N. Williamson, Foxtail-S, 2011
Course Record – Low Net Score
9 under par, 62 (par 71), A. Tegenkamp, Foxtail-S, 20149 under par, 63 (par 72), J. Grant, Foxtail-S, 1998
9 under par, 63 (par 72), D. Scribner, Foxtail-S, 1998

2014 Highlights

The 44th Valero Golf Club season started out with the playing of the 29th annual Tom Stead memorial scramble at Green Tree G.C. on May 17th starting at 9:00am. We played on a beautiful spring day, temperature in the low 80’s at the end of play with a less than normal prevailing wind on the back nine. On the original March date cancelled due to aeration, it rained the entire day. The one flight tournament was won by the team of Steve Dodini, John Ortiz, Dave Pearce and Don Scribner with a 63. The team of Mike Cook, Sandie Cook, Nemon Williamson and Rob Yarbrough took second place with a 64. In third place was the team of Matt Hurst, AJ Jones, Vickie Devlin and Alex Tegenkamp with a 65. Fourth place was won by the team of Roger Clark, Ken Deak, Al Thacker and Ed Vegas with a 67. Finishing in fifth place was the team of Floyd Duggins, Debbie Menzel, Sonny Menzel and Glenn Overman with a 69. The course was in very good shape but the fairway cut was very high and the greens were a little slow, the field did however make 23 birdies. Nemon Williamson won the closest to the pin on the front nine for the second year in a row, the back nine CP was won by Ken Deak. Ed Vegas won the longest drive on the front nine, Matt Hurst on the back nine. The old par 5 sixteenth hole (currently playing as a par 3) is possibly being made into a short par 4. This year we raised $200.00 in contributions to the American Heart Association in “Tom’s” memory, this brought our total to date to  $8136.00. Thanks again for your support. Valero Golf Rankings, to start the year off Nemon Williamson held the # 1 spot, Kevin Peck # 2, Bob Boyer # 3, Ken Dorsey # 4 and Sonny Menzel # 5. 

     The first regular tournament of the year was held at Wildhorse GC on Tuesday, June 10th starting at 09:00 am. Following record heat the day before we expected it would be hot, it was 82 degrees at tee off, up to the high 90’s during play with 102 degrees at the end of play. What we didn’t expect was a very strong north wind which blew the entire round. The greens were better than they have been in previous years but were slower than normal, especially when the course workers were again syringing the greens just before we played them (very irritating). Brittany Hurst won the first flight in a runaway with a gross 79, net 63. Matt Hurst and Fred Longoria finished second with net 66’s. Neal Stachowicz and Nemon Williamson took third with  net 71’s. Fred Longoria broke Randy Butler’s low gross course record with an outstanding gross two under par 70, tying John Justus’ club record for the lowest gross score. Bob Boyer won the second flight with a net 68. Floyd Duggins was second with a 70. Sandie Cook took third with a net 71. The CP’s were won by John Perrin (his first) and Rob Villarreal (his first). Fred Longoria and Matt Hurst won the LD’s. Brittany Hurst starts off the year with the tournament points lead and the scoring average lead. The field made 16 birdies, Brittany Hurst, Matt Hurst and Fred Longoria led the way with 3 each. Bob Boyer and Vinny Zabat had 2 each, Randy Butler, Tim Rickabaugh and Nemon Williamson had one each. Brittany Hurst had a gross 38 on the back nine, Nemon Williamson a 39 on the back nine, Fred Longoria had nines of 35 & 35. In the first round of the Pyramid Tournament it was Neal Stachowicz over Steve Blotzer in a very close match. The Rankings after the tournament were, Bob Boyer with his win moved up from # 3 to the # 1 position, Nemon Williamson slips to # 2, Brittany Hurst jumps up from # 10 to # 3, Neal Stachowicz moved up from # 7 to # 4 with Sonny Menzel holding the # 5 spot.         

     It was a beautiful day for golf, temperature in the mid 80’s with a mild west wind towards the end of play. This was the setting for the playing of the 19th Club Championship held at Foxtail – South GC, June 28th starting at 09:36 am. Alex Tegenkamp looking for his first tournament win decided why not win the Club Championship and he did tie with Steve Blotzer to win the second flight with 43 pts but lost the tie breaker to Steve for the CC. Steve won his third major championship. In the CC Randy Butler was third with 42 pts., Nemon Williamson fourth with 41 pts. In the second flight Floyd Duggins and Bob Simonson tied for second with 40 pts, Sandie Cook took third with 39 pts. In the first flight it was Randy Butler taking first with 42 pts, Nemon Williamson second with 41 pts and Mike Cook third with 33 pts. Randy Butler won the low gross Club Championship for the second year in a row with a gross 77, Nemon Williamson was second with a 80. Mike Cook and Rob Villarreal won the CP’s. Rob Villarreal and Kevin Peck won the LD’s. Randy Butler joined Brittany Hurst for the points lead for the year. Brittany Hurst maintained the scoring average lead. Nemon Williamson shot a gross 38 on the front nine, Randy Butler a gross 37 on the same nine. Randy tied Nemon’s low gross course record of 77. Alex Tegenkamp tied Jim Grant’s and Don Scribner’s low net course record of 9 under par. Matt Hurst and John Perrin were the only players to improve their scores on the tougher back nine. The course was in good shape, the fairways a little rough but playable, the greens were in very good shape and fast. Nemon Williamson had 3 birdies, Randy Butler had 2, other birdie shooters were Steve Blotzer, Mike Cook, Matt Hurst, Bob Simonson and Alex Tegenkamp. Nemon Williamson unsuccessfully putted for an eagle on # 18 trying to get that 8 point prize. It was nice to see Sue Gustofson join us for play, it’s been a while. In the rankings Bob Boyer maintains his # 1 ranking, Nemon holds at # 2, Randy Butler moves up from # 8 to # 3, Brittany slips to # 4 with Neal Stachowicz slipping to # 5. There was no play in first round of the pyramid, all the first round matches need to be played through the Paradise Valley tournament.              

     Tuesday the 22nd of  July was the date for the Paradise Valley Tournament starting at 09:00 am. The weather was odd for July, a thunder storm was possible and sure enough we did receive some thunder and showers halfway through the front nine. The prevailing wind blew pretty steady throughout the round. The driving range was closed for maintenance but they did manage to get it open before we teed off. This year seems to be for new tournament winners, first Alex Tegenkamp at the CC and this time it was John Perrin who won the second flight for his first tournament win with a net 69. The trio of Sandie Cook, Floyd Duggins and Neal Stachowicz tied for second place with net 70’s. Larry Campbell took third with a net 71. In the first flight it was Nemon Williamson winning with a net 68 (his 3rd consecutive win @ Paradise) followed by Matt Hurst in second with a net 72. Randy Butler and Vinny Zabat took third place with net 73’s. Vinny Zabat won the LD on the front nine with a monster drive, on the tee we said that can’t be the LD marker but it was. Matt Hurst won the LD on the back nine. Neal Stachowicz and Bob Simonson won the CP’s. Nemon Williamson took over the points lead for the year, Brittany Hurst maintained her scoring average lead for the year. The usually excellent greens at Paradise were in good shape but much slower than normal. The field did made 8 birdies led by Nemon Williamson with two, other birdie shooters were Larry Campbell, Sandie Cook, Ken Dorsey, Matt Hurst, Fred Longoria and John Perrin with one apiece. Fred Longoria shot a gross 38 on thr front nine, Nemon Williamson shot a gross 39 on the back nine. In first round pyramid play it was # 1 ranked Bob Boyer over # 9 ranked Mike Cook (by one stroke, in Mike’s 100th match), # 11 ranked Matt Hurst over # 3 ranked Randy Butler (by one stroke) and # 12 ranked Sandie Cook over # 14 ranked Alex Tegenkamp. The 1st round matches, Debbie Menzel vs Kevin Peck and Rob Yarbrough vs Nemon Williamson are overdue. The rankings were changed a bit, Nemon Williamson took over the # 1 position, Bob Boyer slipped to the # 2 spot, Randy Butler held at # 3, Neal Stachowicz moved up to # 4, Sonny Menzel maintained the # 5 spot. John Perrin entered the rankings. Player of the Year standings changed quite a bit: # 1 – Nemon Williamson, # 2 – Matt Hurst, # 3 – Sandie Cook, # 4 – Bob Boyer and # 5 – Neal Stachowicz.
 
     The 13th “Boyd Cook Memorial Classic” was held at the Franklin Canyon Golf Course on Tuesday, August 5th starting at 9:00 am. Last year at Franklin we played in a light rain all day, the forecast this year called for a chance of rain but we lucked out with the weather. Overcast skies, temperature about 70 deg. with essentially no wind led to some great scoring by the field. The theme of the day was “go low or go home” at Franklin, the “Home of Ties”. All the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place finishers scored in the net 60’s. Bob Boyer won the first flight with a net 64, his second consecutive Classic win, Matt Hurst and Neal Stachowicz tied for second place with net 68’s, Mike Cook took third with a net 69. For the third tournament in a row we had a first time winner. Rob Villarreal won his first tournament tying with Floyd Duggins (his 2nd Classic win) for first place with net 64’s to win the second flight. Larry Campbell and Bob Simonson tied for second place with net 65’s. John Perrin took third place with a net 69.  Rob Villarreal and Floyd Duggins won the CP’s, Matt Hurst won both the LD’s. Floyd Duggins took over the points lead for the year, Brittany Hurst kept the scoring average lead. The greens were slow as is normal now, the field did make 8 birdies led by Larry Campbell and Floyd Duggins with two each. Other birdie shooters were Bob Boyer, Matt Hurst, Nemon Williamson and Vinny Zabat. Bob Simonson and Nemon Williamson shot gross 39’s on the front nine, Larry Campbell a gross 38 on the back nine. Mike and Sandie Cook passed out cash prizes to the flight winners and gift cards to all the 2nd place finishers. Larry Campbell moved to within 2.5 points for entry into the Hall of Fame. In first round pyramid play it was Kevin Peck over Debbie Menzel by forfeit and # 1 ranked Nemon Williamson over # 17 Rob Yarbrough by one stroke (@ Rancho Solano). In second round play it was # 2 ranked Bob Boyer over # 8 ranked Matt Hurst, # 4 ranked Neal Stachowicz over # 1 ranked Nemon Williamson and # 10 ranked Sandie Cook over # 7 ranked Kevin Peck. So it’s Bob Boyer, Sandie Cook and Neal Stachowicz in the Pyramid Finals. Sandie Cook, Matt Hurst and Randy Butler won the low net money. In the rankings, Bob Boyer with his win took over the # 1 Spot, Nemon Williamson slipped to # 2, Floyd Duggins moved up to # 3, Randy Butler went to # 4 with Neal Stachowicz at # 5. Rob Villarreal entered the rankings. Player of the Year top 5 standings; Bob Boyer, Matt Hurst, Neal Stachowicz, Nemon Williamson and Sandie Cook.     

     The 13th annual Menzel Classic best-ball tournament was held late this year on Friday, August 29th at Rancho Solano GC starting at 09:00 am. The weather was strange this year, high cloudiness, warm and humid. The # 1 ranked Bob Boyer (with his 3rd win this year) and Ken Dorsey teamed up to win the first flight with a best-ball score of 62. This was their 2nd Best-Ball win together as a team. The team of Mike Cook and Nemon Williamson took second place with a net 64. John Perrin and Rob Villarreal took third place with a 68. The team of Kevin Peck and Rob Yarbrough won first place in the second flight with a net 58 (tying the club’s runner-up record). This was their 5th Best-Ball Classic win. Eight strokes back was the team of Neal Stachowicz and Alex Tegenkamp who took second place. Third place was won by the team of Steve Blotzer and Floyd Duggins with a net 67. The last three eligible spots for the Winners Tournament were taken by Ken Dorsey, Kevin Peck and Rob Yarbrough, we have 19 eligible for the WT. The course was in good shape and the greens had excellent speed, the way they used to be. There were some very difficult pin placements but the field responded with 17 birdies. The birdie shooters were led by Kevin Peck with 4 birdies (ties the club runner-up record), Bob Boyer had 3, Ken Dorsey and Sonny Menzel had 2 apiece. Other birdie shooters were Steve Blotzer, Mike Cook, Mike Osada, Bob Simonson, Neal Stachowicz and Rob Yarbrough with one each. Rare net eagles were made by Kevin Peck with four, Bob Boyer, Ken Dorsey and Sonny Menzel with two each, Steve Blotzer, Mike Cook, Mike Osada, Bob Simonson and Alex Tegenkamp with one each. Bob Boyer shot a 2 under par gross 34 on the front nine (ties the Club’s runner-up record), Mike Cook shot a gross 39 on the back nine. Debbie and Sonny handed out very generous prizes to the winners ($100.00 each player) and gift certificates to the 2nd place teams. The CP’s were won by Mike Osada and Mike Cook. The LD’s were won by Steve Blotzer and Kevin Peck. Bob Boyer joined Floyd Duggins for the tournament points lead. Bob Boyer took over the scoring average lead. In the Race for the Hall of Fame eligibility Rob Yarbrough only needs a 1/2 tournament point. Bob Boyer maintained the # 1 Ranking, Nemon Williamson held at # 2, Randy Butler moved up to # 3, Floyd Duggins slipped to # 4 with Neal Stachowicz holding at # 5. In the Player of the Year standings, it’s Bob Boyer, Neal Stachowicz, Nemon Williamson, Matt Hurst and Sandie Cook.                                      

    After 22 years we returned to the Kennedy GC for the playing of the “44th” annual Winners Tournament. It was the sight of the 1980 W.T. (Boyd Cook), the 1981 W.T. (Don Dean), the 1987 W.T. (Drew Paterson), the 1990 W.T. (Mark Reinhart), the 1991 W.T. (Sandie Cook) and the 1992 W.T. (Ed Vegas). Play took place on Saturday, September 13th with a 09:00 am start time, however a course mixup had us wait until 9:45 am to tee off. The weather conditions were good, some early high clouds to start with, the temperature in the high 80’s, the afternoon prevailing wind was absent. The course however was in bad shape, the greens were slow and very bumpy and some of the fairways were dirt. A poor turnout, nine of the nineteen eligible players played plus two ineligible for a total of eleven. Ongoing Refinery operating problems caused some players to miss the tournament. Kevin Peck with a net 71 won his second Winners Tournament (his 20th career win) and third major which was enough to qualify him for the Valero Golf Club “Hall of Fame”. Sandie Cook also needing another major win took second place with a net 74. Bob Boyer took 3rd place with a net 75. Mike Cook, not eligible also took the second place tournament points which put him into the Valero Cup. Two players with a chance to win the tournament had it disappear by taking a 9 and an 11 on the par five 18th hole. Going into the tournament 4 different players had a chance to win the Points Championship, Bob Boyer (his 1st) won the Points Championship for the year. Mike Cook and Kevin Peck took the CP’s. In another very competitive year 8 different players won a CP, Mike Cook and Rob Villarreal led the way with 3 each for the year. The LD’s were won by Steve Blotzer and Alex Tegenkamp (his first). We had 7 different players claim a LD during the year, Matt Hurst led the way with 4 for the year. Bob Boyer won the Scoring Average Championship for the year (his first). Birdies were scarce, Kevin Peck birdied 2 of the last 3 holes to lead the way, Steve Blotzer made one birdie. Nemon Williamson led the birdie leaders for the year with 7. Bob Boyer with his third place finish maintained first place in the Valero Golf Rankings, Randy Butler moved up to the second spot, Nemon Williamson slipped to the # 3 spot, Floyd Duggins held the # 4 spot with Kevin Peck moving up to the # 5 position. In the Player of the Year race it’s over, Bob Boyer wins his first Player of the Year title.     

     The 38th Pyramid Tournament finals were held at Paradise Valley G.C. on Monday, September 22nd at 10:32 am. It was a beautiful day for golf, the temperature for play was in the high 80’s at the end of play with the prevailing westerly wind only coming up on the last three holes. The usual good greens were in poor shape playing much slower than they looked. The three players in the finals were Bob Boyer, Sandie Cook and Neal Stachowicz. Bob had won matches over Mike Cook and Matt Hurst, Sandie had won matches over Alex Tegenkamp and Kevin Peck. Neal had won matches over Steve Blotzer and Nemon Williamson. Bob and Neal were even with their handicaps with both players giving 12 strokes to Sandie for the match.     

     On the opening par 5 first hole (red flag) Bob hit his tee shot into the right fairway bunker, Neal down the middle, Sandie left and short. Bob just got out of the bunker then hit his third shot left of the greenside bunker. Neal had a good second shot, Sandie as well. All three players approach shot were short of the green, Bob and Neal on in four, Sandie on in five, all two putted, bogeys for Bob and Neal, a double for Sandie. On the par 4 second hole (white flag) all three players hit very good drives, Sandie layed up short of the hazard, Neal hit his second shot pin high but left of the green, Bob’s shot was very low, hit the face of the hazard and bounded up to the back of the green. Sandie’s third shot went long just off the back of the green. All three players chipped on and two putted for bogeys and a double for Sandie. On the par three 3rd hole (blue flag left) Bob’s tee shot went right and just clearing the right bunker, Neal’s went long and left of the greenside bunker, Sandie cleared the hazard but was short of the green. Sandie chipped on short and 3 putted for a double. Neal’s chip shot went into the bunker, out across the green, then 2 putted for a double, Bob chipped on and 2 putted for a bogey 4. On the par 5 fourth hole (red flag) both Bob and Neal were long left with their tee shots, Sandie right down the middle. Neal hit a good second shot, Bob hit a tree with his second, Sandie hit good second and third shots. Bob’s third shot went way right and into the hazard, after dropping he had more problems leading to him taking a nine on the hole. Neal hit his third shot on the green about 6 feet from the pin. Sandie mishit her 4th shot into the bunker, out short, on in 6 and 2 putted for an 8. Neal putted for his birdie but it mysteriously stopped on the cup edge, he tapped in for a par. On the par 4 fifth hole (white flag) Neal’s tee shot was left center and long, Bob’s tee shot went way left, he then hit a provisional way right into the lake, Sandie hit a good tee shot left center. Bob found his original tee shot, then hit his second shot into the right greenside bunker. Sandie got on in four and 2 putted for a 6. Neal’s second shot went right at the pin and stopped 3 feet from the hole. Bob just got out of the bunker, chipped on and 2 putted for a 6. Neal made his 3 footer for a birdie 3. On the tough par 4 sixth hole (blue flag) Neal’s tee shot went right and into the lake, Bob hit his tee shot way left, Sandie hit a very good tee shot down the middle. Sandie hit her second shot around the lake and then hit her third shot on the green. Neal dropped and hit his third shot short of the right greenside bunker. Bob hit his second shot short of the same bunker. Neal got on in 4 and 2 putted for a 6. Sandie 2 putted from 25 feet for a bogey 5, Bob chipped on and made a 20 foot putt for a par 4. On the par 4 seventh hole (red flag) Bob topped his tee shot short, Neal’s tee shot went into the fairway bunker and was right against the lip of the bunker. Sandie hit a good tee shot and second shot but her third shot went long on the green. Bob’s second shot went into the right greenside bunker, got out and 2 putted for a bogey 5. Neal didn’t get out of the bunker on his first try, then hit his third shot left of the green, chipped on and 2 putted for a 6. Sandie 3 putted for a double bogey 6. On the long par 3 eighth hole (white flag center) Bob hit a good shot but just long, Neal hit his tee shot way left and into the greenside bunker, Sandie hit a very good shot but just off the back of the green. Neal hit his bunker shot thin and up on the mounds back of the green. He then chipped short, chipped again and 2 putted for a 6. Sandie and Bob both chipped on and 2 putted for bogey 4’s. On the par 4 ninth hole (blue flag) Neal hit a very good tee shot right down the middle with 90 yards left to the green. Bob’s tee shot went way left and just stayed in bounds. Sandie hit a good tee shot, second shot and was on the front of the green in 3 shots. Bob hit his second shot into the left greenside bunker, left it in there, then out and 2 putted for a 6. Neal went just long left with his second shot and 2 putted from 20 feet for a par 4. Sandie left her first putt very short, hit her next putt close but in an awkward stance missed her short tap in and took a 7 on the hole. At the end of nine holes of play Neal is leading Sandie by 2 strokes and Bob by 3 strokes.      

     Starting the back nine with the par 5 tenth hole (red flag) Neal topped his tee shot short left, Bob hit a beautiful 270 yard tee shot that drew around the corner, Sandie hit a good shot right center. Neal hit his second shot just short of the lake, chipped out into the fairway. Bob hit his second shot into the left greenside bunker. Sandie hit her second and third shots just short of the hazard, then across just left of the green. Neal hit his fourth shot left but pin high. Bob had some bunker problems, got out but hit it very long to the very back of the green and 3 putted for a 7. Sandie got on in 5 and 2 putted for a 7. Neal made his putt from the fringe for a par 5. On the par 4 eleventh hole (white flag) Neal’s tee shot went into the left fairway bunker, Bob hit a good 270 yard drive right center, Sandie’s tee shot went right down the middle. Neal hit his bunker shot way left and long, almost OB. Bob hit his second shot long left over the green, Sandie hit her 3rd shot left on the mound. Neal chipped way short twice, then across the green and 2 putts for a 7. Sandie chips on and after missing a lip out 2 putts for a 6. Bob chips on and makes the putt for a good par 4. On the par 3 twelfth hole (blue flag left) Bob’s tee shot goes left of the green, hits the mound, bounces right and ends up 5 feet from the pin. Neal’s tee shot also goes left but ends up in the grass bunker. Sandie’s tee shot is left just short of the green. Neal with an impossible downhill, sidehill shot hits the ball across the green and just off. Sandie chips on and then makes a 6 foot putt for a par 3. Neal chips on and 2 putts for a 5. Bob misses his birdie putt and taps in for a par 3. On the par 4 thirteenth hole (red flag) Bob hits his tee shot way right into the hazard. Neal also goes right but it stays in the fairway. Sandie hits a good drive but it’s left, then hits a very good second shot just right of the trees, her third shot is short of the green. After a drop Bob hits his third shot on the back of the green. Neal hits his second shot left and up on the mounds. Neal’s chip shot is short, his next goes across the green and he 2 putts for a 6. Bob 2 putts for a 5. Sandie’s chip shot is short, her next is also short and 3 putts for an 8. On the short par 4 fourteenth hole (white flag) Bob’s tee shot goes right into the bunkers, Neal goes left center, Sandie also goes left center. Bob comes out of the bunker but right back into another one, on in 4 and 2 putts for a 6. Sandie hits her second shot into the greenside bunker, just out, chips on and 2 putts for a 6. Neal hits his second shot on the green and 2 putts for a par 4. On the par 3 fifteenth hole (blue flag left) Neal hits his tee shot just right of the flag but long into the mound, Bob hits the green in the center, Sandie’s tee shot is short right. Sandie has a long chip which goes right, chips on and 2 putts for a 5. Bob 3 putts for a bogey 4. Neal chips long off the mound but then makes a long putt coming back for a par 3. On the par 5 sixteenth hole (red flag) both Neal and Bob hit tee shots way left. Neal hits a good second shot right center of the fairway, Bob hits his second shot left center, then hits his third on the green above and right of the pin. Sandie hits all good shots coming down the fairway, on the green in 5 and 2 putts for a 7. Neal is pretty close to the green but chili dips two shots short, his 5th shot goes left into the mounds, chips on and makes the putt for a 7. Bob 3 putts from above the hole for a bogey 6. On the par 4 seventeenth hole (white flag) Bob’s tee shot goes right but is in play, Neal and Sandie both hit their tee shots down the middle. Sandie hits her 3rd shot short but chips on very well and makes the putt for a bogey 5. Bob hits his second shot long through the green just off the back right. Neal has a short approach shot to the green but hits it short, chips on but above the hole, his next putt lips out, he taps in for a bogey 5. Bob’s chip shot is short, then putts past the hole but makes the comeback for a bogey 5. As the players go to the par 5 eighteenth finishing hole (blue flag) Neal is up by one stroke on Bob and one stroke on Sandie. Bob tees off first and cuts the dogleg right hole but misses carrying the lake by about 3 feet. Neal hits his tee shot right center but it goes right and just makes it around the red hazard stake and in the fairway. Sandie hits a good tee shot down the center, her second shot left and in the rough, her third shot short of the green . Bob has to drop way back for his 3rd shot which was short of the green, he chipped long and then 2 putted for a 6. Sandie got on in 4 but long right, chipped long trying to hole it out and then 2 putted for a 7. Neal hit his second shot left into the mounds, chipped on and made the putt for a par 4. He won by 3 shots over Bob and 4 shots over Sandie. Neal will have his name engraved for the third time on the “Tom Stead” trophy as the winner of the 38th Pyramid Tournament ($48.00), finishing second was Bob Boyer ($24.00), finishing third was Sandie Cook ($16.00) Low net money went to Sandie Cook ($14.00), Matt Hurst ($10.00), Randy Butler ($8.00). After the Pyramid Tournament Bob Boyer maintained the # 1 spot in the golf rankings, Floyd Duggins moved up to # 2, Randy Butler slipped to # 3, Nemon Williamson slipped to # 4 and Neal Stachowicz moved up to the # 5 spot.     

     The 28th Valero Cup tournament was played at Hiddenbrooke G.C. on Wednesday, October 8th starting at 09:40 am, a beautiful fall day for playing golf. The 1998 Valero Cup (Nemon Williamson) and 1999 Valero Cup (Mike Cook) were held there as well as a regular tournament in 2004 with flight winners; Denzil Storbeck, Bob Simonson and Sandie Cook. The temperature for play was in the high 80’s with a prevailing wind calmer than normal. The Hiddenbrooke greens were in beautiful shape, fast and true. Play was from the white tees. Before the Valero Cup results were announced Kevin Peck was officially inducted into the Valero Golf Club “Hall of Fame”. The Club presented Matt Hurst a plaque and a $200.00 gift card in appreciation for him being our tournament director for the past six years. In the Valero Cup at the end of the front nine Rob Villarreal led the way with a net 33, Mike Cook at net 36, with Neal Stachowicz and Nemon Williamson at net 37’s. After shooting a net 38 on the back nine Rob Villarreal won his second tournament for the year and his first major championship. Nemon Williamson birdied the 18th hole to tie Kevin Peck for second place with net 72’s. The # 1 ranked and Player of the Year Bob Boyer took third place with a net 75. Bob had three top 3 finishes in the majors this year. Rob won the $80.00 winner takes all Valero Cup prize money and bought a round of drinks for the field. On the Hiddenbrooke holes you can quickly put up some big numbers, we had some 8’s, 9’s and 10’s. Mike Cook lost two balls in the fairway and had to go back and retee. Other than Nemon’s birdie on the 18th, Matt Hurst birdied the par 4 fourth hole after almost driving the 295 yard hole, he also birdied the par 3 seventeenth hole. Mike Cook birdied both par 3’s on the front nine and the par 3 seventeenth hole. Other top eight players included; Mike Cook, Neal Stachowicz, John Perrin ansd Matt Hurst. Floyd Duggins was eligible but didn’t play. Bob Boyer with his 3rd place finish maintained his # 1 ranking, Floyd Duggins held at # 2, Nemon Williamson moved up to # 3, Randy Butler slipped to # 4, with Kevin Peck moving up to # 5.                    

     The # 1 position in the Valero Golf Club Rankings was held by Nemon Williamson to start the year off. Bob Boyer took over the # 1 spot after the Wildhorse tournament and held it through the Foxtail-South tournament. Nemon Williamson retook over after the Paradise Valley tournament but Bob came back to take # 1 after Franklin Canyon and held it through the Rancho Solano, the Kennedy Winners Tournament, the Pyramid Tournament Finals and the Valero Cup Tournament.         

     By finishing 1st in Tournament Points, 1st in the Scoring Average Championship for the year, and 2nd in the Pyramid Tournament, Bob Boyer was the Valero Golf Club’s “Player of the Year” for 2014 (his first).     

     2014 was the thirteenth year for the Valero Golf League. Play continued at Blue Rock West on Wednesday’s. Farm League play was held on Thursday’s. The League continued to be nine hole team play starting officially at 4:30 pm every Wednesday. The League ran from mid April through September. This year a new team was added, the Slice Motifs joined the other 5 teams of 7 to 8 players each. Steve Duff continued as the League President, Jim Rollans returned as the League Statistician. 2014 started out with the Hackers and the Mulligans tied for first place after week # 1. The defending champion Mulligans took over in week # 2. The Birdies then took first place for week # 3. The Slice Motifs held the top spot for week # 4. The Mulligans took first place and held it for weeks 5 and 6. The Slice Motifs started their run and held first place from week # 7 until week # 14. The Mulligans retook the top spot in week # 15 and were joined by the Birdies in week # 16. For the first time in league history two teams ended the regular season tied for first place. This required an additional playoff between those two teams to determine which team had the # 1 position going into the championship playoffs. On August 20th the Mulligans won their match against the Birdies 3.5 to 2.5. On August 27th the Birdies won their match against the Slice Motifs 4.0 to 2.0. and advanced on to play the Mulligans in the championship match on September 3rd. In the championship it was the  Mulligans and the Birdies tied at 4.0 to 4.0. A tie breaker, the low net aggregate net score was used to determine the winner. The Mulligans narrowly won by 2 strokes, 155 to 157. to win back to back championships. The Mulligan team consisted of Bob Brown, team captain Joe Muehlbauer, Dexter Nigos, Glenn Overman, Eddie Pereira, Jim Petrellese, Rebecca Sgambati and Frank Sluga. Mike Cook shot video of the match showing some play on the first, second, fifth, sixth, eighth and ninth holes. The Birdies-R-Us finished second, the team consisted of Andrew Estrada, Sue Gustofson, John Hill, James Johnson, team captain Kevin Lassahn, Randy Pockrandt and Alex Tegenkamp. The Slice Motifs took third place, the team consisted of Mike Evans, team captain Dave Fry, AJ Jones, Jim Minkel, Greg Mitchell, Doug Nelson and Nick Vollmer. The Rovers finished in fourth place, the team consisted of Randy Butler, Steve Duff, Jeff McDermott, team captain Rick Morgan, Chad Rollans, Jim Rollans, Kate Williamson and Josh Winterburn. The Seadlings finished in fifth place, the team consisted of Jason Allen, Rick Carr, Randy Goudy, Ken Hoehn, Michael Katz, Karen Muehlbauer, team captain Neal Stachowicz and Casey Walker. The sixth place team the Hackers consisted of Gary Armstrong, Brad Martin, Debbie Menzel, Sonny Menzel, Joe Racutt, team captain Christine Stewart and Chris Wilburn. Year long individual honors went to Sue Gustofson who set a new record in the stableford + points tournament and John Hill who set two new records; match point winning % through the playoffs and total points winning % through the playoffs. John also set a new runner-up record, medal point winning % through the playoffs. Rick Morgan tied the record for the low net score in the regular season, Nick Vollmer tied the record for the low net score in the playoffs, Randy Pockrandt tied the runner-up record. Chad and Jim Rollans tied their own record in the two person scramble and were matched by Ken Hoehn and Rick Morgan in the same event. Eddie Pereira tied the runner-up record for the low  gross score in the regular season, James Johnson tied the runner-up record for the low gross score in the playoffs. In the individual rankings this year; Brad Martin started the year in the # 1 position and held it by himself through week # 3. Eddie Pereira and Alex Tegenkamp tied for # 1 in week # 4. John Hill took over in week # 5 and held it until week # 7. Alex Tegenkamp came back in week # 8 and held it until week # 9. John Hill came back again in week # 10 and held it until the end of the regular season and on through the three playoffs. In post season tournament play; In the first stableford + handicap tournament it was Steve Duff and Brad Martin tying for first, the 2 person scramble tour. was won by the team of Chad Rollans and Jim Rollans, the one person scramble was won by Mike Evans, the two person best-ball was won by the Rick Carr – Ken Hoehn team, the three club tour. was won by Randy Pockrandt, the modified stableford redux was won by Sue Gustofson and the revenge low net tour. was won by Andrew Estrada. This was followed by awards, food and drinks provided by league president Steve Duff. The Valero Golf League had another good year.      

     This golf year came to a close following the Valero Cup tournament. This year we continued the players sponsoring tournaments, thanks to all the sponsors. Thanks go out to Matt Hurst for doing an outstanding job as our Tournament Director for the last six years. Matt was presented a plaque and a gift card in appreciation for his effort. The Valero Golf League had another good year with the Mulligans  repeating as League Champions. Thanks to Steve Duff for continuing to run the Valero Golf League as League President this year and Jim Rollans who returned as the League Statistian. As always we’re looking forward to next year.                          Mike Cook