Honorable Mention

Honorable Mention Photos

Scotty Coffin 1976 -1986, Scotty was one of our better senior golfers with a penchant for playing well in the majors. A two time winner of the Winners Tournament at ages 61 & 63 he was also runner-up in both the 1979 & 1980 Winners Tournaments. He also lost a playoff for the 1984 Exxon Cup, so your looking at a player that had potential to win 5 majors in a 6 year period. He had 6 tour. wins 1982 – 1984.

7 tournament wins, 24 top 3’s, 99.5 tour. points, 75.25 career net scoring average, 5 CP’s, 1 pyramid match win, 3 birdies and 2 major championships.

1979 – Runner-up in the Winners Tournament.
1980 – Runner-up in the Winners Tournament
1982 – Won the Winners Tournament, set the low net course record @ Diablo Creek GC which still stands today, tied for first place in the Exxon Cup (lost in the playoff) and tied for the most tour. wins for the year.
1984 – Finished in a tie with three other players for the Winners Tournament and later won the playoff, was runner-up for the Scoring Average Championship.

Sheldon Custer 1993 -2009, Sheldon had a very deliberate golf swing which served him well during his play with the club in two different periods of time, 1993 – 97 and 2002 – 2009. His big year was 2002 when he was the most improved golfer and runner-up for the Scoring Average Championship for the year and the most improved handicap for the year. Sheldon played in the Pyramid Tournament in 1993, 94, 96, 98, 00, 01, 02, 03, 05, 06 and 08. Sheldon had memorable matches with Dave Pearce 2001 & 2002 and Sandie Cook in 2006.

8 tournament wins, 20 top 3’s, 98.0 tour. points, 74.57 career scoring average, 2 LD’s, 3 pyramid match wins and 8 birdies.

1993 – 3rd at Chimney Rock, 1st at Green Tree
1994 – 1st at Rancho Solano BB tour. with Nemon Williamson, 2nd at Kennedy GC
1995 – 3rd at Cypress Lakes, 1st at Rancho Solano
1997 – 3rd at Bethel Island
2002 – 1st at Tilden BB with Dan Riley, 2nd at Diablo Creek, 2nd at Bethel Island, 1st at Cypress Lakes, 2nd at Kennedy, finished 4th in tournament points for the year and 6th for Player of the Year, was runner-up for the Scoring Average Championship for the year.
2005 – 1st at Rio Vista and set the low net course record (gold tees), 2nd at the Winners Tournament at Indian Valley and finished 5th for Player of the Year.
2006 – 2nd in the BB tour. at Rooster Run with partner Ken Dorsey, 3rd at Deer Ridge, 2nd at Rancho Solano and 3rd at Wildhorse GC.
2007 – 1st at Rancho Solano
2009 – 1st at Franklin Canyon

Phil Eubanks 1976 – 2007, Phil played off and on for a long period with the club but had his most success in a two year period with five tournament wins including three major championship wins. Phil could go low also, setting the low net course record at Tilden with a 59 in 1988. Phil was a tough competitor in the Pyramid Tournament, he played in 1980, 81, 83, 84, 85, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91 and 97. Phil had a memorable finals match with Don Scribner in 1988.

5 tournament wins, 17 top 3’s, 57.0 tour. points, 2 CP’s, 1 LD, 11 pyramid match wins, 6 birdies and 3 major championships.

1977 – 2nd at Green Tree
1983 – 2nd at Chimney Rock
1988 – 1st at Kennedy BB with partner Don Scribner, 2nd at Chimney Rock, 1st at Tilden, 2nd at Sonoma, 2nd at Franklin Canyon, tie for 1st in the Winners Tournament at Diablo Creek and won the 18 hole playoff, 1st in the Pyramid Tournament. Phil finished 3rd for Player of the Year and tied with Don Scribner for the most tournament wins for the year.
1989 – 2nd at Kennedy, won the Best-Ball Pyramid Tournament with partner Don Scribner.
1990 – finished 2nd in the Pyramid Tournament

John Justus 1995 – 1999, John was a scratch or low single digit handicap golfer playing in low net handicap tournaments. This made it very difficult for him to win but in head to head play in the Pyramid Tournament he had a 0.727 winning percentage which allowed him to win the 1997 tournament and finish 3rd in 1999. John hit the ball a long ways, was an excellent iron player and a very good putter, he was the best golfer who ever played with the golf club. He holds the club’s low gross course records @ Cypress Lakes, Paradise Valley and Rancho Solano GC’s.

1 tournament win, 25 tour. points, 3 CP’s, 6 LD’s, 8 pyramid match wins, 20 birdies and 1 major championship.

1995 – Broke the club record for low gross score for 18 holes, tied the record for low gross score for 9 holes, had the most LD’s for the year and tied for the most birdies for the year.
1996 – Broke his own record for low gross score for 18 holes and also broke the low gross score record for 9 holes, had the most birdies for the year and set the runner-up record for the most birdies in a tournament (tied by Dave Pearce in 2008).
1997 – Won the Pyramid Tournament
1999 – Finished 3rd in the Pyramid Tournament

Chris Kelly 2004 – 2006, Chris had an athletic golf swing combined with ever improving play led to a giant year of golf in 2006. He started out in 2004 establishing his handicap, then in 2005 some tournament success and topped it off in 2006 becoming the # 1 ranked golfer by the end of the year.

5 tournament wins, 9 top 3’s, 45.5 tour. points, 1 CP, 2 LD’s, 5 birdies and 2 major championships.

2005 – Finished 1st at Rancho Solano and Paradise Valley and was 3rd in the Valero Cup at Eagle Vines GC. He finished 11th for Player of the Year and won the Scoring Average Championship for the year.
2006 – 2nd in the Best-Ball tour. at Rooster Run with partner AJ Jones, 2nd at Mare Island, 3rd at Paradise Valley GC, 1st at Chardonnay, 1st in the Winners Tournament at Shadow Lakes and 1st in the Valero Cup at Windsor GC. setting the low net course record. Chris was the most improved player for 2006. He finished 6th for Player of the Year. He ended the year as the # 1 ranked golfer and set the records for the most total tour. at the # 1 ranking and most consecutive tour. at the # 1 ranking.

Howard Nitzkowski 1974 – 1998, 2003, Although he had 4 tour. wins Howard’s career was defined by his Pyramid Tournament play. With 18 match wins and a 0.581 winning percentage he was as tough a competitor that there was in pyramid play. Howard had a great knack of getting off to a bad start and then just when you thought you had him beat he would come storming back. This happened on many occasions. He had 6 top five finishes in the Pyramid Tournament.

4 tournament wins, 23 top 3’s, 89 tour. points, 76.55 career net scoring average, 4 CP’s, 2 LD’s, 18 pyramid match wins, 13 birdies and 1 eagle.

1976 – Runner-up in the Points Championship
1981 – Finished 3rd in the Pyramid Tournament
1983 – Finished 4th in the Pyramid Tournament
1984 – Finished 4th in the Pyramid Tournament
1985 – Tied for the most CP’s for the year
1986 – Runner-up in the Pyramid Tournament
1988 – Made an eagle 2 @ Lone Tree GC
1996 – Won the Scoring Championship, was runner-up in the Winners Tournament, finished 5th in the Pyramid Tournament, finished 3rd for Player of the Year and was runner-up for the Most Improved Player of the Year.

Andrew “Drew” Paterson 1986 – 1988, Drew believed if you worked hard at something you would be rewarded. Every time Mike Cook drove by old Blue Rock Springs GC he’d see Drew practicing on the little practice green that used to be by the old # 14 tee box. It payed off as he completely dominated play in 1987, arguably the best year ever for a player in our club. Aside from his 7 tournament wins he also had 2nd place finishes @ Lone Tree & Kennedy GC’s. The Exxon Cup was not played that year due to a refinery turnaround but it’s a pretty good bet he would have won it too. Drew was the club’s Tournament Director from 1987 – 1988.

7 tournament wins, 12 top 3’s, 71.5 tour. points, 3 CP’s, 6 LD’s, 4 pyramid match wins, 7 birdies and two major championships.

1987 – Had 7 tournament wins, 4 consecutive, 60.5 tournament points, 150 Player of the Year points, all records that still stand today.
1987 – Was the Scoring Average Champion, the Tournament Points Champion, won the Winners Tournament, won the Pyramid Tournament, was the Player of the Year, had the most tournament wins and the most improved handicap for the year.

Darwin Richey 1976 – 2004, Darwin was a long time player with the club, he carried over his baseball skills to golf, a big free swinger of the golf club. Darwin had 5 tournament wins but it’s the close calls in the Winners Tournament that define his career. In 1976 he was the club house leader with a net 61 at Franklin Canyon and it looked like for sure he would win, wrong, Harland Stuart with a net 58 did him in. In 1980 he again finished second in the WT at Kennedy to Boyd Cook. In 1984 he tied for 1st in the WT at Franklin Canyon with three others but didn’t compete in the 18 hole playoff won by Scotty Coffin. In 1994 he shot the best score in the WT at Paradise Valley but wasn’t eligible to win. In 2003 he finished second in the WT at Rancho Solano to Kevin Peck. His major tournament drought ended when he won the Club Championship in 2002 at Paradise Valley GC on the 18th hole. Darwin played in the Pyramid Tournament in 1977, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 99, 00, 03 and 04. He finished 3rd in 2003. He had memorable matches with Denzil Storbeck in 1980, with John Ortiz in 1981 and Sandie Cook in 2000.

5 tournament wins, 25 top 3’s, 100.0 tour. points, 76.80 career scoring average, 4 CP’s, 4 LD’s, 10 birdies, 14 pyramid match wins and one major tournament win.

1976 – 3rd at Kennedy, 2nd at Sonoma, 2nd at Green Tree, 2nd at Franklin Canyon WT, won the Club’s first Points Championship
1980 – 1st at Blue Rock BB with John Ortiz, 2nd at Kennedy’s WT
1981 – 3rd at Boundary Oak, 3rd at Sonoma
1983 – 2nd at Kennedy BB with Gary Beckman
1984 – 2nd at Tilden, 3rd at Boundary Oak, tie for1st at Franklin Canyon WT, finished 4th for Player of the Year
1985 – 2nd at Kennedy BB with Dave Pearce
1993 – 1st at Green Tree BB with Ron Powers
1994 – not eligible but won the 1st place points at Paradise Valley WT with a net 62
1997 – 1st at San Ramon, 2nd at Kennedy BB with Denzil Storbeck, 3rd at Mare Island
1998 – 3rd at Blue Rock – West BB with Jim Aton
2002 – 1st in the Paradise Valley Club Championship
2003 – 2nd at Brentwood, 2nd at Rancho Solano WT
2004 – 3rd at Paradise Valley

Tom Stead 1979 – 1985, As you can tell from Tom’s career scoring average he was a “go for it” player, no holding back, if he had any chance at all he went for it. He was a tough competitor especially in pyramid play as shown by his 0.600 winning percentage. He was a very long driver of the golf ball especially when you take into consideration he used a 2 iron off the tee and would out drive most players using their drivers.

6 tournament wins, 16 top 3’s, 70.5 tour. points, 76.99 career net scoring average, 3 CP’s, 4 LD’s, 9 pyramid match wins, 13 birdies and two major championships.

1980 – Won the Pyramid Tournament, tied for the most birdies for the year, finished 4th for Player of the Year
1981 – Won the first Exxon Cup Tournament, tied for the most tournament wins for the year, finished 3rd in tour. points, finished 4th for Player of the Year.
1982 – Was Runner-up in the Winners Tournament

Dan Tiburcio 1976 – 1998, Dan played with the club on two different periods of time, the mid to late 70’s and then again in the mid 90’s. His golf swing in the 70’s was a all out wicked lash but came back much improved in the 1990’s. This was shown when he won the Triple Crown in 1994.

9 tournament wins, 21 top 3’s, 80 tour. points, 74.40 career net scoring average, 4 CP’s, 3 LD’s, 11 pyramid match wins, 9 birdies & 3 major championships.

1976 – Was runner-up in the inaugural Pyramid Tournament
1977 – Set the low net scoring record @ Indian Valley GC which still stands today.
1978 – Was runner-up in the Winners Tournament
1993 – Won the Scoring Average Championship
1994 – Won the Winners Tournament, the Pyramid Tournament, the Exxon Cup, the Scoring Average Championship, had the most tour. wins for the year, was runner-up for Player of the Year and was the most improved player
1996 – Finished 3rd in the Pyramid Tournament

Ray Turner 1985 – 1987, Looking for an activity he could do when he retired Ray started playing golf in 1985. He really took the game to heart and by the end of the year he had reduced his handicap from 31 to 25. Between 1985 and 1986 he had improved his game a great deal. During 1986 he further reduced his handicap from 25 to 16. Needless to say he won almost everything in sight that year. He had 5 tournament wins in 1985- 86.

5 tournament wins, 13 top 3’s, 47.5 tour. points, 2 CP’s, 1 LD, 6 pyramid match wins, 5 birdies & 2 major championships.

1985 – Won the Exxon Cup Tournament, was runner-up in the Pyramid Tournament, finished 4th for Player of the Year
1986 – Finished 3rd in tour. points and the Scoring Average Championship, won the Exxon Cup for the second year in a row, finished 4th in the Pyramid Tournament, tied for the most tour. wins for the year, had the most improved handicap and was the 1986 Player of the Year