Central Coast Weekend
(Day 1: Cypress Ridge, Day 2:  Hunter Ranch)
12th Event of 2001 Season 
Saturday & Sunday, Aug 4-5, 2001

Kelly Alvarez teeing off on #10 at Hunter Ranch. Kelly had a rough weekend, beginning with the 16 he took on the first hole Saturday and concluding by being struck by a ball on #17 Sunday. Kelly hit a few bad shots, but he also hit some good ones. He won the Closest to the Pin contest putting a shot to within 10-feet on #16 of Hunter Ranch. A true hero this weekend, Kelly survived the entire ordeal with good humor.

Steve Desimone won the 2-day Central Coast Tournament playing solid golf both days. His 69 (gross) the first day gave him a 5-stroke lead. In the second round he pulled away further outpacing second place finisher Ken Lloyd by six stokes. The win boosted Steve to become the club's All-Time Sandbagger. It was his 49th tournament win, surpassing the mark set by former all-time sandbagger Skip Thomas of 48 tournament wins. Ken Lloyd is currently in third place on the list.

Robert Desimone placed third and Andrew Kang placed 4th. The most noteworthy drama occurred on the second to last hole of the tournament when Kelly Alvarez survived being struck by a wayward ball from Joel Walburg. Joel was hitting a blind shot over some trees while Kelly was pulling a club out of his cart at the 18th tee. Thankfully the 3-iron shot hit Kelly in the "fleshy" part of his back and except for the immediate pain he was able to complete the round. Joel was too upset to complete his round, picking up on the 35th hole what would easily have been a second place finish. Later at the clubhouse Joel bought Kelly a beer(or coke, as it were) and jokes abounded. Steve told a few stories about wayward shots he'd witnessed and commented, "It's just part of the game." The courses were excellent. Cypress Ridge is a challenging a scenic course. Hunter Ranch is superb. One of the finest courses we've ever played. Steve's victory tightened the GOY race, with only four points now separating the top four point holders.

Day 1 - Cypress Ridge:

Steve Desimone warming up by recounting the story of his flat tire during the trip south.

Later Steve warms up the by hitting a few balls. Steve's 69(gross!) net 66 on day 1 gave him a 5-stroke lead heading into day 2. Solid golf Sunday gave him a 6-stroke victory.

Robert Desimone and Andrew Kang preparing for gentlemanly battle. Both would shoot an admirable 39 gross on the back nine. Only Steve would do better on the back nine, shooting a 36. Andrew's net 71 placed him in second after the first day. Andrew stayed in the money by finishing fourth overall after Sunday's round. Robert finished the tournament in 3rd place. He moved from 5th place after day 1 with a net 72 on Sunday.

Russell Greenwood tees of on the first hole

Kelly Alvarez on #1. Kelly's first shot was well struck, but got an unlucky bounce and went OB. The next 3 shots went OB without any need for bad bounces. This was perhaps the roughest start ever during a UCGC event.

Kelly hitting out of the sand on #11.

Fritz Stern blasts his drive on #5

Joel Walburg hits his drive on #5. His net 74 on day 1 would place him in a tie for 4th. On day 2 he was looking at a second place finish until he picked up his ball. 

Joel staring at his drive on #14

Ken Lloyd hitting his approach on #12. Ken was tied for 4th after day 1. Ken's strong performance on day 2 earned him a second place finish. 

Day 1 - Hunter Ranch:

Tom Furtado, Mike Mainer, and Andrew Kang on the 1st tee.

Tom hitting a few on the range.

Andrew warming up.

Andrew admiring his admirable drive on #1.

Mike stretching out before his first shot of the day.

Ken Lloyd on #1. Ken's net 72 would catapult him from 4th to 2nd place.

Vaughn Kezirian on #1. Vaughn finished in 6th place but would likely have placed higher were it not for a rough back nine.

Vaughn hitting his drive on the tricky 13th hole.

Robert Desimone hitting his drive on #1. Robert's net 72 pushed him from 5th place to a 3rd place finish. 

Robert hitting his drive on #13.

Steve on #1. Steve's net 74 wasn't the day's best round, but it was strong enough to pad his day 1 lead and finish in 1st place by 6 strokes.

Steve on #13.

Kelly Alvarez, Russell Greenwood, and Jeff Day on #1.

Russell visualizing his opening drive.

Jeff hitting his drive about 270 yards on the majestic 10th hole.

Jeff hitting his approach to #15.

Kelly did much better with his opening drive on day 2. He improved his net score by 7 strokes over his first day total. 

Kelly hits his shot at #14, a tricky par 3. Kelly would win the CTP with his shot on #16.

Geraldine Lauro, Doris White, and Martha Kimmich on the first tee. Doris was looking sharp in her fancy hat and creating quite a controversy as the others were a bit jealous.

Wearing her lucky hat, Doris hits a nice approach shot in on #2.

Joel Walburg and Fritz Stern standing near the vineyard on #3.

Joel hits a high approach on #1. He went on to par the hole. 

Joel watching his shot at #3.

Joel on #17. His 4th shot on this hole, a 3-iron blind approach over the trees would hit Kelly Alvarez in the back. Upset, Joel would pick up his ball and withdraw from a certain 2nd place finish. Joel was OK with that though. He's not a big fan of the idea of net score golf. 

Fritz Stern watches his shot at #3. He would par the hole.

The harrowing approach shot at #11. This hole would spell trouble for many.

Kelly Alvarez' being struck by a ball got Steve excited. Animated, Steve amuses club members after the round by recounting stories of people being hit with balls. "It's just part of the game." he said.

Complete Results:

CLOSEST TO THE PIN:
Kelly Alvarez: 9'-7"

(Results tabulated by club manager Steve Desimone and club president Ken Lloyd)