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Matis Makes a Move in Division 2 Player of the Year Standings
APT Portland visited Langdon Farms Golf Club on Saturday, June 13th, for the third Elevated tournament of the year. As one of the Tour’s Major events, winners earned double Player of the Year points, making it a pivotal day in several divisional races. The tournament proved to be a “moving day” for some players, while Nirmal Shrestha may have put the Division 3 race on ice with his third victory of the season.
Despite minimal trees and bunkers on the course, the biggest challenge proved to be the small, fast greens. While many players saw a few strokes slip away on the putting surfaces, the competition remained tight, with no division decided by more than two strokes.
Division Breakdown
Paul Matis won the Division 2 title and cut Benjamin Ciobanu’s Plater of the Year lead in half with a victory at Langdon Farms. Having played four events compared to Ciobanu’s eight, Matis’ 400-point performance has set up what figures to be a fight to the finish over the final five tournaments.
His +9 (80) performance included three birdies and a crucial par on the final hole to defeat James Roberts by one stroke and Ciobanu by three.
With yet another dominant performance, Nirmal Shrestha took care of business in Division 3, carding a +15 (86) to defeat Prabhakar Lama by two strokes. With five holes to play, Lama held a one-stroke lead, but four pars and a single bogey to finish were enough for Shrestha to jump to the top of the leaderboard.
In seven events this year, Shrestha has not finished worse than second, and his Player of the Year lead has grown to 600 points.
In his third start of the season, Andrew Lano II delivered a clutch performance to earn his first victory of the year in Division 4. After shooting +14 (85), he found himself in a three-way tie and went on to defeat John Moyle and Mauricio Sanchez in a playoff.
Moyle remains atop the Player of the Year standings, but by keeping him from earning a solo victory, several players remain in striking distance.
Cory Okazaki captured the Division 5 championship after carding a +51 (122). Despite it being his first tournament of the year, the double points from the day left him just 10 points back of first place, with five players now sitting within 10 points of the season-long lead.
After coming up short in Division 4, Mauricio Sanchez captured the Mid-Amateur Net Division title. There was no playoff needed here, as Sanchez’s -1 (70) was two strokes better than second-place finisher Paul Matis. However, it was not without some late drama, as net birdies on two of his final three holes dropped him below par and ahead of Matis.
Following the trend set by Sanchez of losing divisional playoffs but winning later in the day, Paul Moyle’s +2 (73) was good enough for solo first in the Senior Net Division. Moyle made the most of the par 5s, birdieing all three.
Top Money Winners
Four players had standout performances, each earning $100 or more across divisions and skins:
- Mauricio Sanchez – $212.50 (Mid-Amateur Net Division Winner, Division 4 Runner-Up, Closest to the Pin – Hole 6)
- John Moyle – $157.50 (Senior Net Division Winner, Division 4 Runner-Up)
- Paul Matis – $155 (Division 2 Winner, 2 Skins, 2 Super Skins)
- Andrew Lano II – $105 (Division 4 Winner)
Best of the Day
- Robert Kivisto made the most of the 13th hole, collecting a Closest to the Pin, Skin, and Super Skin after sticking his tee shot to 20 feet. The impressive shot turned a single swing into a $90 payday.
- Matt Sourichone made back-to-back birdies to start the back nine, including one on the No. 2 handicap 11th hole. Both birdies held up for Skins and Super Skins.
