Tournament Champions
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The Las Vegas Amateur Players Tour returned to Las Vegas Golf Club on Sunday, October 25th in Las Vegas, Nevada for a premier amateur golf tournament. A field of 40 players competed across five divisions at the Autumn Classic, with the Mid-Am Net and Senior Net games running alongside; players are flighted into divisions based on their APT Tournament Index. Two playoffs, a pair of career-best rounds and one bogey-free 65 is about as much as Las Vegas amateur golf tournaments can fit into a single Sunday.
Las Vegas Golf Club, the municipal layout on West Washington Avenue, gave the field a fair test and a fast day. The greens were in good shape coming out of overseed — a touch slow, but true — and the pace of play was perfect from first group to last. The course played a bit short, as a muni will, but it still asked questions, and the scoring spread across the divisions showed it. The par-5 13th was the friendliest hole on the property, surrendering two eagles and five birdies against 16 pars.
Conditions could not have been better for scoring. It was a beautiful fall day in the valley, with a chill on the early tee times and a slight breeze, and temperatures sat in the 70s from mid-morning on. Nothing in the air defended par; the golf course had to do it alone.
Division 1 belonged entirely to Garret Kieffer. The Las Vegas player posted a 7-under 65 — the best tournament round of his career — and did it without a single bogey on the card. Kieffer went out in 3-under 33 with birdies at the par-5 2nd, the par-3 3rd and the par-3 6th, then came home in 4-under 32, picking up another at the par-4 10th, eagling the par-5 13th and adding a birdie at the par-3 17th for good measure. Five birdies, an eagle, twelve pars, nothing else. It was the low round of the day by six shots, and the margin never wobbled: Kieffer led by three after six holes, by three after twelve, and by four with three to play. Kyle Graham matched the eagle at the 13th, the only other player to make three there. When the day was settled, Kieffer was awarded the most skins ever paid out for a one-day tournament in Las Vegas along with the top prize money in the division, and offered the simplest possible explanation for the afternoon: “gotta make a living.”
Joshua Crossen took runner-up honors at 1-under 71, turning in even-par 36 and coming home in 1-under 35 with birdies at the par-5 2nd, the par-4 11th and the par-5 13th. Stuart Wallin, in from the Utah chapter, finished 3rd with an even-par 72 built on 14 pars, two nines of even-par 36 apiece and birdies at the par-4 7th and the par-4 16th.
Division 2 produced the tightest finish of the day, and 18 holes would not be enough to decide a champion. Ernie Trejo and Robbie Caskie both signed for 5-over 77, and Trejo took the playoff hole to claim his second career win on tour. Caskie had been the one setting the pace early — two clear of Trejo after six holes and one ahead through twelve, after an even-par 36 on the front with a birdie at the par-4 1st — but Trejo drew level over the final three holes of regulation and never gave the lead back. The North Las Vegas player went out in 2-over 38 and home in 3-over 39, with birdies at the par-5 2nd, the par-4 8th and the par-5 13th. Three players finished within two of the lead. John Pashales of Henderson was the third of them, 6-over 78 with four birdies, including the only birdie all day at the par-4 18th — the hole played a shot and a quarter over par and allowed just 12 pars from 39 players.
Division 3 also needed extra holes. Chase Kelso, a minor playing out of the Indianapolis chapter, took down reigning Division 4 Player of the Year James Plaire in a playoff after the pair tied at 6-over 78. Kelso turned in 1-over 37 and holed out for eagle at the par-5 15th on the way home, finishing with a dozen pars on the card. Plaire, from Henderson, had flipped the division on the inward half — two behind through six, then two ahead through twelve and one ahead with three to play — with birdies at the par-5 2nd, the par-5 9th and the par-4 11th, but Kelso answered where it mattered most. Steve Cherry of Las Vegas was next at 7-over 79, in the thick of it all day and one shot clear of the lead through twelve holes.
Division 4 went to Danny Villalobos of Las Vegas, who posted the best tournament round of his career at 8-over 80. He had work to do early — Eddie Williams was four ahead after six holes — but Villalobos turned the division around with a 3-over 39 inward nine and four birdies on the day, at the par-4 1st, the par-5 9th, the par-5 13th and the par-5 15th. He led by one at the twelve-hole mark, by three with three to play, and won by four. Williams, of Henderson, took runner-up honors at 12-over 84 with birdies at the par-4 4th and the par-5 15th. Michael Cruz finished in 3rd.
Division 5 went to a visitor who traveled a long way for it. Trent Kelso, in from Danville, Indiana, won by three strokes with a 14-over 86, picking up birdies at the par-4 7th and the par-4 8th. He trailed Osman Atiq by four after six holes and by one through twelve before taking the lead over the closing stretch. Atiq, of Rancho Cucamonga, California, took second at 17-over 89 with a birdie at the par-4 11th. Paul Bobleaga of Las Vegas finished 3rd.
Atiq made up for the near miss in the Mid-Am Net, where he held on for the title with a net 2-under 70, three clear of the field. Nick Kelso of the Indianapolis chapter and Phil Caccamise of the Southern California chapter tied at net 1-over 73, with Caccamise rounding out the money positions. It was a profitable day’s work for Atiq, who completed the double-dip with his runner-up finish in Division 5.
The Senior Net was settled by a single stroke, and Plaire did not leave Las Vegas Golf Club empty-handed. The reigning Division 4 Player of the Year is off to a strong start to the new season, taking the Senior Net title with a net 3-under 69 and a trip to victory lane after his playoff loss earlier in the afternoon. Cherry was right there again at net 2-under 70 — he was two ahead of Plaire after six holes — and Wallin finished 3rd at net 1-under 71. Three players ended up within two shots of the top.
