The Amateur Players Tour of Southern California made its first of two trips in 2021 to Ventura County for the Simi Valley Championship at Moorpark CC yesterday. Players were faced with a championship test in pristine condition playing the Canyon Crest and Ridgeline nines, and despite the cool breeze some excellent scores were carded. Nearly $1700 in gift cards and skins were paid out across the five divisions along with the Mamba Mentality #8 trophies!

Playing in just his second APT event, Chad Tongue fired a clean-card 2 under 70 from the APT orange tees to pace Division 1. He recorded 16 pars and 2 birdies on the par 5s 9th and 16th, good for a 3 shot victory over Alphonso Franco (73). He took home the trophy and a $160 Visa Gift Card. Alphonso cashed a $25 gift card for his efforts. In Division 2, Mark Lytle made the over three hour drive from San Diego up to Moorpark worth it- claiming the win along with the trophy and a $75 Visa Gift Card! Division 2 played the Moorpark CC blue tees.

Aaron Baltazar (not pictured) was down one at the turn to (still in tax season!) Ron Rubin, but was the steadiest as the field struggled on the difficult Ridgeline nine, which played over four shots harder than Canyon Crest in Division 4. He managed a 93 from the APT green tees, besting the field of seven by three and taking home a $160 Visa Gift Card and the the trophy!

The venue was different but the result was the same- Nancy Lindsay continued her exceptional play, making four pars and a birdie along the way to a 91 and a win in Division 5 by three over Dennis McZeal! The men played the Moorpark CC white tees and the women played the APT yellow tees.

Putting in double duty with helping with setup AND handling starter duties AND heading right out to play didn't slow down Brandan Marshall from coasting to a four shot victory over Jose Perez and Ray Rodriguez with a very solid 39+42 = 81 from the APT green tees. Leading virtually start to finish, only a double bogey at the last kept him from a round in the 70's. He took home a $180 Visa Gift Card and the trophy, while Jose claimed 2nd in the tiebreaker. Special thanks to Brandan for his efforts (mostly behind the scenes) in helping us run events!

There were definitely some eye-popping payouts in the skins games- including a $376 haul by JJ Qualkenbush, who holed out on #5 for an eagle playing in his first event! WOW!!

The early registration period ends on Tuesday for our next event, the Riverside Amateur at Oak Valley GC in Beaumont, CA on May 16th. You don't want to miss this hidden gem of Southern California and a great tournament golf course! Click the link below for more information on the event.

Riverside Amateur at Oak Valley GC

TOURNAMENT RESULTS