Eagle Valley wins Mayor's Cup

The Mayor's Cup is now in the possession of Eagle Valley Men's Golf Club, after two years with the Empire Ranch men. This annual two-day, match-play event was held this past weekend, with Saturday's round at Empire Ranch Golf Course and Sunday's at Eagle Valley, topped off with a barbeque hosted by Eagle Valley.

Final scores were Eagle Valley 118 points, Empire Ranch, 97.

The tournament was comprised of 48 players, with 20 from each men's club who had qualified to compete. The field also included Mayor Ray Masayko, who played for Empire Ranch, former Mayor Marv Teixeira, who played for Eagle Valley, and golf professionals from each course.

There was a new twist this year, in that two ladies, Sandra Ashley, golf professional at Empire Ranch, and Kristi McAteer, assistant at Eagle Valley, joined the competition.

The top point-scoring team for Empire Ranch was Michael Browning and Jim Windous, with 15. For Eagle Valley, it was Bill Ruprecht and Hi Jeppson, with 16 points.

Other scores for Empire Ranch teams: Ashley/Masayko, 13; Cabrera/Payette, 4; Denzel/Phillips, 12; Sakas/Lewis, 10; Abbott/Nakamura, 9; Haas/Cartwright, 9; Duensing/Cluff, 9; Kidd/Thompson, 5 1/2; Burt/Linnell, 2; Dunn/Rombardo, 2; Collins/Kendrick, 4.

Scores for the Eagle Valley team: Carter/Croghan, 3; McAteer/Teixeira, 5; Fisher/Dall, 14; Hadwick/Horine, 5; Corda/Kim, 7 ; Aldis/Smedes, 8; Smith/Allen, 8; Chirila/Bratzler, 9; McCullough/Ramirez, 12; Whitt/Green, 15; DeLaparra/Nielsen, 13. Congratulations, Eagle Valley!

-- Big news from Rick Vaughan, Assistant Professional at Dayton Valley:

"Starting October 17, Dayton Valley Country Club will host the first stage of the Professional Golf Association tour qualifying for an unprecedented fifth consecutive year. Dayton Valley is proud to continue its support of aspiring golf professionals and their quest to join the Professional Golf Association tour. Dayton has been a starting point in a number of successful PGA tour professionals."

In 1996, Gabriel Hjerstedt qualified at Dayton Valley, and has since won twice on the Tour. Notah Begay III, the 1999 Reno-Tahoe Open champ, III qualified in 1995. Other 1999 PGA tour cardholders Kevin Wentworth, Rod Pampling, David Sutherland and Ted Purdy also began their quests at Dayton Valley.

Locally, a number of professionals have taken a shot at the PGA tour. Carson City resident Joe Tamburino, Empire Ranch's Mike Browning, Montreux's Ryan Mitchell, Wolf Run's Steve Hummell, and Reno resident Frank Roberson, as well as former University of Nevada Reno players James Watt, Charlie Wi, Kevin Miskimins, Brandon Bair, and Steve Wallock have all tried, though unfortunately failed, to gain their PGA tour cards.

But the odds are stacked against them. From the 1700 entries the PGA receives, only 160 make it to the final stage of qualifying. At the final stage of qualifying, only 50 players receive PGA tour cards, and with the addition of exempt players, the odds of qualifying for the Tour decrease even more.

For golf fans, this is a great opportunity at no charge to watch future stars play. The qualifying begins on Tuesday, Oct. 19, and lasts through Oct. 22. Call Dayton Valley Country Club at 246-7888 for information.

Hey, readers, this is a great chance to see these golfers up close and personal, so try to set aside some time on your calendar. See you there.