Hollister resident owns NorCal team
They hit the ball as long as their counterparts on the PGA Tour
and post similar scores, but it doesn’t cost a dime to watch them
compete. And tomorrow you can do just that when the National Golf
League kicks off its 2007 season at Coyote Creek Golf Club in San
Jose.
Hollister resident owns NorCal team
They hit the ball as long as their counterparts on the PGA Tour and post similar scores, but it doesn’t cost a dime to watch them compete. And tomorrow you can do just that when the National Golf League kicks off its 2007 season at Coyote Creek Golf Club in San Jose.
Saturday’s competition between the six teams from the Northern California division will get under way at 12 p.m. and conclude at roughly 7 p.m.
“It’s going to be exciting. I encourage everyone to come near the end of it to catch the last round of play. That is the most exciting round,” said Hollister resident Bob Henderson, who owns the Silicon Valley Drivers. “There’s going to be a barbecue, competitions for the spectators and a raffle, too.”
Under the league’s format all matches include three nine-hole rounds to determine the winning team. The first round follows a best ball format, which is followed by alternate shot and a scramble. Each team has 12 players but only six compete at any given time. Play is similar to the Ryder Cup format.
Although admission to the event is free, donations are encouraged.
Ultimately, the goal of the league is to have teams competing all over the United States with major corporations picking up sponsorship that will allow for the league’s expansion into all the major markets, including television.
In 2005, the league was first formed and included only teams from Northern California. Last year, the league added another six teams from Southern California and this year a Las Vegas and Arizona division were added.
All of the teams are made up of scratch golfers and professionals, most of which are mini-tour players aspiring to make it out on the PGA Tour one day.
Scheduled to compete for the Drivers this Saturday is former Canadian PGA Tour player Bob Swinnerton, who teaches golf at the Santa Cruz Golf Academy.
“I’ve enjoyed playing in this league,” said Swinnerton, who was a teammate of PGA Tour player Kevin Sutherland during his college years at California State University, Fresno. “The quality of play out here is Tour level and the format encourages a lot of great shot making.”
In addition to Swinnerton, the Driver’s No. 1 player Greg Galasso is scheduled to compete. A four-time consecutive winner of the Santa Clara County golf championship, Galasso was the league’s No. 3 ranked player last season.
Team coach Steve Woods is also slated to compete tomorrow on the demanding Jack Nicklaus-designed layout. Considered one of the top amateurs in Northern California the last few years, Woods was the medalist in the California Amateur Championship last year where he carded a 66 in the final round of the tournament at Pebble Beach.
Local golfer Darryl Donovan, who resides in Gilroy, will also be competing for the Drivers tomorrow. A top amateur in the area for a number of years, Donovan has won numerous NCGA events. In 1992, he competed in and made the cut in the U.S. Open, the year Tom Kite won the tournament, which was held at Pebble Beach.
San Jose State graduate Justin Madison, who holds a full exemption on the Canadian PGA Tour will also be competing this Saturday since the Canadian Tour is on a three-week hiatus.
Santa Clara University graduates John Colyar and Mike Nicoletti will round out this week’s lineup.
Colyar is also a Canadian Tour player while Nicoletti spend most of his time competing on the Golden State Tour.
In all, the players will be competing for a $3,200 purse with the winning team bringing home $2,400 and the second-place squad divvying up $800.
At the end of the season the top two teams from each division will vie for the $30,000 championship purse, which was won last year by the Southern California-based Channel Island Sharks.
“Getting our story out is still the biggest challenge,” Henderson said. “That’s the major challenge, but the word is getting out. Last year we averaged one- to two-hundred spectators at each event. This Saturday I’m hoping to get about 500 people out there.”
