Columnist Peter Benton: SNGA honors top players

Peter Benton

Wednesday, Oct. 8, 1997 | 9:38 a.m.

AT THE RECENT Southern Nevada Junior Golf Association's annual awards banquet, Tyler Mays was honored as the 1997 SNJGA Boy Player of the Year while Amber Williams was selected the top girls player.

Tournament of Champion winners in each age group were: Boys' 15-18, Joel Kijowski; Boys' 13-14, Dana Wade; Boys' 11-12, Matt Edwards; Pee-Wee, Phillip Francis; Super Pee-Wee, Alex Scott. Girls' 15-18, Mary Jan Fernandez; Girls' 11-14, Whitney Welch; Girls' 9-10, Chloe Nelson; Girls' 6-10, Elizabeth Burrus.

Among the many extraordinary youngsters of the SNJGA, Ryan Smuskiewicz, Russell Ricciardelli, Robert Massi, Chris Plappert, Spencer Montgomery Jordan Auten, Karen Smuskiewicz, Chloe Nelson and Meghan Morley were honored with the distinguished Tournament Directors Award.

Those juniors who practiced and worked hard during the year to better their games were rewarded with the Most Improved Players Award. Recipients were: Brian Schiffman, Casey Nielsen, Joshua Conley, Sean Kim, David Kendall, Laura DeLucia, Terry Henderson, Cathleen Ward and Jordan Evans.

Mary Bredeau received one of two special awards, that of Volunteer of the Year; the other, Family of the Year, went to Stephen Hanks and family.

The field for the $1.8 million Las Vegas Invitational, set for Oct. 22-26 at the TPC at Summerlin, the Desert Inn and Las Vegas Country Club, will feature 144 world-class professionals and 432 amateurs.

Former LVI champions Fuzzy Zoeller, Gary Koch, Andrew Magee, John Cook, Davis Love III, Bruce Lietzke, and Jim Furyk, along with last year's victor, Tiger Woods, have committed to play.

Other greats, including Ernie Els, Payne Stewart, Vijay Singh, Stewart Cink, Steve Jones and Phil Mickelson, also will be vying for the $324,000 first-prize check.

The Men's Interclub Challenge Match, contested last week over the Las Vegas Country Club by 20 players from each of the four competing clubs, saw the home team win -- albeit rather narrowly -- with 99 1/2 total points. The TPC Summerlin placed second with 95 1/2 followed by Spanish Trail with 85 points and Canyon Gate with 62.

Format for the 18-hole event was stroke play with full handicap. Three points were possible against each opponent in a foursome. One point each was awarded for low net (or gross) on front nine, back nine, and 18 hole total, with a half point for ties.

Individual low professional honors went to TPC's Brian Hawthorne with an even par round of 72. Jamie Crow of Canyon Gate garnered low gross with a fine 66 while low net (65) went to LVCC's Bill Lattin.