Columnist Brian Hilderbrand: Local pros making noise on golf tours

Wednesday, July 28, 1999 | 10:25 a.m.

Brian Hilderbrand's golf notebook appears Wednesday. His motor sports notebook appears Friday. Reach him at bh@lasvegassun.com or 259-4089.

With two-thirds of the golf season in the books, several touring professionals with ties to Las Vegas are having banner seasons -- with a couple of notable exceptions.

PGA Tour rookie Chris Riley, a 1996 UNLV graduate, is having an outstanding rookie season. Riley has three top-10 finishes and has earned more than $317,000 in 18 starts, but has run into a bad stretch lately.

Riley, who made the cut in eight of his first 10 tournaments, has missed six straight cuts and has not earned any money on the tour since May 16.

Nonetheless, Riley is 86th on the PGA Tour money list and it appears likely that he will retain his tour card next season.

Skip Kendall, a 1987 UNLV graduate, is proving that his breakthrough season last year was no fluke. After earning nearly $800,000 in 1998, Kendall is 51st on the PGA Tour money list with $561,443 after 20 tournaments.

J.L. Lewis, a former golf professional at the Las Vegas Country Club, earned his first PGA Tour victory in last weekend's John Deere Classic and moved into 58th place on the money list.

Lewis collected $360,000 and pushed his season earnings to $478,378. Lewis now had made more money in 1999 than in his entire PGA Tour career.

Basic High School product Craig Barlow has earned nearly twice as much money this year as he did in his rookie season on the PGA Tour last year, but still is in danger of having to return to the PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament in order to retain his tour card.

Barlow has one top-10 finish and ranks 131st on the money list -- the top 125 automatically retain their playing privileges for the following year.

Valley residents Jeff Gallagher and Phil Tataurangi rank 157th and 210th, respectively, in PGA Tour earnings.

Native Las Vegan Robert Gamez continues his two-year slide. After finishing in the top 90 in earnings every season from 1990 to 1997, Gamez lost his PGA Tour card last season by finishing 195th on the money list.

Gamez has managed to get into 13 tournaments this year, largely on sponsor exemptions. He has made the cut in eight of those starts but has earned only $58,355 and stands 197th in earnings. His best finish was a tie for 39th place at the Greater Milwaukee Open earlier this month.

The Clark High product also has made five starts on the Nike Tour, but has made only two cuts and earned a paltry $2,790.

On the Nike Tour, 1994 UNLV graduate Edward Fryatt has one win and seven top-10 finishes and has vaulted to third on that tour's money list with more than $105,000 in earnings. The top 15 on the Nike Tour money list earn PGA Tour playing privileges for the following year.

Another product of the UNLV golf program, Ted Oh, has earned $8,409 in eight starts on the Nike Tour and is 109th on the money list. Western high graduate Jerry Foltz is 126th in earnings and UNLV graduate Chad Campbell is 175th with $1,879 in two starts.

On the Senior PGA Tour, Las Vegas resident Jim Colbert ranks 32nd in earnings -- his lowest showing since he joined the tour in 1991 -- with $360,435 while Boulder City resident Bud Allin is 66th with $101,405.

* LEWIS MAKES MOVE: With his victory in last weekend's John Deere Classic, former Las Vegas Country Club professional J.L. Lewis moved into the top 200 of the World Golf Rankings at No. 159. Tiger Woods retained his No. 1 ranking over David Duval as both players skipped last weekend's PGA Tour stop in Coal Valley, Ill.

* AMATEUR RANKINGS: UNLV sophomore-to-be Adam Scott is tied for eighth in the latest Golfweek/Titleist men's amateur rankings.

Michael Kirk, who was the runner-up in the U.S. Public Links Championship and successfully defended his title in the Northern Amateur this month, is tied for 26th. In the women's poll, former Cimarron-Memorial High standout Stephanie Keever is ranked sixth and Christina Monteiro of Las Vegas is tied for 30th.

* GARCIA TO PLAY RENO: Spanish teen golfing sensation Sergio Garcia reportedly will play in next month's inaugural PGA Tour Reno-Tahoe Open at Montreux Golf and Country Club, Aug. 26-29.

Garcia, 19, already boasts two international wins just 10 weeks into his professional career.

* CHIP SHOTS: The Greater Nevada Detachment of the Marine Corps League will hold the 1999 Beachhead Golf Tournament at Angel Park Golf Club on Aug. 13. The team scramble format will begin at 6:30 a.m. with a shotgun start. Entry fee is $85 per player or $340 per foursome. Call 368-1775. ...

Three-time U.S. Women's Open golf champion Susie Maxwell Berning has joined the golf instruction and marketing staff of Las Vegas-based Walters Golf Company. Berning won the U.S. Women's Open in 1968, 1972 and 1973.