The WPGA Las Vegas Pro-Am came to a close last Thursday after four days of golf, camaraderie and entertainment. The event was making its return to the WPGA schedule after last year’s cancellation, and the 49 teams that were in attendance welcomed it back with open arms. This year’s trip featured lodging at The Mirage Hotel & Casino, with rounds at Cascata, Rio Secco GC and TPC Las Vegas. Teams represented 37 different facilities from throughout Wisconsin and the amateur attendees came from 12 different states.
On the course the competition was as spirited as ever. After navigating past some tough conditions on Monday the field put up some impressive numbers. When the 54 holes was complete it was the Blackhawk CC team of PGA Director of Golf Derek Schnarr, and amateurs Scott VanderSanden, Brent Reed, Van Stoutt and Paul Graham, taking home the title. The fivesome entered the final day one shot back of the North Hills CC led David Roesch squad, but closed it out with a strong round at Rio Secco GC. With a 16-under-par 128 in the 1 net / 1 gross best ball format they were able to flip that one-shot deficit into a one-shot win over the Roesch led group. Rounding out the top three overall teams was the Kraig Joy led Ridgeway CC squad.
In addition to the overall team event the tournament also featured daily team contests. Besides the aforementioned score that delivered the Blackhawk CC fivesome a daily win in Group A on day three, the other winners were,
Group A – Monday – TPC Las Vegas – 1,2,3 Net Best Ball – West Bend CC (James Kelly)
Group A – Tuesday – Cascata – 2 Net Best Ball – North Hills CC (Roesch)
Group B – Monday – Cascata – 2 Net Best Ball – The Bog (Andy Runkel) & Ridgeway CC (Joy)
Group B – Tuesday – Rio Secco GC – 1 Net / 1 Gross Best Ball – Ridgeway CC (Joy)
Group B – Wednesday – TPC Las Vegas – 1,2,3 Net Best Ball – Tuckaway CC (Taken) & Geneva National Resort (Brown)
On the low professional stableford side of things it was the following individuals taking home the top spot,
Group A – Monday – TPC Las Vegas – Mick Smith
Group A – Tuesday – Cascata – David Roesch
Group A – Wednesday – Rio Secco GC – Michael Crowley
Group B – Monday – Cascata – Andy Runkel & Ryan Helminen
Group B – Tuesday – Rio Secco GC – Brian Brodell
Group B – Wednesday – TPC Las Vegas – Kraig Joy
A big thank you goes out to our event partners, The Suter Ward Group at Morgan Stanley (Vince Suter), TaylorMade Golf (Steve Ploch & Hunter Mahler) and Nike Golf (Joe Ritchie). Once again the trio of companies did a fantastic job of enhancing the event week.