The El Rancho Chico Golf Club recently concluded its End-of-the-Year Player-of-the-Year Tournament at Bidwell, where Travis Shute and Ben Heerema emerged as champions in their respective divisions. Shute secured the title in the white tee men’s division, while Heerema triumphed in the yellow tee senior division. Both players earned the highest points throughout the year in the monthly Player-of-the-Year (POTY) point tournaments.
The final tournament featured the top 20 point leaders in both divisions, with additional financial incentives provided by the club. This included payouts for gross and net skins as well as closest-to-the-pin contests, adding excitement to an already competitive event.
In the white tee division, Shute topped the leaderboard with 2,900 points, just 25 points ahead of Miles Tegarden. The competition was fierce, with only 750 points separating the top ten players. The remaining top contenders included Shawn Anderson, Adam Almand, Steve Vance, Jimmy Smith, Matt Long, Russell Olvay, Dan Evaro, Duke Warren, and Rio Gates.
On the other hand, Heerema’s performance in the yellow tee division was dominant, finishing with a commanding 1,025-point lead over Jeff Nedved. The top half of the standings in this division also included Pat Goodwin, Ed Anderson, Lloyd Hightower, George Laver, Tod Kimmelshue, Rich Lash, Vic Mitchell, and Lane Bates.
Gates recorded the overall low gross in the white tee flight with a score of 77, while Tegarden achieved the overall low net score of 69, coming close to overtaking Shute for the POTY title. Other notable performances in the net category included Evaro with 70, Shute with a card-off for 3rd place, and Anderson and Vance both scoring 74.
In the yellow tee flight, Nedved was the overall low gross winner with a score of 71. The net category saw Bates taking first place with a score of 67, followed by Goodwin with 69 and Kimmelshue with 71.
Skins winners in the white tee flight included Evaro with three, Almand, Ferguson, Gates, and Woolf each with one. On the yellow tee flight, Lundy and Heerema each secured two skins, with Goodwin and Bates also contributing to the tally.
The closest-to-the-pin contests showcased impressive precision, with notable results including Nedved and Bates in the white tee flight, and Martin and Almand in the yellow tee flight.
In addition to the prestigious POTY tournament, the Bidwell Women’s Golf Club held its own event, featuring a “TOE” game format where only scores on specific holes were counted. In the first flight, Kelly MacKinnon achieved the low gross score of 87, while the game winners were Becky Callas and Betty Linzy. The second flight low gross went to Tina Dunlap with 97, and the third flight low gross was claimed by Linda Mowell with a score of 116.
Lastly, the Chico-Paradise SIR’s Golf Club hosted a 4-Man Scramble Tournament at Bidwell, attracting a turnout of 52 players. The winning team comprised Greg Brown, Jeff Day, AJ Haggard, and Don Krysakowski with a score of 62.6. Additional placements included teams led by Dennis Bruggman, Mike Hull, and others, competing for the top five spots.
Despite the chilly conditions, which forced some clubs to postpone their tournaments, the camaraderie in the clubhouse kept spirits high among players. As the golf season progresses, players look forward to more competitive events and opportunities to showcase their skills.
