For the scoreboard and individual scorecards, CLICK HERE. For Final Round photo gallery, CLICK HERE. SANTA BARBARA, March 14 -- John Adams and Jason Bittick rode two golf cliches – “pars win foursomes tournaments” and “horses for courses” -- to a seven-shot victory in the 6th SCGA Foursomes Championship today at Rancho San Marcos Golf Course. The 41-year-old Adams and his 40-year-old partner finished with rounds of 72-70 -- 142, even par in the challenging alternate-shot format over the Robert Trent Jones, Jr.-designed layout that was buffeted by strong winds for a second consecutive day. They ran away from Bob Carver of Fullerton and Brian Edick of Valencia, who were tied for the lead heading into the final round but slipped to a 6-over-par 77 today. Their 149 total was a shot ahead of five teams who finished at 151 after the two rounds. Another shot back was a trio of teams that included defending champions David Bartman of Los Angeles and Robert Funk of Canyon Lake. “We used the same plan as yesterday and it worked,” said Bittick after securing his first SCGA championship. “The course set up perfectly for us in this alternate-shot format. If we could hit every green in regulation, John would end up having 12 of the birdie putts, including eight of nine on the back nine. Having a partner who putts as well as John does makes for a huge advantage in this format!” For Adams, who also secured his first SCGA title, the two windy days harkened back to last year’s U.S. Mid-Amateur at Bandon Dunes when both he and Bittick nearly earned medalist honors. “The greens here [at Rancho San Marcos] were more severe because strong winds are not normal,” noted Adams. “The greens at the Bandon Dunes courses were designed for the wind because it always blows up there. But essentially our strategy today was similar to what we both used at Bandon Dunes: hit it in the middle of the green and attack when we had a short iron, like a wedge, in our hand for the approach shot.” Adams and Bittick had two birdies and a bogey on their front nine today and two birdies and two bogies on the back. “Our goal,” both said, “was not to do anything stupid, keep it below the hole on the greens, and don’t make a big number. That’s what we did both days and it worked.” Today’s finish was especially frustrating for the 23-year-old Edick, because it marked his fifth SCGA championship runner-up plate. “This is getting old,” he said with a rueful smile later. Edick and Carver, his 72-year-old partner who is the reigning (and three-time) SCGA Super Senior Amateur champion, struggled all day with the swirling winds. “We didn’t hit that many bad shots,” said Edick, “but we made what turned out to be awful decisions, mostly because we weren’t able to judge the wind correctly.” Carver concurred. “I’m not sure we could have caught them [Adams and Bittick] the way they were playing today,” he said. “They didn’t make any mistakes and we always felt like we were behind the 8-ball, playing from behind.” Adams-Bittick, Carver-Edick share first-round lead at SANTA BARBARA -- Brian Edick of Valencia and Bob Carver of Fullerton (left) -- one of the more unlikely pairings in the 6th Southern California Golf Association (SCGA) Foursomes Championship –- fired a 1-over-par 72 to share the first-round lead with John Adams of San Clemente and Jason Bittick of Coto de Caza (below) heading into tomorrow’s final round at Rancho San Marcos Golf Course. The 23-year-old Edick, runner-up in the last three SCGA Amateurs, and the 72-year-old Carver, the reigning SCGA Super Senior Amateur titleholder, had never met before they arrived at the course today but they blended smoothly with four birdies and five bogies over the Robert Trent Jones, Jr.-designed layout. The 41-year-old Adams and his 40-year-old partner also had four birdies and five bogies, two of the latter on par-5 holes. They’re three shots in front of a trio of teams that each shot 75 today: brothers Jimmy Osborn of Hacienda Heights and Bobby Osborn of Glendora; James Meyer of Dana Point and former two-time USGA Senior Amateur champion Kemp Richardson of Laguna Niguel (their combined age of 112 is the highest in the field); and Keith Gulla and Stan Ware of Oak Hills...MORE Robert Funk and David Bartman look to defend Foursomes title
Bartman, who is coming off his first SCGA individual title with his win at the SCGA Tournament of Club Champions in December at Classic Club, and Funk, who at three off the lead secured third place in the event, won last year's championship at El Niguel CC in a three-hole aggregate playoff against brothers Jon and Scott McGihon. Bartman-Funk tied for second at the 2007 SCGA Four-Ball Championship, a title they took the year before. The duo will be joined by a number of past SCGA champions in the alternate-shot format, including: • Rich Tolly (with partner Chip Bridges), the 2007 SCGA Senior Amateur Champion and half of the winning 2007 SCGA Senior Four-Ball Championship team; • Patrick Duncan (with son Patrick Duncan, Jr.), 1990 SCGA Amateur, 1998 SCGA Mid-Amateur, 1995 and 1997 Four-Ball Champion (with Mark Johnson) and 1999 SCGA Tournament of Club Champions winner...MORE |
By Robert D. Thomas
Robert Funk of Canyon Lake and David Bartman of Los Angeles will pair up once again, seeking to defend their SCGA Foursomes title and win their second consecutive Foursomes championship on March 13-14 at Rancho San Marcos in Santa Barbara.