The two governing bodies of golf in Sun Country elected new officers in early December. Ronne Mercer is the new president of the Sun Country Amateur Golf Association. Grant Dalpes is the new president of the Sun Country Section PGA.
The amateur and professional organizations remain separate but have teamed under one roof to market golf in New Mexico.
The Rio Rancho City Golf Championship is back May 8-9 at Chamisa Hills Country Club after a 15-year hiatus.
The club has undergone course improvements and a clubhouse overhaul. Play will begin on the East and West nines at 7 a.m. on both days. There will be scratch and net flight divisions for both men and women. Chamisa Hills has three nines designed by Lee Trevino, Gene Sarazen and Desmond Muirhead.
All male participants must be from Sandoval or Bernalillo County. All women must be from Sandoval County. The entry fee is $85 for non-Chamisa Hills members and $60 for Chamisa Hills members. Contact Erik Harp at 505-896-5024 or harp@spinn.net.
Daniel Hayden, coach of the University of the Southwest, and Mike Frias, a player at the University of the Southwest, won the Sun Country Amateur Golf Association Team Championship Oct, 17-18 at Butterfield Trail Golf club in El Paso.
Hayden-Frias shot an impressive round of 65 in a modified foursome format on Day 1, followed by a 64 on four-ball play on day 2. The Team Championship was the final tournament of the year for the association.
A second hole-in-one in less than three weeks was recorded at El Paso’s Butterfield Trail Golf Club by Kathy Lawson of El Paso, the first woman to score an ace at the club, said Butterfield Head Professional, Brian Lopez.
Lawson used an 8-iron on the Par 3 7th hole of the course designed by Tom Fazio. Her shot was witnessed by Pete Alvidrez.
Members of the sun Country Amateur Golf Association who score a hole-in-one can receive a framable certificate from SCAGA. For more information, call (505) 897-0864.
New Mexico State University Aggie golfer Tim Madigan of Rio Rancho claimed the first edition of the Callaway Golf Players Championship at Isleta Eagle in Albuquerque, outpacing the field with a two-day total of 137, seven-under par.
The Players Championship features the top professionals and amateurs in the Sun Country Section facing off in 36 holes of stroke play. The event is a cooperative effort between the Sun Country PGA and the Sun Country Amateur Golf Association. It is designed to identify the top golfers in Sun Country regardless of professional or amateur status, and is limited to players with ties to New Mexico.
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