Here's a little fact sheet I've put together that may be helpful.

The field is full at 156 players, there is a stand-by list.

Past Champions in the 2013 field and the year(s) they hold the title for:

Jon Bettencourt  2006

Jason Higton 2000

Doug Johnson 1976,1981, 1984, and 1998

Greg Loosigian 2003

Mike McGuire 1999

Conrad Nilmeier 1990, 1995

Danny Paniccia 1996, 2010, 2011, 2012 Defending Champ, and first son to have won same title as father(Mike Paniccia won in 1970)

 

Other notables: Dan Butcher 2012 Fresno County champ.

                           Sean Duckering 2013 Len Ross Champ.

                           Jacob Ruffino 2013 Community College Champ

 

Here's a run down of this tournament thru the anniversary years(each10 years going back:

2013   ??????

2003  Local favorite, Greg Loosigian wins the City which is played at 54 holes, he has played since his senior year in high school.  Greg is VP at Debudo Defendes Insurance Agerncy.

 

1993 Notah Begay III  Comes down from Stanford in his red-shirt year (waiting for Tiger Woods). This is the 4th year the tournament is played at 54 holes.  The first 9 holes of the 3rd round is played in a pouring rain and the sun came out to shine on the last 9. Notah went onto win four PGA Tour events and now is an announcer with The Golf Channel.

 

1983 Mike Schy finished up his FSU Career by winning the Fresno City with an almost record score at 72 holes.  Mike is now a teaching pro at Riverbend and has several of his students playing college golf and helped Derick Ernst.

 

1973  Mike Watney finished up his FSU playing career by winning the Fresno City, he and fellow Bull Dog Dan Johnson battled it out right to the finish. Mike went on to play on the tour and came back to Coach the Men's Golf Team at FSU.  He is retiring after 35 years as coach.

 

1963 Tom Beck from Las Vegas completes his FSU career by winning the City, the tournament is played at Match Play. 3Tom married and moved to Canada.

 

1953   Russ Valentine wins his third City title in a row, the last 3 years he has met Freddy Triple, the 1949 Champ oin the finals. The Bee donates a new trophy for next year.

 

1943  Sim Mathiesen wins this the 6th year played at match play, he knocks off newcomer Charlie Seaver in the semi-final match.  Pres. FD Roosevelt asked that all daytime activities be continued to help keep  morale during WWII. The City tournament continued through out the war and War Bonds and Stamps were handed out as prizes. The tournament was moved to Fresno Muni(Rivereside GC) in 1940.

 

1933  A.R. McMillan wins his 2nd City Am title, the tournament is played at Sunnyside CC and is contested at 36 holes stroke play. In 1932 A.R. McMillan won his first title becoming the second player to win the title, Dutch Leonard won the first four.


2009

2008

Michael  Weaver

Todd Angel

2007

Jason Anthony

2006

Jon Bettencourt

2005

 Josh Watney

2004

Donnie Buchanan

2003

Greg Loosigian

2002

 Mike Oliveria

2001

Jonathan Echols

2000

Jason Higton

1999

Mike McGuire

1998

Doug Johnson

1997

Ryan Meyer

1996

Danny Paniccia

1995

Conrad Nilmeier

1994

John Barss

1993

Notah Begay III

1992

Craig Chaney

1991

Mike Lane

1990

Conrad Nilmeier

1989

Dave Miller

1988

Ken Collins

1987

Bob Swimerton

1986

Steve Gutilla

1985

Randy Tiesiera

1984

Doug Johnson

1983

Mike Schy

1982

Eric Peterson

1981

Doug Johnson

1980

Fred Garcia

1979

Dave Miller

1978

Tim Norris

1977

Joe Rassett

1976

Doug Johnson

1975

Steve Gutilla

1974

Dallan Ragland

1973

Mike Watney

1972

Mike Barr

1971

Mike Bakula

1970

Mike Paniccia

1969

Terry Mccabe

1968

Dallan Ragland

1967

Rick Richards

1966

Jerry herd

1965

Ed Ross

1964

Monte Shebelut

1963

Tom Beck

1962

John Sirman

1961

John Sirman

1960

Joel Spinola

1959

Dan Morgan

1958

Dan Morgan

1957

Rick Baird

1956

Walt Babe

1955

Monte Shebelut

1954

Charlie Seaver

1953

Russ Valentine

1952

Russ Valentine

1951

Russ Valentine

1950

Charlie Seaver

1949

Fred Trippel

1948

Charlie Seaver

1947

Charlie Seaver

1946

Charlie Seaver

1945

Charlie Seaver

1944

CW Charlesworth

1943

Sim Mathiesen

1942

Borg Pease

1941

Walt Myers

1940

Eddie Monagham

1939

Eddie Monagham

1938

Ed Doane

1937

Fred Yoshikawa

1936

Leo Raley

1935

Sid Finch

1934

Sid Finch

1933

AR McMillan

1932

AR McMillan

1931

Dutch Leonard

1930

Dutch Leonard

1929

Dutch Leonard

1928

Dutch Leonard


 

82nd Annual Fresno City Amateur Champion 2009

MICHAEL WEAVER 

 Fresno City Amateur Facts and History

1928 - 1936 Contested at 36 holes stroke play at Sunnyside and Fort Washington (9 Yrs)
1937 - 1964 Contested at match play Riverside G.C.(then Fresno Municipal G.C.) became host Permanent host course in 1939   (match play 28 yrs.)
1965 -1985 Contested at stroke play for 72 holes (21 yrs)
1986 -1991 Contested at stoke play for 36 holes (6 yrs.)
1992-  Contested at 54 holes stroke play over Memorial Day weekend (18 yrs. 2009)
Sunnyside C.C. was the first Fresno golf course, started in 1906, and incorporated 1911.

It was the host course for the first tournaments, Fort Washington C.C. and Riverside G.C. were built in 1923, and since Riverside was only a nine whole course Ft. Washington C.C. split the hosting of the tournament with Sunnyside for the first few years of the tourney.  Riverside G.C. was a privately owned 9-hole course opened to the public.  The ownership tried to keep it opened but finally was forced to close it in 1938.  The City of Fresno purchased it and with the help of the W.P.A. had Billy Bell, the arch.  of Sunnyside, expand the course to 18 holes and reopened it as an 18 hole course, Fresno Municipal G.C., in 1939.  The city and the sponsor, The Fresno Bee, moved the tournament to Fresno Muni in 1939 and it has been the host course since then.  The golf course adopted the original course name, Riverside G.C., in 1947.  The tournament changed its name from The Fresno City Men’s Amateur Golf tournament to The Fresno City Amateur Golf Tournament a few years back when they included the Ladies, Senior has and Master’s flights.

   In 1928, the City of Fresno fell in with the golf craze and with the help of the local newspaper, the membership or Sunnyside C.C. and the Fresno City Recreation Department held the first Fresno City Men's Amateur Golf Tournament.  The tournament was jointly sponsored by The Fresno City recreation Department and The Fresno Bee, from 1928 until 1971 when The Bee's parent company Mc Clatchy Publishing withdrew all sponsorship to all local events statewide.  At that time Howard Holeman, the Director of The Fresno City Recreation Dept. asked Ray Bouty to help keep the tourney running.  Ray enlisted the help of Dick Meffley and Bill Finn to keep it running and these three were the committee that ran the tournament from 1972 until Ray Bouty retired as pro at Riverside late in 1989.  Dick Meffley left at that time and Bill Finn stayed on and has worked with the Course Co local pro shop staff to keep the tournament running smoothly since 1990.  The players have sponsored the tournament since 1972 with all proceeds outside of expenses going back to the competitors.

There has never been a break; the tournament has been contested each year since the first tournament in 1928, making it one of the oldest continuous sporting events in the Fresno area.  The 2009 event will be the 82nd running of the championship without a break. 

The history of the tournament is filled with so many great stories, to name a couple:  Dutch Leonard a retired left-handed pitcher won the first four for the Detroit Tigers 

(He played against the great ball players like Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, and Lou Gerigh)  Then there was Charlie Seaver (he won the tourney 6 times), who played against the greats of the '20's and '30's, going up against Bobby Jones on several occasions (in fact he just missed playing Bobby Jones in the finals of the 1930 U.S. Amateur the last leg of the Grand Slam, Charlie lost his semifinal match on the 36th hole or he would have played Bobby.  With so many of the winners and contestants going on to great golf careers in it makes you wonder what will happen each year.

Many of the local pros have either won the tourney or played to a close finish when their time came up.

Multiple Winners and other Championship Facts:
Six Time Winner     Charlie Seaver   (1945, 46, 47, 48, 50, 54)
Four Time Winner   Dutch Leonard   (1928, 29, 30, 31)
                                   Doug Johnson    (1976, 81, 84, 98)A
Three Time Winner Russ Valentine (1951, 52, 53)
 Two time Winners  A.R.McMillan     (1932, 33)
                                 Leo Raley          (1935, 36)
                                 Eddie Monaghan (1939, 40)
                                 Monte Shebelut (1956, 64)
                                 Dan Morgan       (1958, 59)
                                 John Sirman      (1961, 62) last back to back winner
                                 Dallen Ragland (1968, 74)
                                 Steve Gutilla     (1975, 86)
                                 Dave Miller        (1979, 89)
                                 Conrad Nilmeier (1990, 95)
Youngest Winner John Sirman 1961   18 yrs. old

 Father/Son Winners
                             Mike Paniccia (1970) Danny Paniccia (1996)
                             Mike Watney (1973) Josh Watney (2005)

Perpetual Trophy: Charlie Seaver retired the first trophy in 1947 when he won it three times in a row.  The second trophy was retired to Russ Valentine in 1953 after he won it three times running.  The present perpetual trophy was donated by The Fresno Bee in 1954 and has been awarded annually  to the best golfer in Fresno each year since then, the nearest it came to being retired were the last two back to back winners Dan Morgan (1958,59) and John Sirman (1961,62).  It is a large bronze cup on a wooden base.  It was updated a few years back and put on a new wooden base with all past winners on the plates on the sides of the base.  Doug Johnson kindly donated the new base in 1998 when he won it for the fourth time.

Prizes: 

The overall winner gets the perpetual trophy for the year of his reign as champion.  Other trophies are awarded to the flight winners and then all proceeds are awarded out to the winners and other players that play well.  The other prizes are gift certificates, all in compliance with current U.S.G.A. Amateur rule.  Aside from the Championship Flight, there are men's handicap flights contested at current course handicap, Ladies Handicap and Championship flights, a men's Senior Flight (men age 65 or older), and a men's Masters flight (men 40-54 years old).  The last two flights are played at scratch.  The tournament is played over two weekends /  the Men's Championship Flight is played over the three day Memorial Day weekend and all other flights are played the weekend before. 

 AS NOTED ABOVE THIS FRESNO CITY CHAMPIONSHIP HAS BEEN CONTESTED SINCE 1928 WITHOUT A BREAK. 2009 IS THE 82ND RUNNING OF THIS TOURNAMENT!