CLUB NEWS
6.1.2010
WES AND THE "WHIPPERSNAPPERS"
WIN IN SACRAMENTO
LINCOLN, Calif., June 1, 2010 - If Colonial Country Club is called "Hogan's Alley," then Lincoln Hills Golf Club must be henceforth known as "Chong's Backyard," as Wes Chong won his fifth consecutive Field Low Gross title at the 57th Federation Memorial Day Invitational in Sacramento.
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Wes shot rounds of 74-74 on the Orchard and Hills courses of Lincoln Hills, a former LPGA Tour stop. With his win at the first Federation invitational of the season, Wes picked up 200 points and now leads the Dragon Cup race with 445 points.
But keeping pace are two "whippersnappers," as Wes likes to call the younger Dragons. Tommy Chong fired rounds of 76-80 (156/net 128) to win Field Low Net honors. It was a remarkable net 16-under as Tommy played in the Championship Flight, confronting a considerably longer and tougher golf course than the majority of the 100+ player field. Not that length presented much of a problem for one of the longest hitters in any field.
 Paul Lee and Thomas Leung prepare for their Sunday rounds. |
Just as remarkable was Paul Lee's First Low Gross title in the Vice President Flight. Making his Federation invitational debut, the rookie shot 84 on Saturday, apparently slept just fine with it, and chased down the leader in the final group with a round of 83.
 Jonathan Wong teeing off during the Federation Match. |
As if winning his first-ever golf trophy didn't make his weekend, Paul and his lovely girlfriend also cleaned up at the Tournament Banquet Raffle, acquiring four winning tickets, good for a golfer's trunk organizer, a club scrubber, and two pounds of See's Candy. It also should be noted that the couple tagged along with Jonathan Wong and Lawrence Ma to Thunder Valley on Sunday afternoon, and won there as well.
 Paul & Rita all smiles after cleaning up the raffle.. |
Paul, with his most excellent weekend in Sacramento, is just 10 points behind Wes in the Dragon Cup standings with 435 points, while Tommy has vaulted into the Top 5 with 245 points. Updated Dragon Cup standings will be on Facebook shortly and on the club website later this week.
Twelve Dragons represented the club at the Sacramento Invitational, which began on Friday with the Federation Team Matches. Tommy Chong, Jon Chong, Lawrence and Jonathan went out to defend the Dragons' title, but all had a tough time Friday with the difficult pins and tricky greens on the Hills course, and finished in the middle of the pack. The Cascade Chinese Golf Club of Seattle won the Team Matches with an eye-popping 22-under total from the 2-best net ball competition.
 Ken Lum, Ray Jeung, Jon Chong, and Tommy Chong |
The 36-hole medal play tournament got under way on a warm sunny morning the next day. In the Championship Flight, Paul Loui in his first trip to Lincoln Hills struggled to rounds of 78-78 to finish third low gross, good for 50 Dragon Cup points. Paul is now solo 12th on the Dragon Cup points list and hanging on to the last spot for the Battle of the Bay squad. At the 2009 BOB, Paul was the overall field medalist at the Napa Golf Course.
Chris Chong and Lawrence got off to horrendous starts with rounds of 90 and 91, respectively, but with their Dragons Black-And-Red on, they managed to make amends somewhat on Sunday with rounds of 81 and 76, respectively. Lawrence's closing 76 tied Tommy Chong for the best net score of the day in the flight (7 under), and in fact the two net scores helped Jon Chong win the tournament Sunday Horse Race bet, in which one bets on any two golfers in the field for the best combined net score.
 Little Kayla and papa Ken. |
And Jon is also going home with a trophy, though not quite something he'd display proudly. With rounds of 92-91 (a whopping net 159), Jon won the Goofy Golfer Award for the President's Flight. A deduction from his Dragon Cup points totals to date is being discussed by the Board for the dubious distinction.
George Hsu started poorly (90) but finished with an 80 on the last day, good for a 170/net 141 and third low gross in the President's Flight. George picked up 50 Dragon Cup points is now 18th in the standings. Ray Jeung also started poorly (91/net 77), but finished with a combined 173/net 144. Ken Lum came in with 87-89 (176/net 150), but did very well with his "consortium" Side Bets, which is $5 bets on each of the 9 holes in the 36-hole tournament in a player's own flight. Incidentally, Paul Lee, the lucky one, won two Side Bets in his flight.
Thomas Leung played his way into the final pairing with Paul Lee in the Vice President Flight, but couldn't quite find his rhythm on the tricky greens. He finished with a respectable 90-90 (180/net 146) total in his first-ever Invitational appearance. Back in the President's Flight, Jonathan Wong also struggled with the grainy bent greens of Lincoln Hills, and finished with rounds of 91-89 (180/net 157), including eight three-putts in his final round.
 Chicken and Waffles at Cafeteria 15L. |
It's not a Dragons roadtrip if we didn't find a good meal, and we found an all-time great this time. The gastronomic highlight of the trip was the Saturday club dinner at Cafeteria 15L, where we received the gracious hospitality of Mason Wong and Alan Wong, the owners and our friends from the Sacramento CGC. Located in downtown Sacramento, Cafeteria 15L has that cool SOMA loft and club type of vibe, with an upscale comfort food concept. The Hangtown Fry, which is fried oysters with potatoes, bacon and a Tabasco hollandaise sauce, was a great way to start the meal. The signature entree has to be the Fried Chicken and Waffles - with a polite nod to Roscoe's in LA, Cafeteria 15L kicks this soul food favorite way up with buttermilk batter for the fried chicken and pecan butter on the waffles.
Chris and Wes held court Saturday night with our hosts, as Lawrence, Paul Loui, and Jonathan dined with George Hsu and his family. We were also joined by our good friends from Oakland CGC, Joe Young and Chuck Chinn. Chucky has recovered quite well from his stroke last year and is back nearly to his old cheerful self. In the warmth of the Central Valley summer evening, the crowd lingered, even with a 6 AM wake up call the next day.
The Dragons return to regular club tournament action on Sunday, June 13, with the annual stop in the Monterey Peninsula. Poppy Hills will be final opportunity for members to get into the Top 12 in the Dragon Cup standings and qualify for the Battle of Bay (June 27 at Chardonnay GC).
