CLUB NEWS
10.30.2010
ROOKIE PAUL LEE CLINCHES 2010 DRAGON CUP AT SEASON FINALE
DALY CITY, Calif.- A remarkable 2010 season came to an end at Lake Merced Golf Club this week, as Paul Lee held off Wes Chong for the club championship. The rookie's 2nd low net finish in the A Flight to the defending champion's usual 1st low gross was more than good enough to clinch the 2010 Dragon Cup. It was the culmination of an outstanding rookie year by Paul, showing tremendous poise and consistency throughout.
 Paul Lee wins low gross at the 2010 Federation Invitational at Sacramento. |
The season-long Dragon Cup is a points race that rewards not only participation, but consistency. Like Wes in the A Flight, Paul went about racking up points with low gross titles and high finishes in the B Flight. He won in his club debut in the Season Opener down at Cinnabar Hills, and won 1st low gross in the B Flight again at Poppy Hills. He never finished worse than third low gross (Hiddenbrooke), with 2nd low gross finishes at Presidio and Shadow Lakes.
Most impressively, Paul won low gross in his first-ever 36-hole Federation Invitational appearance at Sacramento, posting 84 in his first round, and then chasing down the leader in his flight with an 83 at Lincoln Hills. Another major tournament low gross title came at The Weekender, where he shot 183 on two championship courses at Half Moon Bay. Paul also anchored the Dragons' NCGA Associate Club Championship team, which made it again to the finals at Spyglass and Poppy Hills. And in Federation team play, he was 4-2-0 in the Battle of the Bay and the NorCal Cup, the latter of which was won by the Dragons. All of the above earned him double or bonus Dragon Cup points this season, with the NCC team title putting him into the lead for the Dragon Cup, coming into Lake Merced.
 Martin Chang shows off the Big Dog. |
But it was not going to be easy at Lake Merced for Paul, who had a 45-point lead on Wes. His improving handicap pushed him into the A Flight, where he must try to place high against Lake Merced members John Chu and Lawrence Ma. Wes and Chris Chong both played Lake Merced just the day before in another tournament, and Jens Jaeger, Joe Marquez, Mark Norman and Eric Mosbrooker added more depth to the lower index division.
And as if his presence in the same group as Paul wasn't intimidating enough, Wes holed out from 110 yards on the second hole of the day for an eagle.
But that was sort of it for Wes on the day, as he failed to card a single birdie the rest of the way, and shot 76 for the low gross honors, finishing comfortably ahead of Lawrence (84) and Mark (85). The sharpest dart-thrower all year didn't pick up any KPs either -- those went to Mark (#3- 10'), Larry Inouye (#8- 7'5"), Eric (#12- 14'11") and Jens (#15, 6'1"). Wes didn't even come close to winning the long drive contest, finishing far behind the mighty Venezuelan Panda swat of new member Gustavo Gonzalez, who blew it some 40 yards past the bunkers on Par-5 18th.
Meanwhile, Paul just hung in there, and scratched out a 90/net 75, finishing second to Jens' 80/net 73 in the A Flight net competition. John Chu lost a tiebreaker to Lawrence to finish third low net (84/net 76). Paul's second low net was worth 90 points, and Wes picked up 100 for his low gross win. Factoring in the net birdies and eagles, Wes earned 120 points to Paul's 115, not enough to overcome Paul's 45-point lead coming into the day.
 Eric Mosbrooker putts on #18. |
In the B Flight, Jason Kung followed up his Hiddenbrooke win with another low gross title (97). Alex Chong (99) and Tim Lohse (102) were second and third, respectively. In the B flight net division, it was newcomer Angela Wong who prevailed (112/net 73). Cathy Cai (119/net 79) and Carol Lee (110/net 80) were second and third, respectively. Alex was the Chong brother throwing darts on the day, winning KP on No. 3 (11'8") and tying Tim for the KP on No. 8 (28'). There were no B Flight KPs on No. 12, but Song-Min Wang managed to hit No. 15 for the KP there.
The ladies' long drive contest was a tie between Mari Kobara and Carol Lee. In the net skins game, Rob Dang won two skins (Net 2's on No. 1 and No. 17), and John Chu, A.T., and Song-Min each won a skin. The final Dragon Cup points standing for the entire club will be released next week, when The Guru returns from Bandon Dunes.
The Lake Merced course was in perfect shape, with its new bent greens rolling at a modest but swift pace. The rains that threatened the tournament never came, and for the exception of a few minutes here and there, the wind never kicked up either.
A collective Big League "Outta Babe" went to Art Wang, who made his competitive golf comeback at Lake Merced as he fights cancer. The Board made a donation to Lance Armstrong's LIIVESTRONG Foundation, and the membership showed their support for Art by donning yellow and the LIVESTRONG wristband. Art, who plays mostly at Palo Alto GC, shot 122/net 91 at Lake Merced. He said he felt fine, hoofed it to the greens and tees even though he had a red flag cart, and ate like a champ at the post-tournament buffet.
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Speaking of which, the competitors, plus Angie Wong, Steve Tsang and Paul's fiancee Rita Leung (what a banner year for Paul, club champion and now he gets the girl too) all gathered at the Cypress Bar of the Lake Merced clubhouse for Game 2 of the World Series. A buffet of spaghetti, buffalo wings, BBQ beef sliders, garlic fries, salads and an assortment of cookies and brownies was served to the Dragons cheering on the Giants, who crushed Texas 9-0. With the Dragon Cup hanging in the balance, the membership kindly allowed Martin and Alex to take the night off from scoring duties, so that they too can enjoy the buffet and the game.
And so, the membership will next gather at THE OLYMPIC CLUB on November 21, when we will honor the 2010 Dragon Cup Champion PAUL LEE at the holiday party and awards dinner. The Lake Merced tournament prizes and skins will be distributed. A big raffle is being amassed, and the most-improved members will also be recognized. The Evite will be going out shortly, so please RSVP promptly.
Again, CONGRATULATIONS TO PAUL, the 2010 Dragons Cup Champion!
