• COURSE: Scholl Canyon, 18 hole Par-60
• CHECK-IN TIME: 8:40 Sunday, July 17
• FIELD WATCH: Defending champion Walter Vargas is scheduled to make his first start of the season. With his 2015 Tour Championship victory, Ed Quiroz received a qualifying exemption. Former champions Armen Grigorian (2005, 2013) and Travois Gordon (2014) will not be playing. Handicaps: 2-time and current defending champion Walter Vargas (20), 2-time winner Chris Moawad (16), 2-time winner John Mann (28), 2007 champion Doug Vargas (22), Reigning Tour Champion Ed Quiroz (20), recent Griffith Champion Patrick Bird (32), 2015 Player of the Year Martin Witt (34), John Frost (25), Clint Crump (28), 2015 Match Play champion Nik Freitas (16).
• COURSE RECORD: 69, Doug Vargas (2007) Best rounds: Front-9: 33, Chris Moawad (2008) Back-9: 34, Doug Vargas (2007)
• LAST YEAR: Playing for the first time in 6 months, Walter Vargas showed no rust in shooting a 79, winning the Masters for the 2nd time in his career. His 1st Masters win had come 5 years earlier.
• STORYLINES: A combination of withdrawals and other circumstances made this year’s Qualifier unnecessary, providing a welcome free pass to the Masters for Bird, Witt, Frost, Crump, and Freitas. Reigning Tour champion Ed Quiroz is aiming to match Chris Moawad as the only golfer to win 3 straight majors. Moawad won 3 straight majors over the course of 2 seasons (2007-2008). A win for Quiroz would complete the career major slam. Walter Vargas, John Mann, and Chris Moawad are each hoping to be the first 3-time Masters champion.
• APPROACH SHOTS: $9 birdie pool has carried over from the Griffiths… Chris Moawad enters with 5 straight sub-80 rounds… Nik Freitas, in his Masters debut, carded the top gross (77) last year… Walter Vargas has not posted a front-9 sub-40 round in his past 6 starts… A win by Vargas would make him just the 2nd back-to-back champion in tournament history (Mann, 2011-2012)… Clint Crump has just 1 sub-90 round in 5 career starts (2008)… John Frost failed to break 90 last year for just the 2nd time in 6 career starts… Recent Griffith champion Patrick Bird will be making just his 3rd Masters appearance in the last 7 years.
Vargas won his 2nd Masters in 2015
PAST CHAMPIONS:
2015, Walter Vargas
2014, Travois Gordón
2013, Armen Grigorian
2012, John Mann
2011, John Mann
2010, Walter Vargas
2009, Eric Stolz
2008, Chris Moawad
2007, Doug Vargas
2006, Chris Moawad
2005, Armen Grigorian
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