Bishop Gorman grad dominates at Las Vegas City Amateur
Lauren Pham didn’t play much competitive golf her freshman season at Kansas, but the Bishop Gorman alum proved her game is in solid shape by running away with the Las Vegas City Amateur over the weekend.
Pham shot rounds of 67-64 at Las Vegas Golf Club to finish at 13 under, good for a 10-stroke victory over Mia Kim. Pham had 15 birdies and an eagle over the two days to help kick off a special week of golf in Southern Nevada.
“I have a lot of tournaments lined up for the summer, so this was a really great way to start it out,” Pham said. “It showed me a lot. I stayed confident in myself and that’s going to help me going forward.”
Where she will play in the fall is unknown. Pham has entered the transfer portal.
“I was hitting it well off the tee. I hit it pretty close a lot and standing over the ball I felt confident and could see the line very well on putts,” Pham said of her weekend play.
In the Senior division, Ronda Henderson added another trophy to her massive collection. She finished at 3-over 147 for a seven-shot victory over Regina Quintero. Yuna Sakamoto won low net.
The women’s events kicked off what has become a special week of city championships. Las Vegas City Am Week was created in 2022 by the Southern Nevada Golf Association to combine all of the scattered city championships into one block at a single venue. Tournaments for open men, senior men and juniors are taking place throughout this week.
“This is our favorite week of the year because it is a celebration of amateur golf at all levels in Southern Nevada,” SNGA president Kenny Ebalo said.
The SNGA is offering a dicounted annual membership at $49 to celebrate Las Vegas City Am Week. It includes a free round at Las Vegas National. Visit www.snga.org/best-time-to-join to claim the offer.
Strong debut
Former UNLV standout Chad Campbell, who turned 50 on Friday, celebrated by playing his first Champions Tour event.
Campbell finished at 15-under 201 at the Principal Charity Classic in Iowa, good for a tie for eighth.
Campbell had a solid PGA Tour career. He had four wins, three Ryder Cup appearances and two close calls at major championships. He finished second to Shaun Micheel at the 2003 PGA Championship and lost a playoff to Angel Cabrera at the 2009 Masters.
Campbell hasn’t played a full schedule since 2018 and has played only a handful of events since. He did have his 50th birthday circled, however.
“I’m definitely excited. Been waiting to get out here for a little while now,” he told KCCI-Des Moines after Friday’s opening round.
Cashing in
Yuki Moriyama has found a place to play professionally less than a month after wrapping up his collegiate career at UNLV.
Moriyama finished eighth last week in a qualifier for PGA Tour Americas in Litchfield Park, Arizona. That makes him exempt for the remainder of the 2024 season.
Grant Booth, a native of Australia who played his college golf at UNR and makes his home in Las Vegas, tied for third in the same qualifier to gain exempt status as well.
PGA Tour Americas is the organization’s third-tier tour — just below the Korn Ferry Tour — that combines the previous Canadian Tour and PGA Tour Latinoamerica. The first half of the season in South America and Central America is complete, with 10 events in Canada remaining. Moriyama and Booth will be eligible for all of those.
The top 10 players at the end of the season will gain promotion to the Korn Ferry Tour in 2025, with others earning conditional promotions.
Greg Robertson covers golf for the Review-Journal. Reach him at grobertson@reviewjournal.com.