Bishop Gorman senior Aarjav Patel wins Las Vegas City Amateur
Aarjav Patel captured the biggest prize of his young golfing career Sunday, winning in a playoff to take home the championship trophy at the Las Vegas City Amateur.
Patel parred the first hole of the playoff to defeat Cameron Barzekoff for the title at Las Vegas Golf Club.
Patel shot rounds of 68 and 66 to finish at 10-under 134, overcoming strong winds during the final round. Barzekoff shot the low round of the tournament, 64, to force the playoff.
The title is quite an accomplishment for Patel, a 17-year-old senior at Bishop Gorman High School.
“This is just a tremendous boost for my confidence,” he said.
Finding places to play and compete during the pandemic has been a challenge for Patel. He chose wisely this past week.
“Trying to find good tournaments to play in and then play well is tough,” he said. “To win this tournament is great.”
Patel’s final round included six birdies and an eagle on the second hole, giving him the boost he needed to begin the championship chase.
He needed all of it to catch Barzekoff, who was playing three groups in front of Patel. Barzekoff carded nine birdies during the final round and a lone bogey on No. 8.
Brigham Gibbs and Kenny Ebalo tied for third, three shots back.
Patel had a successful run in June in Arizona. He tied for fifth at the Mesa City Junior Championship and tied for eighth at the Thunderbird Junior Classic.
The Las Vegas City Amateur Net division also came down to a playoff, with Jason Berton holding off Jesus Medina on the first extra hole.
Two days earlier, Gibbs had another close call in the Las Vegas Senior City Amateur, finishing second to Gary Carpendale at Las Vegas GC.
Carpendale shot the low round both days, going 68-67 to finish at 9-under 135. Gibbs was three shots back, with Kelly Knievel in third six shots back.
Carpendale was bogey-free over his final 24 holes. His final round included three birdies on the front nine and a tournament-sealing eagle on the 15th.
Gibbs made a run at Carpendale with seven birdies during the final round, but a costly double-bogey on the par-3 12th held him back.
In the Senior Net division, Evagelia Faaesea shot rounds of 68-74 to win the title.
Chip shots
— Brett White of Houston will return to Mesquite to defend his title in the Nevada Open, a 54-hole event from Nov. 10 to 12 at the Palms and CasaBlanca courses. A field of 220 players from across the country will be vying for a purse of $150,000. Players will tackle both courses the first two days before a cut eliminates about two-thirds of the field. The remaining players will challenge CasaBlanca in the third round.
— Las Vegas resident Danielle Kang fell one shot short of her third victory on the LPGA Tour this season, finishing second Sunday to Ally McDonald at the Drive On Championship in Greensboro, Georgia. The finish allowed Kang to increase her lead in the season-long Race to the CME Globe standings and move up one spot to fourth in the Rolex World Rankings.
Greg Robertson is a freelance reporter who covers golf for the Review-Journal. He can be reached at robertsongt@gmail.com.