Todd Roberts wins third Nevada Senior Amateur title

Shortly before the Nevada Senior Amateur, Todd Roberts bent the shaft of his trusty Scotty Cameron putter and needed to have it straightened so he could use it in the tournament.

But even though rules officials told him the repaired club was conforming, the thought it might not be haunted him as he arrived at Dayton Valley Country Club outside Reno.

So the night before the tournament, Roberts went into the pro shop, picked a new putter off the shelf and put it in play the next morning. What followed were six birdies in the opening round and 13 for the three-day event as he rode the new stick to his third Nevada Senior Amateur title over the weekend.

“It’s in the bag to stay,” Roberts said of his new favorite club.

Roberts shot rounds of 70-70-72 at the challenging Dayton layout, finishing at 1-under 212 for a one-stroke victory over James Corey, who put significant pressure on his friend during the final round, shooting a 6-under 30 on the front nine to turn a comfortable lead for Roberts into a dogfight to the finish.

Roberts played with a lead each day of the tournament, something he said can be tricky. “You need to stay smartly aggressive,” he said of his strategy, one that paid off as he battled Corey to the finish.

Roberts, who plays out of Southern Highlands, won this same title in 2017 and 2018, and he easily could have had two more. In 2016, he lost a sudden death playoff. In 2019, he took a one-shot lead to the final hole before making double bogey to come up short.

Still, three is quite an accomplishment as the Las Vegas resident joined Doug Pool and Steve Hakes as the only three-time winners of the state’s premier tournament for players 50 and older.

“They’re all great, but they all felt different,” Roberts said of the victories. He called the first one important and the second one validation. The third one was genuinely exciting, he said, because it puts him at the top of the victory list.

It’s also a big deal to win the tournament at 61, an age when most of his contemporaries would be playing in the Silver division or no longer playing competitive golf. But not Roberts, who counts somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 SNGA titles to his credit since 2014.

“It’s been a hell of an 8-year run,” he said, noting he has no intention of slowing down.

Part of the motivation to succeed comes from his decades-long friendship with superstar golf instructor Butch Harmon, who has coached Roberts for 25 years and keeps him motivated to win. It’s given Roberts the chance to be around the high-profile PGA Tour and LPGA Tour players in Harmon’s coaching stable, pick their brains, play with them and learn from them.

“It’s been the most unbelievable relationship,” he said.

While Roberts was winning the main title, Jeff Duncan ran away with the Silver Senior Amateur title by six shots on his home course in Dayton. Duncan shot a final-round 67, matching his own low round of the tournament, to finish at 11-under 202 to easily hold off Gary Carpendale of Las Vegas.

Other winners included John Tovar (Senior Net) and Jeff Erwin (Silver Senior Net).

Chip shots

— UNLV freshman Thienna Huynh tied for 13th last week at the Dick McGuire Invitational in Albuquerque in her collegiate debut. UNLV finished 14th in the tournament, which was won by Ohio State.

— Painted Desert is hosting a nine-hole, afternoon Oktoberfest scramble on Oct. 1. Cost is $130 for each two-person team for the tournament featuring a 3:30 p.m. shotgun start.

Greg Robertson covers golf for the Review-Journal. You can reach him at grobertson@reviewjournal.com.