July 31, 2009–A few months ago, we wrote a story detailing the 29 Las Vegas professional tour golfers who were currently listed on the money lists of the major professional golf tours, but we failed to mention that there are other pros with strong ties to Las Vegas golf courses out having success on other tours, such as Andres Gonzales, the former UNLV golf star who recently won an event on the Canadian Tour.
Gonzales, who has made 6 of his 7 cuts on the Canadian Tour in 2009 and currently ranks 5th on the money list, eagled the 18th hole of the Dakata Dunes Casino course to win the Saskatchewan Open. The win earned him $24,000 and was his first win on the Canadian Tour. The eagle capped a stellar round of 63 “Today was one of those days where everything went well," Gonzales told the media follwing the win. "I think most of my putts were from around 15 feet."
The Las Vegas golf region is home to more than 50 Las Vegas golf courses, and you will be directly connected to many of them through this website. You can click now for our official Las Vegas golf deals section or to our official Las Vegas golf tee times section, where you connect directly to the tee sheets of the Las Vegas golf courses. And the Las Vegas Golf Region is home to dozens of pro golfers, who come to the area because of the terrific golf courses, weather, and other positive living condtions.
Gonazales won the 2005 Scratch Players Championship and William H. Tucker Invitational while playing at UNLV. Gonzales has also won a few event on the Gateway Tour including the 2009 Desert Spring Classic. Gonazales still lives in Las Vegas. Gonzales parlayed the win into a spot in the PGA Tour's Canadian Open where he finished tied for 62nd but still earned about half what he did for winning a couple weeks earlier.
This week, there are several Las Vegas golfers playing in the Ricoh Women's British Open including Natalie Gulbis, 2008 U.S. Open Champion Inbee Park, and Amy Hung. Hung and Gulbis, who are both Las Vegas residents, will miss the cut but Park, a former Las Vegas resident, is currently in a tie for 23rd. There are also several Las Vegas golfers in the field of the PGA Tour's Buick Open including former UNLV golfer Bill Lunde who was on top of the leaderboard early in the first round.
Also, longtime Las Vegas resident Craig Barlow appears to be making his 150th cut on the PGA Tour, thus officially qualifying for his PGA Tour retirement benefits and other nice perks. Barlow, who is fully exempt on the Nationwide Tour this year, has played a few PGA Tour events in 2009 and fired rounds of 70-69 at the Buick to be in a tie 23rd with many players still waiting to finish their second rounds. Barlow plays and practices out of Cascata.
Other Las Vegas golfers in the Buick Open are residents Nick Watney, Dean Wilson, Kevin Na, and Scott Piercy, and former resident Robert Gamez who struggled to an opening round of 8. Also in the field are former UNLV golfers Chad Campbell, James Oh, and Ryan Moore. Click now for LIVE RESULTS from the Buick. Many of the pro golfers with strong ties to Las Vegas play and practice at TPC Las Vegas.–Brian Hurlburt, Founding Editor. Gonzales Photo courtesy Canadian Tour.