Men's Player of the Year--Bobby Bucey
Concord resident Bobby Bucey always enters the new championships season with one primary goal—be consistent throughout the entire year.
During the 2022-23 season, it was steadiness that took the 34-year-old to new heights.
Thanks to a pair of victories at the Mid-Amateur Four-Ball Championship (with pal Brett Viboch) and the NCGA Amateur, Bucey not only moved into a tie for fourth on the all-time NCGA win list (7). He also earned Men’s Player of the Year honors with 1,526 points. Runner-up Mike Perchak finished with 1,245 points.
Other highlights of Bucey’s season included wins at the Concord City, Sacramento County Four-Ball and Antioch Master-Senior Four-Ball. Overall, he’d place in the Top 3 in 10 of his 14 starts.
“To win Player of the Year over so many guys that I respect, it feels great,” Bucey said. “It’s testament to all of the hard work I put in.”
There was also just plain old persistence. In 2022, Bucey was runner-up at the NCGA Amateur. The tough loss continuously gnawed at him until he got a chance to redeem himself.
“The Amateur was an event that I had always wanted to win the most. There’s just so many great champions of the event,” Bucey said. “And you’re playing at Spyglass Hill. It’s not a course where you can fake it. Winning there was very special for me.”
There too was another reason Bucey played well. He was happy. In the fall of 2022, he moved into a new home with his girlfriend, Katherine.
“I had been consistent as a player for the last few years, but I had never really put it all together. This time I got it done,” Bucey said. “I think a lot of it was just me also being happy. That happiness off the course transferred on to the course.”
2022-23 NCGA Women’s Player of the Year—Lauren Gebauer
As a practicing dermatologic surgeon, Orinda resident Lauren Gebauer doesn’t exactly have a lot of free time.
Add in that she is also a mom to a 1-year-old, and things at times get even more busy.
As a result, Gebauer maximizes the time she does get on the course. And now, there’s proof of that.
The 39-year-old earned Women’s Player of the Year honors, finishing the 2022-23 season with 875 points. Sienna Lyford was second with 854 points.
“It’s very humbling,” Gebauer said. “I didn’t expect to be Player of the Year at the start of the year, but then some wins piled up. It’s nice to see all of the hard work come to fruition.”
During the season, accomplishments included wins at the WGANC Legacy Stroke Play Championship and PWGA Legacy Open. She also not only qualified for the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur for third time, but this go-round made it to the Round of 16.
“That was really my big personal highlight,” she said. “It was fun to stick around and really get a feel for those kinds of championships.”
One of the big differences for Gebauer during the season occurred in March when she started working with a personal trainer.
“I saw results, including adding about 20 yards to my long game,” Gebauer said. “It also helped me with stability and flexibility.”
2022-2023 NCGA Senior Player of the Year—Randy Haag
With each passing year, Olympic Club member and NCGA Hall of Famer Randy Haag feels the effects of time.
In 2021, things got so bad the now 65-year-old had 6-inch screws inserted into a bad ankle.
But it hasn’t stopped Haag from doing what he loves—competing and winning. He’d win his second Senior Player of the Year title in a row and fourth overall, finishing the season with 2,465 points. Runner-up Mike Stieler had 1,056 points.
Combined with his NCGA Men’s Player of the Year honors, Haag has now been a Player of the Year 10 times. The only Senior to have more POY titles is Jim Knoll, who ran off a record five straight from 2011-15.
“When you get to where I am, with getting older, more surgeries, aching feet and all the rest, you have to make a decision. Do you slow down or keep pushing for more?,” Haag said. “For myself, I still have goals.”
The primary goal for Haag is to still win a national championship. He played great at last year’s U.S. Senior Amateur at Martis Camp in Truckee, but nonetheless came up short.
In other events, however, it was more of the same. Among his victories were a second straight California Senior Amateur title (2022), the San Francisco City Senior, the Alameda Commuters Senior, Monterey City, Bay Regional, the Cal State Fair Senior and the NCGA Senior Match Play Championship.
The only title missing from what could be called the NorCal sweep was the NCGA Senior.
“I approached events last season with a real purpose—I am here to win,” Haag said. “I worked hard to accomplish that.”
Among the changes the Orinda resident made were picking up Pilates, losing 15 pounds and switching from his trademark side-saddle putting method to a broomstick style (more sweeping through).
As the results show, it all worked. And against many players that were nine years younger than him.
“I’m out to play good golf, see my friends and to challenge myself,” Haag said. “I’m proud of the season that I had.”
2022-23 NCGA Senior Women’s Player of the Year—Karen Garcia
With an eye on retirement, and knowing she’d have some extra time to compete, Cool resident Karen Garcia’s primary goal entering the 2022-2023 championship season was to make Team NCGA for the California Cup.
The California Cup matches, held every two years, consist of the best NCGA players taking on their counterparts from the Southern California Golf Association.
Turned out, the 61-year-old Garcia did more than make the team. Thanks to her solid play, she’d earn NCGA Senior Women’s Player of the Year honors for 2022-23.
Garcia finished the season with 1,195 points. Her good friend and fellow Sierra View CC member Lynne Cowan, an NCGA Hall of Famer and five-time Player of the Year honoree, was second with 1,035 points.
“I’m ecstatic that I was able to play enough to get the points,” Garcia said. “I did just enough to hold off Lynne as well.”
For Garcia, winning the points title literally was a matter of time. Following her retirement as a high school counselor in June, her calendar opened more than it had in years.
Garcia took advantage of the extra opportunities. She’d win the PWGA Legacy Senior, and posted runner-up finishes at the PWGA Legacy Open and NCGA Senior Women’s Amateur. Overall, she’d finish in the Top 5 in seven of her nine starts.
“Knowing that I was going to retire, I kind of mapped out the tournaments that I could and wanted to play in,” Garcia said. “Normally, by July I’d be back at work at school.”
The extra time gained didn’t just mean more events. It also meant more practice. Garcia spent most of that time sharpening her putting skills.
Added together with her long game, Garcia was formidable. Even at age 61, she still hits her driver 230-240 yards on average and clocks a swing speed of nearly 90 mph.
“Yeah, the long game can help. But when you hit it farther, sometimes that means it’s just deeper into the woods.,” said Garcia with a laugh.
2022-23 NCGA Super Senior Player of the Year—Joey Ferrari
Stockton resident Joey Ferrari never quit trying to get back to where he once was.
Back in 1992, Ferrari wasn’t just the NCGA’s Player of the Year, he was one of the best amateurs in the nation. But then life struck. For personal reasons, from 1998-2013 he was away from the game. He wouldn’t play competitively for 14 years.
But he never lost his passion for the game.
Thirty-one years after earning Player of the Year honors, Stockton, now 67 and with a touch of gray, finally returned to the top. He’d win Super Senior Player of the Year honors by finishing the season with 1,593 points.
Along the way, he’d win the Antioch City Best-Ball, Stockton City Four-Ball and NCGA Senior Four-Ball. Other highlights included runner-up finishes at the Sacramento County and Sacramento City Super Seniors and a tie for third at the NCGA Senior Valley Amateur.
“Hallelujah!,” Ferrari simply said. “It feels so good to finally be a Player of the Year again. The old Joey is back. I am so grateful.”
In winning the title, Ferrari edged out one of his closest friends, NCGA Hall of Famer Casey Boyns. Boyns finished the season with 1,563 points, just 30 behind Ferrari.
The difference between the two was a 6-foot par putt that Ferrari sank on the 18th hole in the final round of the NCGA Senior Championship at Poppy Hills.
“I remember during that round I was just trying to keep Casey in my sights,” Ferrari said. “I got really caught up in it all. While I ended up winning it, I was pulling for Casey. He’s one of my dearest friends.”
For Ferrari, it’s all been redemption.
“I worked hard to get my game back,” he said. “I had something to prove to not only myself, but also my friends and family. It’s so nice to be back on top.”