TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

The list of nominees for the 2011 Pro Shop Golf "Performance of the Year" award presented by Tee to Green has been whittled down to the final 15.

It's not an easy process. Some performances are no-brainers for making the final list, but when you get down to the last couple of spots, you have to eliminate some very outstanding accomplishments. That's why the readers get their chance to voice their opinion(s).

You can vote for your favorite performance from the final 15 list or you can vote for one that didn't make it. Tee to Green will trim the nominees down to the final five in two weeks and then the folks at Pro Shop Golf will pick their winner.

This is the third year of the award. Bhavik Patel won in 2009 for his semifinal run to the U.S. Amateur and last year John Balfanz won for his record-tying 4th Kern County Amateur win.

The winner will receive a $100 gift certificate from Pro Shop Golf and a commemorative plaque from Tee to Green. The winner will be announced in the last column for 2011. You can place your vote or comments via e-mail to rgautney@bak.rr.com.

It's an individual award, so no team performances are eligible. The only criteria are the performances must have been mentioned in a Tee to Green golf column for 2011 and they can't be affiliated with any school activity. For instance, Meghan Shain reached the CIF State Girls High School Championships this year (certainly worthy of consideration), and BC's Malea Miller set a tournament (and BC) record with scores of 66-72 in winning the Desert Classic in Palm Springs, but neither are eligible because they were school-related.

So, without any further delay, here are the 15 performances that made the final list. They are listed in brief description and in calendar order in which they appeared in this column.

-- Meghan Shain finished third in the 64th Fresno City Amateur, a nationally ranked tournament that had 171 players. Shain shot 81-76-71-73 on four different courses over four days.

-- Shain makes the list again as she won the Women's Kern County Amateur, overcoming a first round deficit of five strokes (Meggan Bellows shot a record 69) to become the third youngest winner ever at age 16. Shain shot a pair of 74'.

-- Dan Hogan shot rounds of 73-70 to finish third in the SCGA Senior Amateur at Victoria CC in Riverside.

-- Bhavik Patel became the first local player to win the California State Amateur when he polished off five competitors in match-play to win California's most prestigious amateur prize.

-- Justin Pitts shoots and incredible round of 13-under-par 57 at Foss-Kern River. The score is one of the best ever recorded (see Guiness Book of World Records) for an official witnessed round. Pitts makes 14 birdies in breaking his own previous course mark of 60.

-- Kaley In wins the AJGA National Qualifier at Galena with an even-par 72 on the Eagle Ridge Resort and Spa golf course in Galena, Ill. The win gives In an exemption into future AJGA tournaments. Junior players from 23 states and Thailand competed.

-- Manav Shah finishes as the runner-up in the 112th SCGA Amateur Championship at San Gabriel CC. Shah fires three consecutive 67's to finish the tournament at 13-under 271, but Patrick Cantlay, the No.1 ranked amateur in the U.S. beats him by a single shot.

-- Pete Fernandez, Jr. wins the Irvine City Amateur Championship with rounds of 69-66. The 66 is a final round record as is his 135 total.

-- Ellen Krause finishes fourth at the California State Women's Amateur Championships at Temecula Creek. Krause shoots 70-73-75.

-- Patel was at it again as he won the Men's Bakersfield City Amateur Championship at Sundale CC with an 8-under-par effort on rounds of 69 and 67. Patel held off Shah by a single stroke.

-- Why not make it three as Patel wins the Taft City Amateur on the Mifflin-Buena Vista golf course with rounds of 66-69. The 66 ties his own first round scoring record.

-- Stephen Hale wins the Gateway Tour's Twin Oaks Championship on the Twin Oaks GC course in San Marcos. Hale shoots 69-67-62 and earns his biggest payday of his brief professional career at $10,000.

-- Scott LaBare wins the 60th Men's Kern County Amateur Championship in a playoff over D.J. Fernando. LaBare parred the par-3 second hole at Foss-Kern River to win after both players made birdies on the par-5 first hole. Both players had shot 136 for 36 holes, just one shot off of the record 135 shared by three players.

-- Hale makes the list again for his run to the Second Stage of PGA Tour School. Hale advanced past Pre-Qualifying and then First Stage Qualifying to reach the 71 player Second Stage, just one step from Q-School finals and a spot on either the Nationwide or PGA Tour.

-- Scott Anderson wins his second (2009) Michelob Ultra/Sports Authority Player of the Year title as he amassed the most points in qualifying events throughout the year. Anderson was 6th in the Bakersfield City Am, 5th in the Taft City Am, 4th in the RiverLakes Am and 4th in the Kern County Am, proving that solid, if not spectacular play gets the job done!

Ok, there you have it. As mentioned before, there are plenty of other performances that could have made this list, so if you feel one was slighted then vote for it at rgautney@bak.rr.com.

SCGA Tournaments of Champions

Bakersfield and Kern County will be well represented in the 37th SCGA Tournament of Club Champions events that will be taking place in Southern California in December.

On Dec.5 at Seacliff CC in Huntington Beach, Gary Halstrom (Seven Oaks), Bob Gibson (Sundale), Ron Miller (Oak Tree GC) and Jim Seymour (BCC) will compete in the Seniors T of C.

On that same day at Newport Beach CC, D.J Fernando (BCC), Cleto Navarro (Kern County Fireman's GA), James Dean Phillips (Haggerty-North Kern) and Steve Roodzant (Seven Oaks) will compete in the Championship Flight.

On Dec.12 at Palm Desert CC, Chris Cavanaugh (Sundale CC) and Wilber Wells (Horse Thief GC) will compete in the Net Flight. Good luck to all!

Chip Shots

--Don't know if it made much fuss but the pair of Matt Kuchar and Gary Woodland won the World Cup at the Mission Hills Blackstone Course in Hainan, China, this past week. It was the first time an American team won since Tiger Woods and David Duval won in 2000. The competition is played over 72 holes of better-ball and alternate shot formats.

-- Not many holes-in-one being reported to Tee to Green over the past few months. I know there are players making the perfectos at all of Kern County's 18 golf courses. So, if you or someone you know makes one and you want to see it in print in this column, make sure to report it to your course pro and tell them to send in the info (course, hole #, yards, date and club used) to rgautney@bak.rr.com.

Tee to Green appears weekly at Bakersfield.com/sports. You can reach Gautney at rgautney@bak.rr.com.