Long Beach Golf Festival
Issue link: https://digital.insidegolfmedia.com/i/1084796
LONG BEACH OPEN 15 • Long Beach Golf Festival Tournament Guide • 2019 Edition T he jewel of the Festival, the $175,000 Long Beach Open tees off with an amateur qualifier July 31 at Recreation Park and a charity pro-am August 7. The 72-hole event then starts with the first two rounds at El Dorado Park and Skylinks on August 8- 9. The final two rounds (featuring the top 60 pros and the low six amateurs) will be contested the fol- lowing two days at El Do- rado Park. Make the cut on the line and you'll break even on the $795 entry fee. Win and you'll take home an oversized check for $33,000. u Defending champion: Jered Stone .................................................................................. u Age: 27 .................................................................................. u Turned pro: 2014 .................................................................................. u Background: Grew up in Tarzana; lives in Corral De Tierra; played at Cal State Monterey Bay. .................................................................................. u Keys to victory: Stone's three-stroke victory over three players who tied for second was built on the foun- dation of his first two rounds – a 66 at El Dorado Park and 62 (one shy of the course record) at Skylinks. Despite starting his final round at El Dorado with two bogeys, he played the final 12 holes in 3-under par to win by a com- fortable margin. In 2017, he had advanced to the weekend for the first time, and he took a different approach last year. "I set my goals to birdie all the par 5s, and told my brother and caddie that if we can get to 22-under, we should win it," Stone said. .................................................................................. u Will he defend? Maybe. "My wedding is planned for late July, so my fiancee and I are talking about it," Stone said. "We might have to push the honeymoon back!" .................................................................................. u Beyond the scorecard: Stone had never won the Long Beach Open in three previous starts. He missed the cut by a narrow margin his first two years. "I've always known about the prestige of the Long Beach Open, and now having won it, you look back and say 'Wow, it's an honor,'" Stone said. CLICK HERE for complete details and to enter the 2019 Long Beach Open Jered Stone with Long Beach legend Len Kennett.