June 6 - 12
2004

Chris O'Conner takes the 2004 Hilton Open Championship

2004 Hilton Open Champ Chris O'Conner

A year’s worth of planning and a weeks worth of playing have come to an end with the final rounds of the Hilton Open golf tournament. As it has been for the past 45 years, the day was rift of excitement and finesse. The day began with a wonderful breakfast and a meeting of the Elfego Baca participants.
Chris O'Conner, trophy and $10,000 check

The brave souls willing to play golf down the “M” Mountain started their day with a rules overview from Dennis Hunter of EMRTC, which includes warnings of cacti and dehydration. Still motivated to play, seven golfers started up the mountain and six returned. Local participant and past champion, Johnny Gonzales beat out past champion and NMT graduate Gary Gladysz.

Elfego winner, Johnny Gonzales of Socorro

The final rounds of the Hilton net flights began in the morning. The first group finished, was the MB International Flight. Jordan Martinez of Socorro stole the lead to finish first. Martinez managed to pull a few putts out of his hat to take the lead. 

Robert Gonzales and Miguel Griego, Championship Flight winners with Holm Bursum IV

Gabe Saucedo of Gallup, New Mexico edged out Mark Burdge and Jovian Smith by one shot to win the Socorro Insurance Mart, Inc. Flight. Next, Allen Robinson of Belen also edged out a competitor by one shot to take the lead over Tom Chee and win the JM Abstract & Title Flight. In the Coca Cola Flight, Fred Lackey of Grants overwhelmed the competition in his group and won by seven shots. Another local golfer, Richard ‘Chick’ Griego maintained his lead in the Tripp’s flight and went home with a trophy ending the morning net rounds. 

Gabe Saucedo, winner of the Socorro Insurance Mart, Inc. Flight

Allen Robinson of Belen, winner of the JM Abstract & Title Flight

The afternoon rounds were kicked off by the Michelob net flight. The winner, Danny Jurado from El Paso, seared the competition with a hot three-day score of 217, seven shot under par and eight shots away from past Socorro High School golfer, Rick Griego, Jr. Rick played an excellent gross golf game and managed to maintain a second-place finish even with a one handicap to Jurado’s six. 

Fred Lackey of Grants, winner of the Coca Cola Flight

The Championship Security Title flight was the last amateur flight of the day. Miguel Griego, a current UNM golfer and Socorro High School graduate, strutted his stuff and finished by sharing the lead with Robert Gonzales of Albuquerque. Both men finished the tournament with a gross seven-under score of 217. It was a great day to watch the amateurs battle to the finish. The professionals provided just as much excitement. 

Winner of the Tripps flight, Richard ‘Chick’ Griego

MB International Flight Winner, Jordan Lloyd Martinez

The tight and narrow fairways of the New Mexico Tech Golf Course put a premium on accuracy and shot making. Actually, the course beat the pro’s today – it played tough and made participants work for their money. Chris O’Conner of Scottsdale, AZ took advantage of the conditions and came out of hiding to steal the lead away from Ryan Houge who started the day at six under and ended four over. O’Conner played a patient game with a clear head and no expectations. That cool head made helped him outlast and survive the challenges of the course and made him the 2004 Hilton Open Champion! O’Conner was the only one of the day’s professional leaders to birdie the 18^th and the crowd something to cheer for. With the last group finishing on 18, O’Conner saw the possibility of a three-way tie between himself Andrew Getson and Brian Medley, but they were unable to grab birdies and meet O’Conner in a playoff.

Hilton Winner, Chris O'Conner puts on the Blue Jacket

Once again, we had a wonderfully successful tournament. We would like to thank all the local merchants and our out-of-town sponsors for all their support. Without their help, we would not be able to bring such a great event to Socorro. Also, special thanks to Mary Bjorkland for coordinating the Hilton volunteers and scoreboards; Anita Cates of EMRTC for all her help coordinating the Elfego volunteers; Len Fisher, Mike Smith and Jerry Baker for serving as our Sun Country rules officials; all the scores of volunteers who work as spotters, starters, registrars and manual labor; and all the staff at the New Mexico Tech Golf Course and Physical Plant for working all those extra hours maintaining a great golf course. 

We hope to see all players and volunteers in 2005!

Day two of the 45^th annual Hilton Open opened with a great breakfast for all of the competitors, and believe us, they would need the energy in their tanks for the long day ahead of them.  Although the weather forecast called for calm winds, by 7:30 AM, el viento was already noticeable. 

The lower handicapped and scratch flights led the way on Friday, and they found the road to redemption to be just a bit less arduous than the day before.  Six golfers ended up being within four shots of the lead in the Michelob flight, so Saturday will definitely be a fight to the finish.  In the scratch flight, three golfers are tied at one-over 145, and that group includes local champ Miguel Griego.  This will definitely be a match to keep a close eye on tomorrow! 

The professional flight was unquestionably methodically paced, but the scores were fairly low today.  Ryan Houge maintained the lead, but several competitors closed the gap.  Brian Medley and Andrew Getson came in with a two-day total of five-under 139 to end up just one shot behind Houge.  Nine other pros are at par or better, so the battle for the championship is up for grabs.  Of course, the three champ flight amateurs are also close to the lead, so you know they’ll be giving it their all to beat the pros on Saturday! 

Will an amateur take the title for a second-straight year, or will the professionals take back the title?  Check back with us tomorrow, same bat time, same bat channel – or, even better, come on out to the New Mexico Tech Golf Course and root for your favorite player!

Pictures

Socorro was once again blessed with beautiful weather and great golf today.  The higher handicap amateurs teed it up in the morning, and they took advantage of the premium scoring conditions.  The wind was non-existent for them, and it definitely reflected on their scorecards. 

Leon Cox, hailing from Las Cruces, and Art Quintana from Scottsdale both fired a net 68 in the 6^th flight.  Local Sefie Anaya and James Jeffries are one shot behind Lonnie West in the 5^th – he was solid all day with a net 68.  In the 4^th flight, Tom Chee from Gallup really took it low with a net 66, but there are many competitors right on his heels. 

Johnny Apodaca scored big with a 67 in the 3^rd flight to set a high mark for the rest of the guys on Friday.  Dee Dilts really went low with a 66 in the 2^nd flight, but Socorroan Richard ‘Chick’ Griego is right behind him with a net 69. 

The afternoon proved to be a bit tougher, as the greens sped up and the wind really started to blow.  In the Michelob 1^st flight, Lovington golfer Mike Jameson fired a net 69, but Ricky Silva is a scant four shots back.  In the scratch amateur championship flight, Robert Gonzales really set the pace with a two-under 70, but defending champ Miguel Griego and local Anthony Romero shot 73 and 75 respectively to put a bit of pressure on Robert for tomorrow. At the other end of the flight, local scratch golfer Anton Salome turned in a surprising score of 81 – bewildering all the local golf fans. 

The professional tournament was just as exciting and diverse. In spite of peaking winds, the pro’s turned in many low scores. Ryan Houge of Mesa, AZ currently leads the pack with his four-under-par score of 68. Houge is not in the clear as Micah Rudosky and Jay Synkelma are only one shot away from the lead. Tomorrow promises to great golf.

Tuesday, June 8, 2004 

Pictures

R.W. Eaks of Scottsdale, AZ interrupted his fishing trip to play in the Hilton Senior Professional Tournament after talking to his friend and fellow professional Skip Treadway. Eaks caught the big fish in Socorro at the New Mexico Tech golf course and ran away with the top prize. Eaks fired a resounding 68 on Tuesday to match Monday’s 67. He dazzled the crowd coming onto the 18^th green with a score of 10-under-par. However, he bogied the last hole and finished with a nine-under total score of 135. Nonetheless, he blew the field right out of the water. Oak’s closest competitor was Mike Zaremba of Pueblo, CO who finished five shots off the leader. When the dust settled, R.W. broke the Senior Tournament score record. 

In the amateur competition, the scores were a little closer. However, none of the scratch amateurs broke par on either day and Brint Clay of Albuquerque took top honors with a total score of 150. In the net amateur competition, Leo Martinez of Ruidoso was the winner in the first net flight while Holm Bursum III of Socorro and Rick Zimmerly of San Antonio, TX tied for first in the second net flight.

All senior events are complete and Wednesday marks the beginning of all regular Hilton events. The pro-am is scheduled for a 9:00 shotgun on Wednesday and the Hilton Open will begin on Thursday. We expect more exciting play for the rest of Hilton week!

Pictures

The beautiful weather and manicured golf course created a false sense of comfort for today’s senior golfers. The New Mexico Tech Golf Course once again proved to be a challenging adversary for Senior Hilton participants. 

Rising to that challenge was Scottsdale, AZ professional, R.W. Eaks who fired a 5-under-par 67. Only two other golfers, Joe Huber of Phoenix and Mike Zaremba of Pueblo, Co, in a field of 38 senior professionals and 15 senior scratch amateurs were able to score under par. It wasn’t unusual to see scores in the 80’s. 

Adding to the excitement, the amateur net flights have golfers battling to the finish. In both flights, sponsored by First State Bank, there is a tie for the lead.  Local business owner Paul Torres and Lee Mitchell, from San Marcos, Texas, both shot a net 71 in the first flight, while perennial Socorro front-runner Johnny Vallejos and Luis Chavez from Alamogordo scored a net 73 in the second flight.  In the scratch amateur flight, Brint Clay from Albuquerque shot a solid 75 – we’ll see if he can hold off the rest of the wolves nipping at his heels! 

No folks, the Hilton is not known to be an easy tournament. The volunteers are great, the course is beautiful, the hospitality is unmatched and the golf is always exciting.