Bissett basks in Hope moment

Steve Bissett admitted his shortage of sleep the night before the first round of the 51st Bob Hope Classic.

Yes, the 9.5-handicapper from the Oakdale Country Club had leaped out of his element last month. Here he was, teeing it up in the pro-am portion of a traditional PGA Tour event, the tournament that has welcomed champions and presidents for decades to the Coachella Valley.

"The first day, I was nervous," Bissett said. "I couldn't sleep."

No worries. He overcame his anxiety by winning the Dolores Hope division of the pro-am tournament with his team of three amateurs, which rotated through three pros for three rounds (one round was canceled by rain, and the pro-am competition ended after the next-to- last round).

"I had some terrible shots, but I also helped," Bissett said. "I was lucky to have two great teammates."

His teammates, James Hale of San Diego and Gilles Roy of Redlands, were joined by pros Martin Laird, Brendon De Jonge and Scott Piercy. Their net score of 29 under par the first two days left them three strokes behind, but a closing minus-18 — the best pro-am score of the week — carried them to the top.

"All three pros swung the same," Bissett said. "They stop at the top and just rip it."

Bissett, the president and co-owner of Newman Flange & Fitting, had attended the Bob Hope for years and, recently, had hoped for one of the coveted pro-am berths. Eventually, he parlayed a work-related connection into the field, paid his $12,000 entry and confronted his nerves on the first tee.

Five days later, they were champions. Bissett's bounty included a silver platter, some Waterford crystal which is still on the way, a copy of the tournament championship trophy and a Bob Hope Classic golf bag.

The memories, however, may be more valuable.

• TROON AT DIABLO — Not much has changed at Diablo Valley since Troon Golf, an industry leader in upscale golf course management, assumed the golf operation a month ago.

But change is coming.

"It's going to take a few months, especially with the biggest rain we've had in five years," head pro Kasey Wallace said. "But you're not No. 1 in the world without doing something good. We're all excited about working for such a great company."

Los Angeles-based World International, which purchased the financially troubled 36-hole resort in November of 2008, turns to Troon Golf for some basic upgrading. Its task will begin with luring more golfers. Diablo Valley logged only about 25,000 rounds in 2009, Wallace said, and adding about 10,000 to that number is a goal.

Troon Golf oversees golf operations at properties located in 31 states and 26 countries. Thirty-nine of its facilities enjoy a top-10 ranking by national or international publications.

• JUNIOR GOLF — Matt Mensinger of Modesto became the first back-to-back winner of the River Oaks Junior Match Play Championship by defeating Johansen High graduate Robert Stene 5 and 3 in the final. Mensinger, an eighth-grade student at Big Valley Christian Junior High, ripped through the bracket with scores of 56, 58, 58, 59 and 59 on River Oaks' par-58. Modesto's Shawnee Martinez is the only other player to win it twice.

• HOLES-IN-ONE — Dave Talamantes, Oakdale, 90-yard fourth at Jack Tone Golf, Ripon, pitching wedge. ...Tom Kegley, Riverbank, 114-yard third at River Oaks, gap wedge.

Bee staff writer Ron Agostini can be reached at ragostini@modbee.com or 578-2302.