MARTY JAMES
Bill Hurwitz has been around golf for years and years. His involvement in the game goes back to his days as a junior when he was playing at the Bing Maloney and Haggin Oaks courses in Sacramento.
After earning All-Big Sky Conference honors all four years at Sacramento State and NCAA Division I second-team All-America accolades in 1999 for the Hornets, Hurwitz graduated with a degree in business administration and turned professional.
But his time as a pro lasted only a couple of months, as he suffered a broken right wrist while skiing. He went into the car business, working for GMC and Buick. He got his amateur status back and continued playing golf.
With that experience, the Hayward resident won the Napa City Championship, a two-day, 36-hole event held Nov. 9-10 at Napa Golf Course at Kennedy Park. Hurwitz shot a 2-under-par 70 in the first round that Saturday and closed with a 1-under-par 71 the next day.
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“I’m used to playing in tournaments and pressure situations, so you just follow your routine,” said Hurwitz, who was in the Hornets’ program from 1997-2002. “It’s just a matter of getting it done.
“It’s the same as when I was growing up. I don’t hit the ball the longest. So, you hit it in the fairway and you get it on the green, or close to the green. I just play my game. I can’t control what anybody else does on the golf course. You just play smart golf course management. It’s all it is.”
He shot a 3-under 141 and won by a 4-shot margin over three players, including Napa’s Drew Kuehl.
“I knew it would be tough, because (Kuehl’s) a great player,” said Hurwitz, who played in high school and in junior tournaments against Kuehl.
The Napa City Championship, which is listed on the Northern California Golf Association calendar, had a 28-player field. The event was played from the 6,682-yard Black tees.
Hurwitz was presented with a gift card from Napa Golf Course for his win, achieved in wire-to-wire fashion. He had a one-shot lead in the first round.
He birdied the par-4, 392-yard 10th hole, the par-3, 196-yard 13th hole, and the par-5, 506-yard 14th hole in the final round.
He hit a hybrid to four inches on the 13th hole, setting up a tap-in birdie. He rolled in a 20-foot putt for birdie on No. 14.
He saved bogey on the par-4, 421-yard third hole with a 20-foot putt.
“I just focus on my game,” said Hurwitz, 45, who retired from the car business as a finance director in 2018. “You just you never know who’s going to come from the next group behind us, or the second- or third-to-last group. So, you play the course, but you definitely don’t want to give away any holes or give shots away on holes.”
Hurwitz was an All-Delta League player at Valley High School in Sacramento. He finished as the runner-up once in the California State Fair Men’s Amateur Championship.
He is a Northern California Golf Association member and is with East Bay E Club.
Joseph Schiebold finished second at 75-70 – 145.
Zack Tarter placed third at 73-72 – 145.
Kuehl finished fourth at 71-74 – 145.
Austin Wang was fifth at 76-71 – 147.
Five players from the Napa Valley College men’s golf team — Nick DeBellis, Max Taylor, Jaxen Perryman, Dominic Taverrite and Stephan Nefsky — also played in the event.
Maddie Klungel of Napa was named Big East Conference Setter of the Week for the women’s volleyball team at Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J., it was announced at shupirates.com on Nov. 11.
The 2020 Vintage High graduate and 2019 Napa County Player of the Year had 31 set assists, nine digs, three kills and two blocks “in a strong all-around performance” against Connecticut.
She had 33 set assists, 11 digs, four kills and three blocks against Providence.
The Pirates (11-16, 5-11 Big East) were to visit Georgetown in Washington D.C. on Wednesday before wrapping up the season at home against Butler on Saturday.
Going into Wednesday, the senior had 759 set assists, 246 digs, 69 kills, 43 blocks, 18 service aces and 110.5 points in 27 matches played (25 starts).
With 70 receptions for 706 yards — second and 10th among all NFL receivers, respectively — and three touchdowns, Brock Bowers of Napa is off to a super start as a rookie tight end for the Las Vegas Raiders.
“Brock Bowers has been nothing short of exceptional since putting on a Raiders uniform,” a report at raiders.com said on Nov. 9.
Bowers, a 2021 Napa High graduate, was the 13th overall pick out of the University of Georgia during the 2024 NFL Draft.
“We knew we were getting a blue chipper,” Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce said in the report. “I mean, he did it day one at Georgia, when he walked on campus. And he did it each and every game, each and every year. And he got here in rookie minicamp, and he got pads on at training camp. … Then we slowed him down a little bit because he was pushing himself.
“And to be honest, I mean we knew what we got, just didn’t want to speak on it until he did it. Now it’s out there and there’s no hiding it. He’s a really good football player, he’s tough, he loves the game. He doesn’t care how he looks, how he talks, he just wants to play ball, and that fits our mentality.”
Email Marty James at martyjames.sports@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter at @marty_nvsports
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