Vince Dass and Dean Whitecotton of Napa Golf Course at Kennedy Park won the 58th Northern California Golf Association Four-Ball Net Championship May 18-19 at Poppy Hills Golf Course in Pebble Beach.
Dass and Whitecotton topped a field of 47 teams, beating one from Greenhorn Creek of Angels Camp on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff after they finished regulation play tied at 21-under 121.
Dass, the operations manager for the last eight years at Napa Golf Course, birdied the par-5 10th hole by making a putt from 12 feet in the playoff to give Napa Golf Club the title. He and Whitecotton posted rounds of 60 and 61.
The NCGA Four-Ball Net Championship is a two-person better-ball event for regular clubs, according to blog.ncga.org.
Playing for Greenhorn Creek were Travis Molzen and Kevin Mead, who posted rounds of 61 and 60.
“It’s a big win. We wanted it. We went there to win,” said Dass. “I’m like, ‘Let’s go play our best,’ and we did. We played good golf. We beat a lot of teams, a lot of very good teams. There were great players out there. We had competition.”
Dass and Whitecotton were presented with individual medals during an awards ceremony.
Napa Golf Club was tied for the first-round lead with a team from Blackhawk of Danville, each at 11-under 60.
“It was an incredible experience. We had a blast,” said Whitecotton. “(Dass) made that birdie and finished it off really strong. The course was great. We had beautiful weather. We couldn’t have asked for anything better. Vince makes it really easy to play free. I didn’t have any pressure on me, so it really felt like it was an opportunity to play well and not hold back.”
Dass, who also spent four years as a supervisor at Napa Golf Course, said he and Whitecotton played well as a team.
“The holes I messed up, he picked me up. The holes he went down, I picked him up,” he said. “He carried me the first day. The second day I picked him up.”
According to the U.S. Golf Association’s Rules Guide at usga.org, “Four-Ball, commonly referred to as ‘better ball,’ is a format in which two golfers compete together as a side, with each player playing their own ball. A side’s score for a hole is the lower score of the two partners on that hole. It can be played as gross or net and as stroke play or match play.
“When both partners hole out, the lower score is the side’s score for the hole. When only one partner holes out, that partner’s score is the side’s score for the hole. The other partner does not need to hole out.”
In the playoff, Dass hit his drive in the middle of the fairway and with 264 yards to the hole, hit a 3-wood just over the green on his second shot. He chipped on with a 60-degree wedge to 12 feet and made the putt for birdie. The uphill putt broke from right to left.
“I looked at it. Dean looked at it. I’m like, ‘Man, I got this putt,’ ” said Dass. “I knew I can make that one.”
For Dass and Whitecotton, the road to the NCGA Four-Ball Net Championship began with a qualifier at Napa Golf Course. There were 14 teams entered, with Dass and Whitecotton advancing.
They moved on to the Haggin Oaks Golf Complex’s Alister MacKenzie Golf Course in Sacramento on April 22, winning a qualifying at 9-under 63. There were 47 teams at the qualifying. Napa Golf Club was among eight teams to qualify for the finals at Haggin Oaks.
“I want to say thank you for all the volunteers at NCGA for being out there and then to Poppy Hill Golf Course for putting on this tournament with all the people running it. They did an awesome job. It is a pleasure to go and play this golf course. Poppy is always in great shape,” said Dass, a resident of Suisun City.
Added Whitecotton, “We had to put together four good rounds to win this thing and win in a playoff. It was a blast.
“Dream come true. It was an incredible experience. It was a true team effort. I felt like we were making good shots all the way through. It really was fun to play that free out there, and to not hold anything back at Poppy Hills. I’ll definitely feed on it going forward, that’s for sure.”
Taking second place was Greenhorn Creek (61-60 – 121). Placing third was Glenn Golf & Country Club of Willows (64-60 – 124).
A team from Silverado Resort tied for 38th place (66-69 – 135).
Dass graduated from Fairfield High School in 1995. He played for two years on the men’s golf team at Napa Valley College, in 1996 and 1997.
Dass started out in golf at the age of 7 in Lautoka, Fiji, as his father, Mike Dass, introduced him to the game. Vince’s first set of clubs were built for him by Mohan Singh, the father of Vijay Singh, a 34-time winner on the PGA Tour, three-time major champion, World Golf Hall of Fame member, and 2004 PGA Tour Player of the Year. Vince Dass also caddied at a local course in Fiji.
Whitecotton, a resident of Woodland, was born and raised in Napa. He moved to Alabama when he was 15 years old and graduated from Good Hope High School in Cullman, Alabama, in 1995.
He has a pool service business, Dean’s Pool Services, in Woodland.
In a video, at x.com/ncga and blog.ncga.org, Dass said “Going to qualify and winning it, it’s a different feel, like you’re playing a major. It’s the feeling you qualified for something, and that’s what makes it special to come to NCGA here and play golf. We play golf everywhere else, but coming here is special.”
Said Whitecotton, “It’s nice to have the opportunity to be able to rely on somebody else, too, and the fact that you don’t always have to play great, and you can have a partner. You can do good a couple holes, and your partner can do good a couple holes. You just kind of work your way through it, and you don’t have to rely on one person to do everything. It is very fun to do that.”
Drive, Chip and Putt Local Qualifier at Silverado Resort
Silverado Resort was the host of a Drive, Chip and Putt Local Qualifier on May 26.
Drive, Chip and Putt, a joint initiative founded in 2013 by the Masters Tournament, USGA and the PGA of America, is a free nationwide junior golf development competition aimed at growing the game by focusing on the three fundamental skills employed in golf, according to drivechipandputt.com.
Open to boys and girls ages 7 to 15, the program “aims to provide a welcoming environment for youth to participate in golf and focus on the game’s three fundamental skills.”
This year marks the 13th qualifying season for Drive, Chip and Putt, with 353 local events around the country.
Youths are grouped in separate girls’ and boys’ divisions in four age categories, with scoring centered around skill performance in driving, chipping and putting, according to the website.
“By tapping the creative and competitive spirit of girls and boys ages 7-15, Drive, Chip and Putt provides aspiring junior golfers an opportunity to play with their peers in qualifiers around the country,” according to the website. “Participants who advance through local, sub-regional and regional qualifying in each age-gender category earn a place in the National Finals, which is conducted at Augusta National Golf Club the Sunday before the Masters Tournament and is broadcast live by Golf Channel.”
Participants hit three drives, three chips and three putts, and points are accumulated per shot at each skill. The overall champion in each division is determined by the participant with the most points accumulated between all three skills, the organization said.
Entrants received a tee prize at the registration table, and top finishers were awarded ribbons.
“It’s really an honor to come to courses like this, PGA Tour venues, courses that maybe some of these kids may have not had an opportunity to be at before, but then to have a fun, easy competition out there, but also a little bit challenging as well,” said Patrick Appel, player development and tournament coordinator with the Northern California Section of the PGA.
“For a lot of kids, it’s their first time doing some competition in their golf careers, so it’s definitely a blessing to be out here at a place like this, and get the season started off right at a great place.”
Silverado’s driving range, practice green and practice chipping area were used.
The top three placers in each age division advance to a subregional, at Haggin Oaks in Sacramento or the Spartan Golf Complex in San Jose.
“It’s a fantastic partnership,” said Appel. “A program like this makes it completely free and accessible for anybody that wants to start their golf journeys with something fun and a little bit competitive as well.”
It’s the third straight year that Silverado Resort has been a host site of a local qualifier for Drive, Chip and Putt.
Former Transamerica winner Colbert dies
Jim Colbert, the winner of the 1998 Transamerica Senior Golf Championship at Silverado Resort, a PGA Tour Champions event, died on May 10, the PGA Tour announced at pgatour.com. He was 85.
Colbert was an eight-time winner during his career on the PGA Tour. After turning 50 in 1991, he won 20 PGA Tour Champions events.
His awards on the senior tour include Rookie of the Year (1991), leading money winner (1995, 1996), Player of the Year (1995, 1996) and Comeback Player of the Year (1998).
Colbert’s win in October 1998 at the Transamerica, in which he posted rounds of 70, 68 and 67 for an 11-under-par 205 total on the Silverado South Course, was a “performance that helped earn him the Tour’s member-consensus Comeback Player of the Year Award,” the report at pgatour.com said.
A year after he underwent surgery for prostate cancer, he earned $150,000 for his win at Silverado.
“It’s by far the most meaningful golf tournament I’ve ever won. I needed this for me just to keep myself going,” Colbert said in a Napa Valley Register story.
Colbert had four birdies on the back nine during the final round.
Caddying for Colbert at the Transamerica was his longtime friend, John Fox, a retired Delta Airlines captain, Silverado Resort member and Napa resident.
“He played great. I’m proud of him,” Fox told the Register. “Jim really wanted to win this tournament, and I’m just proud that I could help him a little bit.”
Colbert and Fox are both from Kansas.
High school season ends
The 2026 spring high school boys golf season ended for Justin-Siena, American Canyon, Napa and Vintage in May.
Justin-Siena had a 322 team score at the CIF North Coast Section Division 2 Championship/Individual Qualifier on May 11 at Baywood Golf & Country Club in Arcata. Playing for the Braves were Alex Keller (73), Jack Keller (79), Jack O’Malley (83), Nic Perata (87) and Cade Snoke (89).
Also playing in the May 11 tournament were American Canyon High’s Quincy Espejo (85) and Napa High’s Ari Massey (83) and Nathan Oliver (86).
Alex Keller was among the top 18 individuals to qualify for the NCS Division 1 Championship May 18 at Windsor Golf Club, where he shot 81.
Vintage scored 440 as a team on May 18. Playing for the Crushers were Mateo Villegas (82), Julian Stuart (85), Jacques Pavon (85), Amadeus Olah (90), Kai Nakaji (93) and Zachary Johnston (93).
Bailey wins NCGA Women’s event
Una Bailey of Napa won the overall title of a Northern California Golf Association Women’s One Day Series event, firing a 2-under-par 70 at Eagle Vines Golf Club in American Canyon on April 27.
Others from Napa County who placed were Dana Davis of Napa, 20th, 4-over-par 76; Sara Morris of Napa, 26th, 6-over-par 78; Kay Gulbengay of Napa, 75th, 21-over-par 93; and Kathy Liebert of Yountville, 77th, 22-over-par 94.
Porter places in Asian Tour event
Charles Porter, who played for Napa Valley College in 2020, tied for 58th place in the KOLON Korea Open Golf Championship May 21-24 at Woo Jeong Hills Country Club, Korea. It’s an Asian Tour event.
Porter has played on the Korn Ferry Tour.
U.S. Women’s Open Qualifying
Brooke Gongora of Napa played in a U.S. Women’s Open Qualifying event on May 11 at Richmond Country Club. She did not advance after rounds of 79 and 85 for a 164 total and tying for 36th place.
U.S. Open Local Qualifying
* Chris Kuester of Napa did not advance in a U.S. Open Local Qualifying after posting a 9-over-par 79 and tying for 52nd place at Pasatiempo Golf Club in Santa Cruz on May 6.
* Jack Keller of Napa was in the field for a U.S. Open Local Qualifying on May 5 at The Club at Ruby Hill, in Pleasanton. He did not advance after posting a 6-over-par 78 and tying for 48th place.
* Jack Sennott of Napa did not advance after carding a 3-over-par 75 and tying for 43rd place during a U.S. Open Local Qualifying on May 4 at Stonebrae Country Club in Hayward.
Oliver ties for second in NCGA Juniors event
Nathan Oliver of Napa tied for second place in the boys division of a Northern California Golf Association Juniors event, carding a 6-over-par 78 at San Jose Municipal Golf Course on May 17.
Napa golfers play in qualifier
Napa golfers Jack Keller, Alex Keller and Brooke Gongora played in the USWING MOJING Junior World qualifier. The Junior Golf Association of Northern California event was on May 23 at Alister MacKenzie Golf Course at Haggin Oaks in Sacramento.
Jack Keller (79) tied for 46th place and Alex Keller (83) tied for 61st place in the boys 15-18 division. They were not among the qualifiers.
Gongora (79) tied for 29th place and was not among the qualifiers in the girls 15-18 division.