Ex-Bishop Gorman golfer among winners at Las Vegas City Am Week

Zoe Parker got into the zone all golfers dream of during the final round of the Las Vegas Women’s City Amateur. She was playing so well and making so many birdies she lost track of her score.

The total: Eight birdies during a 5-under 67, pushing her to a five-shot victory June 1 at Las Vegas Golf Club.

“It wasn’t until after the final hole that I realized I was 5 under,” Parker said. “I was just out there playing solid golf and having fun.”

Parker, a 2024 Bishop Gorman High graduate who recently finished her freshman season at Boise State, was among the many winners during Las Vegas City Am Week. It has become a tradition in recent years to play all of the city championships consecutively, making it a celebration of local golf.

Joining Parker were men’s champion Greg Horodesky, Senior winner Mike Ketcham, Silver champion Ron Harwood, Senior women’s winner Stephanie Southbloom, and junior champions Sage Parry (girls, 15-18), Jonathan Barclay (boys, 15-18), Tiffany Park (girls, 13-14) and Tyler Cleveland (boys, 13-14).

Parker entered the final round in sixth place, five shots behind first-round leader Ariya Soldwisch, a former Coronado High star now playing for Cal-State Northridge. But Parker quickly made her way up the leaderboard and ran away from the competition.

“I felt like I had nothing to lose,” she said. “I just told myself to put it all out there. I just told myself, ‘I can do this.’”

And she did. Parker birdied her first two holes, added another on No. 8, then ran off five birdies over a seven-hole stretch on the back nine to pull away.

She hopes the victory serves as a launching pad for her sophomore season with the Broncos.

“I’m going to take a lot away from this tournament,” she said. “Mostly the feeling of relaxing and just playing good, solid golf.”

The men’s competition came down to the final hole. Horodesky stood on the ninth tee tied at 12 under with Grant McKay and Brett Sodetz.

“I knew what I had to do,” he said.

He got close to the par-5 finishing green in two, but faced a flop shot over a bunker for his third. Horodesky executed the shot perfectly, knocking it to 18 inches for a tap-in birdie and the title.

“The stars lined up,” he said. “I was a nervous wreck trying to get it done.”

It is the second City Am title for Horodesky, who also claimed the trophy in 2010.

“It seems like this is always one of the strongest fields,” he said. “The college kids show up … everyone just wants to play Muni. It’s one of the oldest courses, it’s a tradition, it’s a challenge and it’s fun.”

The Senior event was also tight, with Ketcham winning on the first playoff hole after finishing at 8 under with Ray Nomura. Ketcham had forced the playoff with a birdie on his final hole in regulation.

Harwood ran away with the Silver tournament, shooting a bogey-free 66 in the final round for a six-stroke win over Steven Fink.

Southbloom opened a huge lead in the first round of the women’s Senior event, then held on for a four-shot victory over Jane Lee.

“It was my first time playing in the event and the first time playing the course, so I’m very excited,” said Southbloom, who recently moved to Nevada. “It won’t be my last time.”

Greg Robertson can be reached at grobertson@reviewjournal.com.