Making the rounds: Course manager combines his passions

Matt Holm likes to ride his motorcycle and play golf. He rigged his Suzuki Intruder to carry his clubs – golf bag in one saddle bag, shoes in the other. Bungee cords where needed.

"It's my own kind of German engineering," he said.

Holm wonders if there are some like-minded people out there who have his passions and would like to share them during a monthly ride/round.

Holm, a PGA professional and the manager of Emerald Lakes Golf Course in Elk Grove, envisions jaunts of 50 or so miles. A trip to La Contenta in Valley Springs, for instance, using back roads, of course, would be ideal.

"Just another reason to ride," he said.

Holm, who turns 50 in four months, dreams of qualifying for next year's U.S. Senior Open and riding to Omaha, Neb., headcovers flapping in the wind. Then rolling on two wheels through the front gates at Del Paso for the 2015 Senior Open.

He said there are motorcycles and hard-shell cases designed to transport golf clubs.

"I like mine because it's visual," Holm said. "People honk and wave. The guy at the gas station might not be a golfer, but he knows motorcycles. It brings the worlds together."

Intrigued? Email Holm at mattholm@csdparks.com.

They get results

• It wasn't the day the local girls hoped for Tuesday at the CIF State High School Girls Golf Championships in Rancho Cucamonga.

St. Francis finished last among the six teams to reach the final at Red Hill Country Club. The Troubadours' 458 team total was 57 shots behind victorious Torrey Pines. The dominant Falcons were 19 shots better than runner-up Diamond Bar.

Emily Laskin (88) led St. Francis.

Among individuals, Granite Bay's Paige Lee (79) finished ninth and Woodland's Sara Scarlett (82) tied for 18th.

• Sacramento City's Riley Sexton tied for fifth Tuesday in the California Community College state women's tournament in Temecula. Sac City's Lauren Dahl finished 19th.

• Bob Niger (El Dorado Hills) shot a 2-over-par 74 Tuesday in the first round of the Champions Tour qualifying tournament in Florida. He is tied for 40th – the top five in the final-stage field of 78 earn exempt status for 2013.

• Erik Flores (Grass Valley) shot a 3-under 69 Tuesday in the first round of the second stage of the PGA Tour qualifying tournament in Florida. He is tied for 11th. Flores finished 115th on this year's Web.com Tour's money list.

• Club 2 Me won the 17th annual "Bar Wars" tournament at Mather last week. The team of Sean O'Dea, Sam Thomas, Terry Urbin and Bob Roak won the perpetual trophy for the downtown Sacramento bar and helped raise $6,500 for youth rugby. The players representing Il Forno in Gold River won the social division, meaning they may have had the most fun.

Et cetera

• When Austin Smotherman (Loomis) earlier this year signed to play for SMU, last week's Gifford Collegiate at CordeValle in San Martin was quickly targeted by family and friends as a homecoming of sorts. Caravan plans were scrapped, however, after Smotherman had surgery Oct. 18 to relocate and reattach the ulnar nerve in his left elbow. The freshman missed two fall tournaments but said he expects to be ready when the Mustangs resume their season Feb. 17 in Puerto Rico.

• The four-day Callaway Pebble Invitational starts Thursday at Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill and Del Monte. Admission is free and there is inside-the-ropes access at the event that pits players from the PGA, LPGA, Champions and Web.com tours. It's a sweet deal. Annika Sorenstam is in the 81-player field.

• Read more articles by Steve Pajak

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