A four-day roller coaster that included a two-stroke penalty he called on himself and the low round of the tournament concluded Friday with Bob Niger advancing to the final stage of the Champions Tour qualifying tournament.

The El Dorado Hills resident tied for eighth, three shots inside the qualifying total, at the first-stage venue near Riverside with a four-round total of 6-under-par 278. He was among 16 advancing to the final stage, which starts Tuesday in Arizona.

Niger opened with a 70 and followed with a 74 that included a two-stroke penalty for repairing what he convinced himself was a ball mark on the fourth green. He called the penalty following the round after consulting his playing partners and before signing his scorecard.

"(The area of repair) was really solid," Niger, 49, said. "The more I thought about it, the more it bothered me."

Distracted by the incident, he three-putted No. 14, chilly-dipped a chip on No. 15 en route to a double bogey and missed a two-foot birdie putt on No. 17.

"I never miss putts that short," he said. "I had all kinds of thoughts running through my head."

He rallied with a third-round 64 that included six back-nine birdies and vaulted him from 29th to 10th, keeping alive the quest he has dedicated the past four years to achieving.

"I honestly thought I could shoot a 64, and that's exactly what I did," he said. "I was pretty proud of that round considering the circumstances."

He shot a 70 in the final round.

Levee work to touch Teal

Teal Bend will not be significantly affected by levee improvement work, despite appearances of construction next to the course that has many golfers fearing the worst.

The tee complex on No. 2 will be removed and replaced in the same place about five feet higher. The back tee on No. 4 will be lost. That's it on the course, said Teal general manager Brent Cohen.

"The big impact will be the entrance," Cohen said. That will be destroyed and replaced. Because of that, it's yet to be decided whether the course can remain open during the construction, which should take about two months and is scheduled between May and October of next year.

"The goal is to stay open, of course," Cohen said. "I can't tell you whether or not that's going to happen."

Et cetera

Casie Cathrea defeated Lynne Cowan 4 and 3 Saturday in the title match of the California Women's Amateur Championship at Quail Lodge in Carmel. Cathrea, 13, a Livermore resident and First Tee of Greater Sacramento regular, rallied from a four-hole deficit in the 36-hole final to deny Cowan, 46, a Davis resident attempting to win the trophy for an unprecedented fifth time.

• Elk Grove's Spencer Levin will need a top-10 finish this week to have any chance of cracking the fully exempt for next year top 125 on the PGA Tour money list. He is 140th ($501,999) on the money list with one top-10 finish in 24 tournaments this year. The Children's Miracle Network Classic in Florida is the final event of the 2009 season.

• Golfers interested in trying out for the first athletic team to be offered at Folsom Lake College should meet in the school's community room Nov. 19 at noon. The team will be coached by Barry Zarecky, the former Elk Grove High School golf coach. Call Zarecky at 354-8644 for more information.

Call The Bee's Steve Pajak, (916) 326-5526.