Poplar Golf Club Away Tournament
Las Positas Golf Course — Saturday, July 25, 2026 - Individual Net
There were no flight boundaries to hide behind. No separate leaderboards. No mathematical escape hatch.
Thirty-one players posted scores on the par-72 Signature Course at Las Positas, and every one of those scores went onto the same board.
By the time the final putt dropped, one player had survived a back-nine crisis, another had launched a furious late charge, two more had finished only two shots away, and one competitor had produced a back-nine transformation that bordered on the unbelievable.
This was not simply a tournament.
It was a survival test.
Canepa Takes Command — Then Everything Nearly Falls Apart
Joseph Canepa came out playing as though the trophy had already been engraved.
He opened with net birdies on the 1st and 3rd, added another at the 6th and then delivered the shot of his outward nine: a gross birdie 2 on the par-3 8th. That gave him four net birdies on the front and a blistering net 34, two under par.
Canepa had seized control.
Then came the 10th.
What had looked like a coronation suddenly became a crisis. Canepa recorded a gross 8, producing a net triple bogey. In one hole, the door swung wide open for every challenger behind him.
Allen Miyake was charging. Steve Rueda was charging. Kenneth Boone was still within striking distance.
The championship had been transformed from a runaway into a street fight.
Canepa’s response decided the tournament.
He steadied himself, made a net birdie at the 13th and struck again at the 16th. With the title hanging in the balance, he finished with consecutive net pars on 17 and 18.
Final score: net 73.
One shot clear.
Champion.
Miyake’s Back-Nine Charge Comes Within One
Allen Miyake entered the back nine five strokes behind Canepa’s outward pace, but he refused to disappear.
Miyake made net birdies at the 12th and 13th, remained composed through the middle of the nine and added one more birdie at the 17th. His net 35 on the back nine was one of the strongest closing performances in the field.
He signed for a net 74 and waited.
One shot.
That was the final margin between Miyake and the championship.
Boone and Rueda Finish Two Shots Away
Kenneth Boone opened with consecutive net birdies and remained in the fight throughout the round. He recorded five net birdies in total, produced eight gross pars and finished with a net 75.
Steve Rueda arrived at the turn four over net, then transformed his round completely. Beginning at the 11th, Rueda played eight consecutive holes at net par or better, including birdies at 11 and 17. His back-nine 35 pulled him into a tie with Boone at 75.
Two players. Two completely different routes.
Both finished only two strokes behind the winner.
The Final Straight-Up Net Leaders
Finish Player Net
1 Joseph Canepa 73
2 Allen Miyake 74
T3 Kenneth Boone 75
T3 Steve Rueda 75
T5 Paul Karson 76
T5 Kirk Hansen 76
T5 Joe Fernando 76
T8 Brian Cresta 77
T8 Randy Gubert 77
T8 George Kellner 77
The Field: Player by Player
Joseph Canepa — Net 73, Champion
Canepa’s net 34 on the front nine gave him the cushion he ultimately needed. His gross birdie on the 8th was one of the defining shots of the tournament, and his recovery from the disaster at No. 10—with net birdies at 13 and 16 followed by a par-par finish—was the response of a champion.
Allen Miyake — Net 74, Second Place
Miyake produced five net birdies and mounted the strongest direct challenge to Canepa. His back-nine 35 included birdies at 12, 13 and 17, and his net par on the closing hole forced Canepa to finish the job rather than inherit it.
Kenneth Boone — Net 75, Tied Third
Boone announced himself immediately with net birdies on the first two holes. He accumulated five net birdies, recorded eight gross pars and remained within two strokes of the winning score despite taking only one net birdie over the final five holes.
Steve Rueda — Net 75, Tied Third
Rueda’s back-nine 35 was championship-caliber. He played every hole from 11 through 18 at net par or better, made birdies at 11 and 17 and closed with seven consecutive holes without surrendering a net bogey.
Paul Karson — Net 76, Tied Fifth
Karson recorded a gross birdie on the par-3 8th and then produced a superb back-nine 36. His decisive stretch came from 13 through 17, where he went five consecutive holes at net par or better with birdies at 13, 14 and 16.
Kirk Hansen — Net 76, Tied Fifth
Hansen shot a net 35 on the front and played six consecutive holes from 4 through 9 without a net bogey. He made birdies at 2, 7 and 17 and recorded net par or better on 12 of the 18 holes.
Joe Fernando — Net 76, Tied Fifth
Fernando came out firing with a net 35 on the opening nine. He played the first five holes two under net, made birdies at 1, 4 and 15 and recorded net par or better on 12 holes.
Brian Cresta — Net 77, Tied Eighth
Cresta delivered the lowest gross score of the tournament, a 76, while playing from a plus-one handicap. He made a gross birdie at the par-5 13th, recorded 12 gross pars and played seven consecutive holes from 4 through 10 at gross par or better.
Randy Gubert — Net 77, Tied Eighth
Gubert filled his card with nine gross pars and five net birdies. He steadied the round with four consecutive net pars or better from 6 through 9 and closed the championship stretch with back-to-back net birdies at 16 and 17.
George Kellner — Net 77, Tied Eighth
Kellner produced five net birdies, four of them on the back nine. He birdied 10, 12, 15 and 16, shot a net 38 coming home and gave himself a legitimate chance to break into the top five.
Art Klein — Net 78, Tied 11th
Klein opened with three consecutive holes at net par or better, including birdies at 2 and 3. He added another birdie at 9 and finished his scoring highlights with a gross birdie—and net birdie—on the 17th.
Marc Trapani — Net 78, Tied 11th
Trapani found his rhythm in the middle of the front nine, playing holes 5 through 9 at net par or better. He made net birdies at 3, 6 and 14 and recorded consecutive gross pars on the difficult 11th and 12th.
Glenn Kim — Net 78, Tied 11th
Kim produced one of the most explosive nine-hole performances of the day: a net 34 on the back. He made a net eagle at the par-5 6th, accumulated seven net birdies or better and played the final six holes four under net.
Artie White — Net 79, Tied 14th
White improved on the inward nine with a net 39 and kept the round together through disciplined net-par golf. He made net birdies at 6 and 13 and posted eight additional net pars.
Alfred "Bogie" Bogenhuber — Net 79, Tied 14th
Bogie made early net birdies at 2 and 3, then saved his most consistent golf for the finish. He played all five holes from 14 through 18 at net par or better, highlighted by a birdie at 16.
James Abayon — Net 79, Tied 14th
Abayon produced one of the steadiest cards in the field, recording net par or better on 13 holes. He opened with seven consecutive holes without a net bogey, shot 38 on the back and made his net birdie at the 14th.
Dave Koons — Net 79, Tied 14th
Koons closed with a strong net 37 and played every hole from 12 through 18 at net par or better. His card contained 10 net pars, with net birdies at the 6th and 12th providing the scoring momentum.
Daniel Murray — Net 80, 18th
Murray delivered one of the day’s most valuable individual holes when his gross birdie on the par-4 9th became a net eagle. He added four net birdies, recorded seven gross pars and completed the front nine in a competitive net 37.
Steve Makishima — Net 81, 19th
Makishima made three gross birdies—at 2, 5 and 11—more than any other player in the field. He recovered from a difficult outward nine with a net 36 coming home and completed the final six holes with five net pars.
Bill Capote — Net 82, Tied 20th
Capote collected four net birdies, including consecutive birdies at 9 and 10. He remained composed over the closing stretch, played 16 and 17 in net pars and finished emphatically with another net birdie at the 18th.
Kevin O’Malley — Net 82, Tied 20th
O’Malley made net birdies at 7 and 15 and improved by four shots on his inward nine. He closed with consecutive net pars at 17 and 18, ensuring the round ended under control.
Bret Evans — Net 83, Tied 22nd
Evans began with four consecutive holes at net par or better, highlighted by a birdie at the 3rd. He recorded eight net pars and finished on a high note with both a gross par and net birdie on the par-5 18th.
Manny Casillas — Net 83, Tied 22nd
Casillas opened with back-to-back net birdies and played the first four holes two under net. He recorded net par or better on 11 holes and added another birdie at the par-3 15th.
Tim Andersen — Net 84, Tied 24th
Andersen made net birdies on both par-3s at 4 and 15. He then produced a solid closing sequence from 15 through 17—birdie, par, par—while recording gross pars on both of his birdie holes.
Frank Parcell — Net 84, Tied 24th
Parcell’s strength was persistence and damage control. He recorded 10 net pars, opened with four pars in his first five holes and strung together three consecutive net pars from 15 through 17.
Tim Cole — Net 85, 26th
Cole authored the comeback of the tournament.
After turning in a net 52, he played the back nine in an extraordinary net 33, three under par. He opened that charge with a gross birdie and net eagle at No. 10, added a birdie at 15 and played all nine back-nine holes at net par or better.
Emil Picchi — Net 86, 27th
Picchi improved by six shots on the back nine, closing in net 40 after an outward 46. He made net birdies at 6 and 13, recorded a gross par at the 6th and added net pars at 12, 14 and 16.
Stephen Hildebrand — Net 89, 28th
Hildebrand’s finest stretch came from 13 through 16, where he played four holes three under net. His gross par at the par-5 13th became a net eagle, and he added net birdies at 6 and 16.
Tim Cleary — Net 90, Tied 29th
Cleary produced net birdies at the 3rd and 14th and recorded five gross pars. His par-birdie sequence at 13 and 14 gave the back nine a strong middle-round highlight.
Steve Rush — Net 90, Tied 29th
Rush opened with three consecutive net pars and finished with six net pars overall. His scoring was also perfectly balanced, with matching net 45s on the front and back nines.
Joel Spielman — Net 95, 31st
Spielman recorded gross pars on both par-3s at 4 and 15. He made net birdies at 4, 14 and 15, played the three-hole stretch from 13 through 15 two under net and improved by five strokes on his second nine.
John Fauss — NS
Fauss was entered with a 2 handicap, making him one of the lowest-handicap players listed in the field. The official leaderboard records him as NS, so no competitive score or hole-by-hole performance was posted.
The Final Word
The winning margin was one shot, but the tournament turned on much more than that.
It turned on Canepa refusing to unravel after the 10th.
It turned on Miyake applying pressure until the closing hole.
It turned on Rueda’s eight-hole march, Boone’s relentless pursuit, Cresta’s low-gross performance and Tim Cole’s astonishing back-nine resurrection.
At Las Positas, the winner was not the player who avoided every mistake.
It was the player who absorbed the biggest one—and still found a way to finish standing.
Joseph Canepa: 2026 Poplar Golf Club Las Positas Away Tournament Champion.