GOLF / RICH TOSCHES : Frustrated Voges Shafts Himself in State Tournament

What was supposed to be the Dream Summer for Mitch Voges of Simi Valley has suddenly become a nightmare, with creepy-crawly things lurking at every golf course he plays.

The 1991 U.S. Amateur champion from Simi Valley was invited to play in the most elite tournament in the world on the merit of his stirring Amateur victory last year. So far, he has failed to make the cut in any of the big events, including the Masters, the Memorial tournament and, last week, the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. He has been invited to play in the British Open later this summer.

After his showing in the U.S. Open, he spoke of being “bitterly disappointed” in his performance. Things, he said, just could not get any worse.

Wrong.

On Monday, in the first round of the California Amateur championship at the Spyglass Country Club on the Monterey Peninsula, the suffering of the summer may have gotten to the normally disciplined Voges.

He had stumbled badly from the start, bogeying the third hole, carding a triple-bogey seven on the fourth hole and posting another bogey on No. 5. Then, after missing a short par putt on the ninth hole, he slammed his putter against his foot in anger, banging the club with such force that it bent the shaft, according to Northern California Golf Assn. official Fred Merrick.

Then, on the 10th hole, Voges putted once with the bent club, tried to straighten it with his hands and putted with it again, carding another bogey.

He continued to play, but on the 12th hole he was informed by tournament officials that he had been disqualified from the tournament.

U.S. Golf Assn. rule 4.2 says a player cannot use a club that was damaged or altered in any way, unless it was damaged accidentally, such as hitting a rock or tree. Because Voges damaged the putter in anger, it became an illegal club.

Under the rule, Voges would have been forced to putt the rest of the round with another club, such as a 2-iron, because he had the maximum 14 clubs in his bag to start the round and would not have been allowed to replace the damaged putter with a new one.

The loss of Voges was a blow to the six-man Southern California team, which was counting heavily on him in its match against a Northern California squad in a tournament within the California Amateur tournament.

Early Tuesday morning, before departing the Peninsula, Voges wrote and submitted a letter to the Southern California Golf Assn., apologizing for his behavior and for letting the team down, according to Merrick.

Doctor plays golf: Look who has won her second Los Angeles women’s championship in the past three years: Dr. Mary Budke of South Pasadena, an emergency room physician at Granada Hills Community Hospital who took a six-year hiatus from the golf course during the 1980s and claims she couldn’t break 95 for years after resuming the game.

Budke, 38, shot rounds of 74-75-77 for a 226 total at the Rancho Park Golf Course, beating Teri Melanson of Los Angeles by one stroke. Melanson had won the tournament in 1989. Budke won it in 1990 at Rancho Park.

Budke was the U.S. Women’s Amateur champion in 1972 and won the NCAA women’s title in 1974 at Oregon State. But she didn’t play any golf between 1980 and 1986 while attending medical school.

Heidi Voorhees of Studio City, the 1991 champion, stumbled from the start of the tournament, which was played last month. Her rounds of 82-81-87 left her 24 strokes behind Budke. Carrie Leary of Valencia was fourth with a 243.

Ups and downs: While Corey Pavin of Oxnard and Steve Pate of Simi Valley have slipped a bit on the 1992 PGA earnings list from their lofty spots of a year ago, Duffy Waldorf of Tarzana has come from nowhere to rank 16th on the current list with earnings of $379,527. Last year, Waldorf, who played at Taft High, finished 86th on the list with earnings of $196,081.

Pavin was last year’s top money winner on the tour with $979,430. He currently ranks ninth with $528,094. Pate was sixth last year with $727,997. He has fallen to 22nd in the current rankings with $326,746.

Didn’t blow it: Mike Blewett of Woodland Hills won this week’s Golden State Tour event at the Woodland Hills Country Club, firing a 68 to edge Rob Riggins of Saugus by one stroke. Blewett earned $1,000 for the win Monday.