Finally a chance to play for city title

Jeff Tully

When Scott Scozzola was a competitive amateur golfer, he played in

his share of city championships in nearby cities.

“I’ve played in city championships in places like Pasadena, L.A.

and other cities,” said Scozzola, the head professional at De Bell

Municipal Golf Course. “But we have never had a city championship

here in Burbank.

“I always wondered, with the amount of good golfers we have in the

city, and a course like De Bell right in our backyard, why has there

never been a city tournament here?”

Since taking over as head pro from his father Phil in 2001,

Scozzola has made it a priority to bring a big-time amateur

tournament to De Bell.

Scozzola’s dream will become a reality Sept. 26-28 when he will

oversee the first Burbank City Amateur Golf Championship.

“I can’t tell you how happy I am to finally have this tournament

here locally,” said Scozzola, whose father ran De Bell for 31 years.

“I am really looking forward to seeing the caliber of players we are

going to get for the event.”

Although the tournament is open to nonresidents, Scozzola said he

is hoping to get a big contingent from Burbank.

“This is a great opportunity for local residents to play in their

own tournament,” he said. “I know we have many fine amateur golfers

here who could do well in this tournament.”

To take part in the event, players need to have an established

handicap with either the Southern California Golfers’ Assn., the

Southern California Public Links Golf Assn. or the United States Golf

Assn.

Athletes will take part in two divisions, a championship flight --

which is open to all ages -- and a class flight, which will feature

players 18 and older.

Players will vie for $10,000 in prizes. Entry forms must be

received by Sept. 15 and can be obtained at the De Bell golf shop.

Scozzola said the field is open to 256 golfers and applications

will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.

“Because this is an amateur tournament, the players aren’t able to

accept cash or prize money,” Scozzola said. “So players will be

playing for script and credit from the pro shop.”

Scozzola knows a little about golf organization. After graduating

from New Mexico State University in 1999, he virtually ran De Bell’s

day-to-day operations after earning degrees in professional golf

management, as well as finance and marketing.

However, Scozzola admits putting together the city’s first

championship event has been a lot of work.

“I really didn’t realize it was going to be as much work as it

has,” he said. “But I am getting some help and we have a lot of

volunteers who are willing to put in the time to make the tournament

a success.

“I’m also getting some help from the man who runs the Pasadena

city championship.

“We are hoping for a good turnout for our first event. And then we

can build on that and establish a tournament that we can have every

year.”