SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- Barona Creek Golf Club assistant professional Ross Marcano won the Southern California PGA Championship at North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village this week.

Marcano, who has worked at Barona Creek Golf Club since 2001, captured the championship title with a 15-foot birdie putt on the fourth playoff hole over Jeff Cranford of La Quinta and Mark Wilson of Thousand Oaks. Marcano finished the three-round event at 5-under-par, posting rounds of 71-65-72. Marcano also earned $7,000 for his championship win.

Marcano’s win was his second “major” of the summer after capturing the San Diego PGA Stroke Play Championship in June at Barona Creek Golf Club.

“I’m really excited to win such a prestigious event. Winning in a playoff was also very special,” said Marcano. “Working at Barona Creek Golf Club gives me such a great advantage because I’m able to practice my game at one of the toughest championship courses in the country.”

As the Southern California PGA Championship winner, Marcano receives exemptions into the Bob Hope Classic, Nissan Open and Buick Invitational events on the 2007 PGA Tour and the 2006 Mark Christopher Charity Classic on the Nationwide Tour. In addition, he has also qualified for the 2007 PGA Professional National Championship.

“I’m really looking forward to playing the PGA TOUR and Nationwide Tour events,” said Marcano, who played golf at Ramona High School, Palomar College and the University of Utah. “Since I live here in San Diego, playing in the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines is really going to be exciting and I hope to have a lot of friends and family in the gallery.”

Barona Creek Golf Club is one of the most highly-rated golf courses in San Diego. For the second straight year, was ranked as the number five golf course in California, behind landmark properties: Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill, Pasatiempo and Rustic Canyon. In addition, Barona Creek Golf Club was the only San Diego golf property to be recognized in Golfweek Magazine’s Top 100 Modern golf course list at 93rd place on the Modern list, based on courses that opened after 1960.

Barona Creek Golf Club is a par 72 course that is now extended to 7,448 yards with more than 100 multi-fingered bunkers and a series of lakes and ponds that are connected to the area’s naturally fed streams. The golf course also has more than 170 mature native oak trees transplanted from other regions of the Barona Indian Reservation. Making use of the subtly undulating terrain, prominent rock outcroppings and gentle elevation changes preserve the lands unique characteristics. The combination of both natural and strategic elements of the design make Barona Creek Golf Club one of the most challenging and thought provoking golf courses in San Diego.

Barona Creek Golf Club is the centerpiece of the award-winning Barona Valley Ranch Resort & Casino, San Diego’s leading destination resort, featuring 400 luxury guest rooms and suites, a 300,000 square foot casino, a lakefront wedding chapel, the AmBience Day Spa, and a full-service events center. Barona Creek Golf Club is located at 1932 Wildcat Canyon Road in San Diego. To schedule a tee time please call (619) 387-7018. Additional course information is also available at www.barona.com.

For further information on Barona Creek Golf Club, please contact Rick Schloss at (619) 682-3407 or via email at rickschlosspr@aol.com or Kelly Jacobs Speer at (619) 933-5013 or via email at kspeer@vcat.com

Rick Schloss
Rick Schloss Communications
2919 Camino del Rio South
San Diego, CA 92108
619 682-3407/619 682-3440 fax