CARSON CITY (Aug. 15, 2026)–The teams of Nick Rains-Armand Rains (Men’s Net) and Eric Ottenheimer-Gary Chong (Senior Men’s Net) won titles in the 2026 Men’s Team Series at Empire Ranch. The one-day Nevada Golf Northern Region tournament was held Aug. 15, 2026, at Empire Golf Club on the Sierra and River nines.–by Bill Bowman
The tournament featured a four-ball stableford format. Teams earned eight points for a hole-in-one as well as a double eagle, six points for an eagle, three points for a birdie and two points for a par. Teams received zero points for a bogey or worse.
Men’s Net
Nick Rains had a net eagle on the opening hole and teamed up with his brother, Armand, to win the Net title with 49 points.
To help out, Armand added a net eagle of his own later in the front nine as the duo posted a two-shot victory.
They finished with net birdies on the final two holes to seal the win.
“This was such a great feeling,” Nick Rains said. “We’ve never played as a team before. My normal partner (Jake Strickland) was at his brother’s wedding and if we didn’t play in this event we were going to be eliminated from the playoffs. I talked my brother into coming up and playing and it all worked out.”
Nick was quick to pass the good news along to Strickland.
“I texted Jake and said ‘Dude, we made the playoffs,’ ” he said. “He was super stoked.”
Nick said the opening-hole eagle was definitely a spark for the team.
“I’ve never scored well on that hole,” he said. “To get a net eagle was an awesome way to start the day.”
Nick added they went into the event just looking to be competitive.
“We just wanted to have fun and not put too much pressure on ourselves,” he said. “But, after the front nine we had, we thought we just might have a chance.”
Nick also had another reason to celebrate.
“Monday’s my birthday so this is just a great birthday present,” he said with a laugh.
Men’s Net
N. Rains-A. Rains, 49
Valentin-Bickel, 47
Harmon-Huerta, 44
Senior Men’s Net
Eric Ottenheimer and Gary Chong posted three net eagles en route to 56 points in winning the Senior Men’s Net crown by 12 points.
They duo posted two of the net eagles on back-to-back holes with each of them recording one of the eagles.
It was the duo’s second title as a team.
“We know each other’s game pretty well and once we got the speed of the greens down we made a lot of putts,” Ottenheimer said. “And the key was we were both making them so it worked out really well.”
Ottenheimer added the day got off to a good start right off the bat.
“We made a birdie on the first hole and that calmed us down,” he said. “After that we fed off that confidence and just kept it going.”
Ottenheimer added they scored well on holes they got strokes.
“Making putts on the key holes leaps you up the scoreboard and really helps the score,” he said. “And we did that very well. We did a lot of good things today very well and if you beat guys like Bruce (Jackson) and Andy (Vesco), you’ve played well.”
Senior Men’s Net
Ottenheimer-Chong, 56 points
Hines-Zuniga, 44
Vesco-Jackson, 44
