Bryan Baird (Championship), Todd Roberts (Senior), Jim LiCausi (Silver) and Chris Kanthak (Net) won titles in the 2026 Tour Series-Reflection Bay. The one-day Southern Region Tour tournament was held Sept. 1, 2026, at Reflection Bay Golf Club.–by Bill Bowman
Championship
Bryan Baird ran off four straight birdies around the turn en route to a seven-stroke victory in the Championship Division.
Baird, who moved to Las Vegas in 2009 to pursue a professional poker career, won for the first time in 2026 after posting two wins in 2025. Baird is also coming off qualifying for the 2026 U.S. Mid-Amateur which will be played at the end of this month.
“I hit a lot of fairways and had scoring clubs into the greens,” he said. “I was leaving myself in good spots to make birdies. I had a lot of good looks inside 10-15 feet that were pretty straight putts. Golf is pretty fun when you’re making those birdie putts.”
He said his game is in a good spot as he readies for a couple of marquee events.
“I’ve got the Trans-Mississippi Mid-Am in two weeks and the USGA Mid-Am at the end of the month,” he said. “It’s good to be playing well going into those events.”
He added the Mid-Am will be the first USGA event he will play in.
“It’s the first time I’ve tried to qualify for this tournament so it’s good to be one-for-one,” he said. “There will be a lot of good quality players in those tournaments so it will be a great test. You really have to be playing well to compete and right now my game feels good.”
Championship
Bryan Baird, 65
James Dalthorp III, 72
Greg Horodesky, 74
Senior
Todd Roberts carded three birdies in a four-hole stretch late in the round in winning for the fourth time in 2026.
Roberts has three individual titles and a team crown.
“Actually, until the second shot on 18, I was playing beautifully,” Roberts said. “I have no idea what happened but I hit my second shot into the middle of the lake and made a six. I thought I blew it. I was really upset. Now, I want to go back out and hit that shot again.”
But it was the birdies he put on the scorecard he tried to focus on.
“I made five birdies and that’s what I’ll take away,” he said. “I was thrilled today. Since Serket (the Henderson City Amateur on Aug. 15-16), I haven’t played golf. I damaged both my wrists. I woke up and couldn’t move my wrists. I thought…well, there goes my season. I started taking Advil and it calmed down. I finally tried to hit balls last Saturday and I could. I hit balls for about an hour and it didn’t bother me. I was relieved.”
He said his overall play at Reflection Bay was good…but not great.
“The greens were tough but I made some good putts,” he said. “And that helped me make five birdies. But I didn’t get up and down when I missed greens so there’s still work to be done.”
Senior
Todd Roberts, 73
Brian Hurlburt, 75
John Bobroski, 76
Silver
Jim LiCausi parred the first 11 holes and added two birdies over the final seven holes in winning for the third time in 2026.
LiCausi won the season-opening Tournament of Champions as well as the Senior Net portion of the 2026 Nevada State Net Amateur.
“I looked at the scoreboard around 15 and saw Donald (Clelland) was one-under as well,” LiCausi said. “I thought I’d need birdies coming in. I did birdie No. 16. But I hit it in the bunker on 17. I did hit it to about three feet but missed the par putt. Then I parred No. 18 but I managed to hang on to win.”
LiCausi said the home course edge was key.
“I’m a member at Reflection Bay and know where to miss it,” he said. “(Jack, the course designer) Nicklaus wants you to hit high cuts around here and I can do that all day.”
He said in the end, it was just a solid round.
“There was nothing exciting today,” he said. “It was boring golf and I’m OK with boring golf. There was a lot of down the middle and two putts.”
Silver
Jim LiCausi, 71
Donald Clelland, 72
Steven Mulryan, 73
Net
Chris Kanthak posted two net eagles on the scorecard and won a three-way scorecard playoff to win for the first time in 2026.
Kanthak, who won twice in 2025, rode a roller-coaster round to the victory as he put up scores ranging from ‘3’ to ‘8’.
“After I got the ‘8’ I wanted to crush the driver and just see where it goes,” he said with a laugh. “But I kept telling myself to just forget about it…I wasn’t out of it. I knew if I played smart and didn’t get anything worse than a bogey I would get a top-10 anyway.”
Kanthak followed up the ‘8’ with his second net eagle.
“That was huge,” he said. “I hit a good approach shot and then made a long, breaking putt from about 15 feet. It was really good timing.”
He said he wasn’t sure a win would be coming his way in 2026.
“I haven’t played a lot this year with work and kids,” he said. “And I was getting nervous about not getting to the Tournament of Champions. I’m very happy to play well enough to win this one.”
Net
x-Chris Kanthak, 73
Melvin McBean, 73
Ken Atcheson, 73
x-Won scorecard playoff
