LAS VEGAS (May 29, 2026)–Kenny Ebalo (Championship), Greg Hudson (Senior), Marty Pena (Silver) and Paul Kozusko (Net) won titles in the 2026 Southern Region Tour event held May 29, 2026, at Las Vegas Golf Club.–by Bill Bowman
The event is used by players as a tuneup to the Las Vegas City Amateur and Las Vegas Senior City Amateur that are played the week after.
Championship
Kenny Ebalo, who is president of Nevada Golf, won for the first time since late 2024, posting an eagle along the way en route to a two-stroke victory.
Ebalo spends the majority of his golf time on the national amateur scene but says the local golf scene is one he embraces.
“I just love playing these events,” Ebalo said. “It’s just fun to play with guys I either grew up with or have seen them growing up through the junior ranks. It’s just fun to hang with them.”
Ebalo said the round was a solid one.
“I drove it good enough, hit wedges close and made some putts,” he said. “Obviously you’d always like to make more putts but you always seem to make some you shouldn’t make and miss some you should make.”
Ebalo said his eagle, which happened on his 14th hole of the round, came from the middle of the fairway.
“I holed out from 64 yards with my 60-degree wedge,” he said. “I hit the fairway with my drive and hit what I thought was a good shot to a back pin. Going in was certainly a bonus.”
He used this event as a test for his clubs as he prepares for an event next week at Winged Foot in New York for a two-man tournament.
“I made some equipment changes,” he said. “This was a great time to see if the new clubs will make the trip with me.”
Making the trip to New York does mean he will miss next week’s Las Vegas City Amateur.
“I’m bummed I won’t be playing in it,” he said. “Everyone who’s played here loves the tournament and everyone loves Muni. It’s one of my favorite events of the year so to miss it is tough.”
Championship
Kenny Ebalo, 69
Greg Horodesky, 71
Kyle Graham, 73
Senior
There are hot starts, there are red-hot starts and then there’s Greg Hudson’s start.
Hudson parred his opening hole before rattling off five straight birdies in roaring to a four-shot victory.
It was Hudson’s first win in almost a year. He won twice in 2025 including the 2025 Southern Nevada Amateur in mid-June.
“I’ve never had five birdies in a row…never,” Hudson said. “That was awesome.”
He said there’s no doubt which club carried the day.
“My putter was hot,” he said. “I was hitting fairways and greens and giving myself a chance. But then putts started falling from everywhere, I made some long putts–10-to-20 feet–and I also had a chip-in during the streak. I was 30-feet off the green, chipped it up and it rolled in. It was all going well.”
Hudson said he’s back in form after taking time off at the end of 2025.
“I took about four months off from September to the end of the year,” he said. “I came back in January and I’m in good form right now. I’m ready for the summer and ready to play some good golf.”
He’s off to a great start in that goal.
“Getting off to that start was great,” he said. “But I didn’t want to get ahead of myself and start thinking about what I might be able to score. I didn’t want any of that so I started talking to my playing partners about their kids and other stuff just to take my mind off golf. I just wanted to go shot by shot and enjoy the day.”
Senior
Greg Hudson, 65
Steve Fink, 69
Joe Sawaia, 69
Silver
Marty Pena has kept his streak alive.
Pena has won a single tournament each of the last four years, starting in 2023.
Pena had three birdies and three bogeys in an even-par round that saw him win by five strokes and let the winning streak continue.
“I was starting to feel like Rickie Fowler like I would never win again,” he said with a laugh.
Pena added the round was solid.
“I thought I played a pretty controlled round of golf,” he said. “I didn’t get in much trouble and when I did, I managed to escape with minimal damage.”
He said the win came at the perfect time.
“It feels good to win and it gets me excited for next week’s City Am,” he said.
He said he knows there’s still work to be done on his game.
“I’m still working on my length off the tee,” he said. “I have improved and I’ve still stayed consistent in hitting fairways so that’s good.”
Silver
Marty Pena, 72
Ron Harwood, 77
Tony Caiazzo, 77
Net
Paul Kozusko carded six net birdies in an eight-hole stretch in winning the Net title for his first Nevada Golf Southern Region title.
It was Kozusko’s first time playing in a Nevada Golf event having moved to the area from Los Angeles three-and-a-half months ago.
“This is all new to me,” he said. “I just joined Nevada Golf and this was just a great event.”
Kozusko said his short game saved the day.
“During that net birdie stretch, I didn’t hit a single fairway,” he said. “I just happened to chip and putt pretty darn well. It’s the best round I’ve had in a long time.”
Kozusko added his play on the greens also factored into the win.
“I only had 27 putts,” he said. “I’m usually closer to 32 so that’s five shots right there. Twenthy-seven putts is phenomenal for me. It’s actually pretty good for anybody. I one-putted nine holes…half the golf course.”
Net
Paul Kozusko, 68
Brian Freymueller, 69
Eyal Saad, 70
