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Most people who go to Las Vegas go strictly for social purposes.
That wasn't quite the case for former River High football standout Ricco Simonetti and Wheeling resident Bryan Myers.
It was all golf and a little bit of social.
The duo took part in the ESPN National Golf Challenge after going through two rounds of qualifying at Paitue Resort, which is situated about a half hour outside of Vegas in the desert.
"It was an excellent experience," Myers, a Belmont Hills Country Club employee, said. "ESPN ran the tournament first class and we actually didn't have much time to do anything else because we were wrapped up in the golf tournament."
Simonetti -- who also resides in Wheeling -- also had a blast playing in the event.
"I thought it was organized, well-ran and ESPN really put a lot of time into making it a first-class event," Simonetti said. "I had no complaints from the first round through the national tournament."
The Ohio Valley pair wasn't just there to take part. If it weren't for a rough start in the first of the two rounds, the pair could be calling calling themselves national champions today.
As it was, the group shot a two-day score of 140, which was good enough for fifth place in the gross division.
"We blew it on the first day," Myers said. "We had a double bogey on our first hole and when you think that we finished two shots back, there were the two shots right there."
Neither player claims nerves or living it up in the Vegas nightlife had anything to do with the rough start.
"We play a lot of tournaments together and we've never shot over par before," Myers explained. "We were behind the eight-ball and found ourselves having to fight back the entire time. We are definitely disappointed with how we finished."
The pair also had another bogey in the round, but still managed to stay in the tournament. They came out in day two and fired a round of 67.
"We played pretty well, but we didn't make many putts," Simonetti said. "The first day was definitely a little bumpy, but if we make some putts we're right in the hunt."
Despite the rough start, Myers had a feeling that he and Simonetti would get back into the thick of things.
"We thought we could turn it around, but it's tough to get into that mind set because you don't want to start forcing things more," Myers pointed out. "When you start forcing things in golf, it doesn't work for you, but our first round definitely didn't sit too well with us."
The Paitue Resort is made up of three courses -- the Wolfe, Snow and Sun Courses -- with the tournament being held on the Wolfe and Sun. A practice round was held on the Snow Course with 36 teams competing in the Gross Division.
Both players agreed the courses were tough, but not overly tough.
"It really wasn't that difficult," Simmonetti said. "The greens were really fast. It was a dessert style course, meaning if you missed the fairway you were out in the dessert somewhere. I've actually played nicer courses, but not dessert style, so that was pretty neat."
The course was measured at 7,000 yards, which is 700 yards longer than the Belmont Hills layout to put things into a perspective.
"It played a lot longer than we were used to, but the course was so dry that you got a lot of run. The rolling actually made up for the differences in the length," Myers said.
Simonetti and Myers play a lot of events together through the course of the year and both play during events in the Ohio Valley Golf Association. The pair actually got to know one another from those events.
"Ricco is a solid partner," Myers said. "I am probably a longer hitter off the tee, but he's just a good, steady partner and we don't make many mistakes together."
Simonetti -- who didn't play high school due to his football prowess -- admits that Myers was doing a lot of the work.
"He's definitely the horse of the team," Simonetti joked.
While finishing fifth was impressive, the pair has its sights set on a title for next season, which is serving as the motivating factor. They also have an idea of what it's going to take to get it done next year.
"We knew nothing about anyone in the field," Myers said. "We knew what won last year's tournament, so we had a vague idea. We definitely plan on doing it again next year. We want to win it."
While the pair had to fund their trip to Vegas, once Myers and Simonetti arrived in "Sin City" most everything was covered by the World Wide Leader in Sports.
"When you get there and you get a gift bag that's got a $350 gift certificate from Callaway Golf, it makes it worth your while," Simonetti said.
Along with that some of the perks the players received were a pull over, golf balls, subscription to ESPN The Magazine, a bottle of wine and numerous other gifts.
Neither had been to Vegas, so that helped to cushion the blow of not winning the title.
"Vegas was everything it's cracked up to be," Simonetti said. "I had never been there, but I will definitely try to go back."
The duo earned the right to go to Vegas after winning the local qualifying event, which was held at Belmont Hills and sponsored by Buffalo Wild Wings in late June. The pair teamed to shoot a round of 64 in the best-ball format. That was good enough for the victory and a spot in the regional tournament at Diamond Run Golf Club in Pittsburgh.
At Diamond Run, the duo shot a course-record 63 to win that tournament and qualify for the national event.
The national event will actually be broadcast on television on Dec. 2 at 1:30 p.m. on ESPN-2.
ACE
BRENDA CONNOR recently recorded a hole-in-one on the Arnold Palmer Course at Oglebay. Conner used a 9-iron on the 114-yard Par 3 No. 9 hole. The feat was witnessed by Michael Conner, Donna Reaser and Donnie Reaser.
STATE CHAMPS
The Shadyside American Legion Post 521 Golf Team competed in and won the State American Legion Tournament title for the ninth straight year. The team was comprised of Dick Cruciotti, Todd Antill, Butch Antill and Paul Gulla.
Staskey can be reached at sstaskey@timesleaderonline.com