There are riches in those Mesquite, Nevada, golf courses, and Michael Feagles, a pro from Scottsdale, finished at 16-under par to win the 2024 $150,000 Nevada Open and the $31,350 first-place check. Southern Nevada Golf Association champion David Llewellyn earned low amateur. The event was held Nov. 5-7 at the Palms and CasaBlanca golf courses.–By Brian Hurlburt, founder, LasVegasGolfInsider.com
The Nevada Open is known as a major of the mini-tours and lived up to the hype. Nearly a dozen players had a shot at the victory heading into the final round. Feagles edged Chase Sienkiewicz and Zander Winston by a shot, while Taylor Low, Isaac Merry, Wil Gibson and Las Vegas’ Jhared Hack finished at -14. Included in the entry fee for the players are rooms at the CasaBlanca Resort, Casino, Golf and Spa.
Feagles was fresh off a victory at the Arizona Open and stayed hot during his stay in the Mesquite golf destination. Click to view the final Nevada Open leaderboard.
“I played tee to green very solid, and to come out on top of both of those tournaments speaks volumes for where my game is at and where it has been the past couple months,” Feagles said. “Obviously, the putter is really hot right now. I have seen a lot of balls going in the hole.”
Feagles was also impressed with his first Nevada Open experience.
“Obviously, the Nevada Open is a very prestigious event with a lot of great winners, guys that have used it to kind of catapult their careers to bigger and better things, so hopefully I am able to do the same,” Feagles said. “The Nevada Open has a great reputation between the state opens. I played about four of them this summer, Colorado, Nevada, Illinois, and Arizona, and the Nevada Open has very big purse, $150,000, and over $30,000 of the winner. I think that by itself attracts players from all over the country to come and try to have their shot at it. Casablanca was a great host. I really enjoyed being able to stay so close to the golf course and having the hotel and the casino resort only a couple minutes away. It was very convenient and very accommodating to the players. I didn’t know what to expect because I had never played the Nevada Open before and never been to the Mesquite area. I was genuinely pleased with the condition of the golf course and the hospitality they had for us players.”
Amateur Llewellyn, a Mesquite resident, showed no fear against the top field of professionals.
“it’s honestly not as scary as people think it is,” Llewellyn said. “I had a couple tournaments this year with pros, and honestly, I think I can compete with them. It’s just all about confidence. I believe I can do it, so it’s nothing too major. It’s always good to represent Southern Nevada. We’re kind of an under-underappreciated region of the golf world. To outscore a lot of those guys really shows we have talent and great players.”
David LlewellynLongtime tournament director and SNGA supporter Christian Adderson put on a great show in his final year as the tournament director. He has been a key cog in evolving the Nevada Open into a major of the mini tours. He will now focus more on his role as assistant general manager of the CasaBlanca Resort and Virgin River.
“This year carries on the tradition of the Nevada Open and we had 200 players in the field this year,” Adderson said. “We had a stacked field with talent and the leaderboard was amazing. We had over 12 players in double digits going into the final round and all within two shots of each other. As usual, the cream rises to the top. To see what the Nevada Open is today after so many years means a tremendous amount. Mesquite is known worldwide as a golf destination and it’s only fitting that we have one of the most respected state opens in the country. I am very proud of what we built here. It takes a lot of people to get that done and that is the cool part about it all.”
The Nevada Open, sponsored by Mesquite Gaming, donated $1000 to the Virgin Valley Junior Golf Association.