FIELD SET FOR 14TH ANNUAL STOCKER CUP INVITATIONAL
-Strongest field in tournament's history from 15 States, and Canada

George Kelley (left) and Sandy Tatum at Harding Park

Carmel, CA- (September 23, 2004) The Stocker Cup Committee is pleased to announce the preliminary field for the 2004 Stocker Cup Invitational Golf Tournament at the Preserve Golf Club. New players committed to play in 2004 have countless State and Regional titles on their resumes, further building on the quality of the field.

"This year's field is clearly the strongest in the history of the tournament," said George Kelley, Chairman of "A" Player Invitations for the Stocker Cup Tournament Committee.

"Because of the increased number of requests for invitations from qualified players, we decided to run a qualifying event for the first time ever this year."

72 Mid-Amateur tournament hopefuls with handicaps of less than 2.4 played the recently renovated Harding Park Golf Course in San Francisco on September 13th,
(click for results) with 5 players qualifying for positions in the Stocker Cup. Sandy Tatum, the person responsible for bringing the renovation of Harding Park to fruition, and a key member of the Stocker Cup Tournament Committee was on hand September 13th to greet players at the qualifier.

Last year's Champion, Brandt Snedeker, will not have the opportunity to defend his title -- he has since turned professional and is competing on the Nationwide Tour -- however 2003 Runner-up and perennial contestant Randy Haag from Los Gatos, California will return and attempt to win the title for the third time.

New players in the field for 2004 include:

CRAIG DOELL, Vancouver, British Columbia
One of Canada's top amateurs, the left-handed Doell was selected as a member of the Canadian Team that will compete in the World Amateur in Puerto Rico in late October. Doell took 6th in this year's Pacific Coast Amateur, and 3rd in the British Columbia Amateur. He also competed in the 2004 Bell Canadian Open. In 2003, Doell was a semifinalist in the Canadian Amateur.

PHIL EBNER, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Ebner will join Stocker Cup Committee Member (and contestant) Jim Lehman and Bowen Osborn as representatives of the great state of Minnesota at this year's Stocker Cup. Ebner, who plays out of Windsong Farm CC, qualified for match play in the 2004 North and South Amateur. He finished 3rd in the 2002 Minnesota Amateur, and was a contestant in the 2002 US Mid Amateur and 2003 US Amateur.

PATRICK HANLON, Las Cruces, New Mexico
Hanlon won the New Mexico Mid Amateur earlier this month on a course he owns in Las Cruces, New Mexico - The Picacho Hills Country Club. He also won the Rio Mimbres Invitational earlier this year. In 2003, he was Runner-up in the New Mexico Amateur, and participated in the Pacific Coast Amateur.

BILL SHARPE, Edmund, Oklahoma
Sharpe was Runner-up in the 2004 Eastern Amateur. In 2003, he took 3rd in the Azalea Amateur, and advanced as far as the 'round-of-16' in the US Mid Amateur. Sharpe is a two-time Runner-up in the West Virginia State Amateur.

OTHER TOP PLAYERS
2004 NCGA Masters Champion Mark Gardner, of Redlands, California; 2004 NCGA Public Links and amateurgolf.com California Mid Amateur Champion Gary Young, of Redwood Shores, California; 2001 Stocker Cup Champion, and 2002 runner-up John Pate of Santa Barbara, California; 2-Time California State Amateur Champion Casey Boyns, of Pacific Grove, California; 2000 and 2002 Crump Cup/Pine Valley Champion Randy Haag of Los Gatos, California; 2004 NCGA Senior Player of the Year Mike Butler, of San Francisco; Low Amateur in the 2000 US Open, and semifinalist in the 2001 and 2002 US Mid Amateur, Jeff Wilson of Fairfield, California.

QUALIFIERS
Players who qualified for the Stocker Cup at San Francisco's Harding Park Golf Course on September 13, 2004:
Atul Anand, Long Beach, California
Robert Burns, San Mateo, California
Dave Rathjen, San Jose, California
Jerry Ledzinski, Carmel, California
John McDonald, San Clemente, California

A complete list of contestants can be viewed at- http://www.stockercup.com/contestants.htm