Brian Warren
PERSONAL – Brian lives in Rocklin, California with his wife Tess, son Walker (3), and daughter Ryan (1). He’s done well for himself as a paramedic and is now a paramedic supervisor for San Mateo County. Brian picked up golf at 15, stepped away, picked it up again in his 20s, stepped away, then picked it up again last April and has been running with it since. I’d say running with it is a bit of an understatement and I think the guy would play every second of every day if he was allowed to.
TIE TO THE MONTEMAR – Brian’s wife, Tess, met Flo’s wife, Jaci, while Tess was cutting Jaci’s hair. The two hit it off and eventually started hanging out. Brian started hanging around and hit it off with all the guys. Now it sort of feels like he’s always been there. He’s at all our functions and typically the first guy to try to organize a golf outing on every single one of his days off, which seems to be about 5 days per week. He’s a fantastic guy who seems to love golf as much as anybody and a tremendous addition to the Montemar. I got a feeling Brian will play in these things for many years to come.
ADDITIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE MONTEMAR – Brian invited his cousin, Kelly Cunningham (who lives in Arizona), to the event and Kelly is feeling like a very solid guy and a great addition to the tournament.
WHAT NEEDED TO HAPPEN IN 2023 – The game shows flashes of greatness but the consistency isn’t always there – same as for most of us. Different than some of us, Brian has an insane desire to improve and seems to be better each time I play with him. He’s a good athlete with a solid swing who has the potential to par or birdie most holes. He needs to avoid the penalty areas (these added strokes will kill us tournament play) but if he does he’ll put up some solid scores. I don’t think the 17.1 handicap helps him, as it puts him in the 2nd division, but luckily handicaps don’t play a huge role in this tournament. Brian should be in the running come Sunday but the draft will play a huge part in how that goes. If he can slide a bit and get a partner with some games the sky is the limit.
WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED IN 2023 – Brian would probably be the first to say he could have played better than his opening round 103 at TPC Scottsdale. The pins were tough… but a 103? Maybe it was the sun or the alcohol but the man is much more capable than that. His scramble team on Saturday didn’t help him much but things heated up in a big way on Sunday, as him and Feeney fired an 87 and 83, respectively, in route to taking down the duo of young Isaacks and Mr. Chicken Wing himself.
WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN IN 2024 – Brian needs to do what he did on Sunday of the 2023 version of the Montemar. Play good golf. Do that and most things should fall into place. Who he plays with during the scramble, how he does on the par 3s, the random pairings, and draft will also play into it. They key though, is play good golf. His handicap this year definitely won’t hurt him.
ODDS TO WIN – 78-1
FUN FACT – When Brian had his baby 1.5 years ago we had to have a bit of a golf intervention. There was a text thread started (probably with the pressure from one of the wives) to make sure Brian wasn't out on the golf course for at least a few weeks so he could be at home with his new baby. He and we made a valiant effort but I'm pretty certain he was on the course a week later - the guy can't get enough of it and it's pretty awesome. He's also a great dad to both his kids and his son Walker (3) plays more rounds of golf than the rest of us.
MONTEMARS PLAYED – 1 (Scottsdale – 2023)
MONTEMAR ROUNDS PLAYED – 3 (TPC Scottsdale, TS-Piipaash, TS-O’Odhaam)
LIFETIME POINT TOTAL - 284
JACKETS WON – 0
TOP 3 FINISHES – 0
TOP 5 FINISHES – 0
TOP 10 FINISHES – 0
RECORDS – 0
TOURNAMENT HANDICAP – 31
INVITED BY – Simon Gober, Oliver Kenyon
PLAYERS INVITED – 2(Kelly Cunningham – 2023. Chris Holtzer - 2024)
PRIZES DONATE – Nothing yet but I think he has some good things in mind.
