Marburger, field set for McAllen Amateur

McALLEN — Kyle Marburger has the bragging rights now, but if 16 other golfers have their way, that will change Sunday.

Marburger, the defending champion of the McAllen Amateur Golf Championship at Palm View Golf Course, will begin that title defense Saturday during the sixth annual tournament, which never has witnessed a repeat champion.

McAllen’s Ron Kilby, however, has won two titles, winning in 2003 and ’05.

“When you win it, it’s yours for the year,” said Kilby, one of the favorites to dethrone Marburger. “It’s the biggest tournament in the Rio Grande Valley. And, as we all know, it’s always good to win in your backyard. And more than anything, all of us play golf together, so you don’t want anybody to be able to hold that over your head.”

Marburger, 43, currently owns the bragging rights after winning the weather delayed tournament last year. The tournament was postponed on the final day last September, with Marburger having to sit on the lead for a month before the event was completed.

“It seemed like forever,” Marburger said recently. “All I did was think about it. That’s not good for your nerves.”

This weekend, Marburger will have a different sense of pressure, his competitors said. Winning the tournament is one thing, but repeating at the McAllen Amateur is completely different, “because everyone expects you to win,” Kilby said. “And if you aren’t up there on the leader board, everyone is wondering what happened to you.”

Kilby, along with 2006 second-place finisher Miguel Del Angel Jr., are prime contenders to dethrone Marburger. Del Angel finished one stroke behind Marburger last season, trimming the leader’s advantage down from four strokes entering the final round.

Two darkhorses in the field are Chris Wicker and Marin Espinosa, brother of Palm View Golf Course Director Carlos Espinosa.

“I really think whoever beats Kyle, if that does happen, will win,” said Wicker, 53. “It’s pretty much the Kyle Marburger-Ron Kilby tournament. But Kyle, he’s the guy to beat. He’s playing great golf right now. And truth be known, he’s a competitor. Â… If Kyle were playing

Tiddlywinks, he’d try to beat you until the blood came out of your fingers.”

The tournament, separated into five fights determined by handicap, is limited to 144 players. Other winners of the tournament were Viviano Villarreal (2002) and Ross Ledesma (2004).

Wade Baker is the Sports Editor of The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4450.