For all intents and purposes, amateur golf in Lake County is winding down as we enter the month of November, The weather over the past couple of weeks has been decidedly September-like, but we know that it”s just a short matter of time until the rains start going sideways, the frost delays go beyond 10 a.m., and other priorities such as Christmas shopping take center stage.
Last weekend”s Lake County Tournament of Champions (see related story, this page) marked the conclusion of the 14th season of the 11-tournament Lake County Amateur Golf Circuit. As its founders had hoped for way back in 1994, the circuit”s yearlong races for the On the Links Golfer of the Year honors came down to the final tournament, the final hole, and in one most dramatic case, the final putt.
Norm Rentsch of Lakeport is the 2007 On the Links Net Golfer of the Year. In winning the overall net division for a second time (he also won in 2000), Rentsch followed the most important set of criteria for circuit success. He entered every event and he found a way to play in all of them, too.
Rentsch partnered up with Dave Buckner of Lakeport to come in second at the Lake County Two Man last March. He tied for fifth at the Lake County Open in April. He jumped out of his category in the Lake County Three Man, competing in the scratch flight with Mike Griggs of Willits and Chip Bowlin of Buckingham. They came in fourth although the points weren”t transferable for Rentsch. However, the experiences of playing with better golfers probably helped his overall game.
In June, Rentsch and Bowlin played together in the Lake County Partners and finished fourth. Later that month he was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Lake County Match Play. When the circuit resumed in October, he came in second at the Lake County Amateur, one shot off the top of the leader board.
Going into the Tournament of Champions, Rentsch held a slim lead over his closest pursuer, the much-improved Chris Fisher. Lurking close behind was the foursome of Jack Lucich of Clearlake, Ted Knowles of Kelseyville, Alan Mathews of Lakeport, and Joe Del Prete of Kelseyville. Rentsch had to tie or finish better than Fisher and there were endless possibilities regarding the other four.
Standing on the 18th green, Rentsch found himself tied with Fisher. He had a 35-foot putt for par while Fisher was looking at a 6-footer. Knowing all the yearlong honors were on the line, Rentsch drained the high-drama putt and garnered Net Player of the Year honors. Never did a tie for fifth mean so much.
It wasn”t as dramatic a finish for Jack Winter of Lower Lake, the Senior Golfer of the Year, but the race was just as tight. Winter took home the title by three shots as he came in seventh at the TOC last Sunday. An eighth-place finish would have given the title to Dennis Layton of Kelseyville and a bigger stumble would have opened the door for Al Mankins of Riviera Heights and Greg Scott of Lakeport.
Winter came in fourth in the season-opening Two Man. He was on the winning squad at the Lake County Three Man, pairing up with Frank Barthelmess and Ken Kearse. He joined up with Kearse in June to finish second in the Lake County Partners. He lost in the finals of the Lake County Match Play and came in eighth at the Lake County Amateur at Adams Springs last month. A seventh-place finish in the Senior Amateur was just enough to tie Winter for first in Senior Golf of the Year points with Greg Scott.
Winter had to beat Scott at the TOC, which he did. He also had to hope that Layton wouldn”t come in second place or win. Layton almost pulled it off, coming in tied for third place, two shots out of the runner-up spot. When all the dust had settled, Jack Winter was Lake County”s Senior Golf of the Year for 2007.
In the senior net division, Rod Weiper of Kelseyville built up an almost insurmountable early lead only to watch it almost dissipate at season”s end. He started the season strong, winning the Two Man in March with partner Tom Salie of Lakeport. He tied for third in the Lake County Open and visited the winner”s circle at the Three Man in May alongside Larry Bresso of Buckingham and Jeff Markham of Lakeport. Weiper won the Lake County Partners in early June, again with Salie, and prevailed over three rounds to win the Lake County Match Play later that month. After five events, Rod had four wins. He was the hottest golfer in the senior net division.
Then a terrible thing happened to Weiper. The circuit spent the next 10 weeks running its three junior events. During the layoff, Weiper”s game and confidence went south. When things resumed in October, he was in a full-blown slump. He finished out of the top 10 at the Amateur and the Senior, and managed a 10th-place finish in the TOC.
When all was said and done, the 10th-place finish was just enough to capture Senior Net Golfer of the Year honors. Al Mankins was right behind him when the final tally was computed and had he finished second instead of third at the TOC, Weiper”s big lead would have evaporated.
The Lake County Amateur Golf Circuit host eight tourneys for adults throughout the season, and although the race for Golfer of the Year honors is a marathon, there was a lot of stumbling as well as sprinting to the finish line. Nonetheless, you can”t take away the fact that Norm Rentsch is the Net Golfer of the Year, Jack Winter is the Senior Golfer of the Year, and Rod Weiper is the Senior Net Golfer of the Year. Congratulations.
Next week: Paul Moore wins Golfer of the year and the saga of the second-best golfer.
