We”re just a couple of days away from putting the 2007 golf season to rest as well as looking forward to what 2008 will bring. Locally, it was another year of important individual exploits, a record-setting high school team of destiny, year 14 on the Lake County Amateur Golf Circuit, and the 11th playing for the Quarterback Shootout.
Without a doubt, the Lake County golf story of the year revolved around Jonathan Carlson and his exploits on the links. Carlson, a Kelseyville High School and Point Loma University graduate, had an impressive three-day run this past September. On the weekend of Sept. 8-9, Carlson shot under-par rounds to capture the NCGA Sonoma County Amateur at Foxtail in Rohnert Park.
The following day, Carlson journeyed to Santa Rosa”s Fountaingrove Country Club, birdied his final two holes, and posted a 2-under-par 70 to qualify for the United States Mid-Amateur Championship at Bandon Dunes. Carlson became the first Lake County golfer to qualify for a national USGA tournament. Alas, gale-force winds during second-round play at Bandon curtailed Carlson”s efforts to finish in the low 64, which he needed to advance into match play. Nonetheless, Carlson came home with great memories and the experience of a lifetime.
On top of his magical September, Carlson qualified for the California State Amateur in June, won the Santa Rosa Two Man in August, and ran away from the rest of the pack at the Lake County Amateur at Adams Springs in October. It was a very good golfing year for Carlson, who is not only a talented golfer but also a classy individual.
The woman who had the best golfing year in Lake County is 15-year-old Lisa Copeland of Hidden Valley Lake. Lisa played on the boys” golf team at Middletown High School in the spring. During a very active summer and fall, Copeland won the Humboldt Junior, the Chico Junior, her fourth consecutive Lake County Junior, and was the champion of the Sonoma County League. Copeland has the potential to play Division I college golf and is still a high school sophomore. While Lisa had a very good 2007 campaign, she will definitely better those efforts in 2008.
Speaking of high school golf, the Kelseyville High School golf team had a season for the ages in 2007. KHS was the first team in Coastal Mountain Conference history to go unbeaten in league play, finishing 48-0. The Knights also were the first CMC team to advance out of the North Coast Section first-round playoffs and get into the field at the prestigious Tournament of Champions. The team featured two seniors, Brent Hamilton and Schuyler Bloom, as well as a trio of sophomores, Nick Schafer, Hipolito Perez and Jonathan Bridges.
In 2007, the Kelseyville High School golf team was the equal of North Bay powerhouse Cardinal Newman and was on the same playing field as past state champ DeLaSalle.
Competitive local tournament golf found its way into the headlines on numerous occasions in 2007. The Lake County Amateur golf Circuit completed its 14th season while hosting 11 tournaments. Paul Moore of Ukiah repeated as the On the Links Golfer of the Year. Jack Winter was the senior golfer of the year, Rod Weiper was the senior net golfer of the year, and Norm Rentsch waited until the final putt on the final hole of the final tournament before claiming net golfer of the year honors.
The two most competitive tourneys of the year were the Lake County Open at Buckingham in April and the Lake County Amateur at Adams Springs in October. As mentioned earlier, Carlson won the Am while shooting tournament-record scores of 67 and 64 for winning 131 total. J.J. McMillen of Ukiah also set a tournament record at the Open following rounds of 67 and 71 for a 138 total.
The 11th annual Pepsi Celebrity Quarterback Shootout went off without a hitch in late August. The football golfers this year included former 49ers Jerry Rice, Dwight Clark, Russ Francis and Roger Craig, and former Raiders Ken Stabler, Daryle Lamonica, Cliff Branch and Marv Hubbard. The winning teams captained by Ted Kwalik met the needs of Niner and Raider fans. Kwalik was a tight end for both San Francisco and Oakland.
While Jonathan Carlson and Lisa Copeland had great moments this season, they were not alone. Doug Quinones of Hidden Valley Lake won the Berkeley Junior, was an alternate into the U.S. Junior, and won his third Lake County Junior title in four years. He also represented the NorCal Junior team in their cup matches against Southern California.
Nick Schaefer of Kelseyville had a top-15 finish in the U.S. Public Links Qualifier in Nevada and won the Summer Buckingham Junior in a runaway. He was runner-up to Quinones in the Lake County Junior and was third overall in points on the Lake County Amateur Circuit.
Billy Witt, the superintendent of Cobb Mountain”s Rob Roy Golf Course, won club championships at Rob Roy, Adams Springs and Hidden Valley Lake. A former Buckingham club champ, Witt plans on joining Riviera Hills so that he can win their championship, too.
Finally, in what even I have to regard as a stranger-than-life golf experience, your faithful golf columnist qualified for the 103rd version of the Chicago Amateur in July. I first played in the Chicago Am in 1967 and entered it this time around as a 40-year walk down memory lane. I surprised even myself by shooting 74 to come in 19th among the 312 qualifiers. As surreal as the 74 was that day, the ambience of gun shots, police sirens, drug deals, pigeons, the Yacht Club and the Miracle Mile made things seem even more bizarre.
So there you have it, our review of Lake County golf for 2007. Next week: The year in review from the vantage point of the professional golf tours.
