BUCKINGHAM — The Ukiah trio of Paul Moore, Brian Bechtol and J.J. McMillen survived a final-round shoot-out to capture the 12th annual Lake County Three Man Golf Championship Saturday and Sunday at Buckingham Golf and Country Club.
Moore-Bechtol-McMillen carded a 29-under-par total of 115 (55-60) to win by a two-stroke margin.
The Three Man is played under a scramble format, with team members choosing the best shot of the threesome and continuing under that format until the hole is complete. Birdies and eagles are often the rule of the day. Making par is often seen as an underachieving moment, and a bogey is a bad misstep in the wrong direction.
Moore-Bechtol-McMillen raced to a three-shot lead during Saturday”s first round and were able to post four eagles on their scorecard. In second place was the Hidden Valley Lake team of Barry Silva, Doug Quinones and Billy Witt. Paired together on Sunday morning, the Silva-Quinones-Witt team closed the entire three-stroke gap on the front nine as they turned in an 8-under-par 28. Meanwhile, Moore-Bechtol-McMillen only managed a 5-under-par 31.
On the final nine, the Ukiah threesome regained the lead with a birdie-two on the 230-yard par-3 15th hole and then built the lead to two shots on the 16th hole when their eagle topped the Hidden Valley trio”s birdie-four.
Both teams missed short eagle putts on the 17th hole and settled for birdies. Moore-Bechtol-McMillen brought home the Three Man title safely when they closed out the round with a par on the 18th.
Moore is a two-time Lake County Golfer of the Year who played in last year”s California State Amateur. Bechtol is a power-hitting scratch golfer, while McMillen, a senior at Ukiah High School, is the co-MVP on the All-North Bay League team this season. He missed qualifying for the NorCals by one shot.
It was the first time a Ukiah team won the Three Man title since Bo Strong, Gary Leonard and Dennis Murphy prevailed during the inaugural tourney in 1997.
Tied for third place in the championship flight was the family team of Hipolito Perez Sr., Jose Perez and Hipolito Perez Jr., and defending tournament champions Juan Lopez, Craig Kinser and John Seed. The Perez team had rounds of 68-59 (127), while the Lopez-Kinser-Seed team carded rounds of 65-62 (127). Both teams came in at 17 under par.
Rounding out the top five was another father-and-sons team as Alex Goeken of Ukiah paired up with sons Seth and Joe to finish at 129 (64-65).
Net flight
The net flight for teams with handicaps of 10 or higher had a similar competitive flavor as the Lakeport team of Jason Laveglia, Joel West and Darren Hostetler carded identical net scores of 53-53 for a winning 38-under-par total of 106. Laveglia-West-Hostetler were tied through 18 holes with the local team of Tom Salie, Mark Borghesani and Paul Borghesani. Laveglia-West-Hostetler took the lead for good midway through the final nine and were able to hang on to a two-stroke margin of victory. It was the first time in the winner”s circle on the Lake County circuit for the Lakeport threesome. Salie-Borghesani-Borghesani posted rounds of 53-55 for a 108 total.
Rick Easter, Todd Colbrandt and Richard Steenwyck came in third with 111 (54-57), and Jerry Pendleton, Carl Knipping and nephew Luke Lucchesi finished fourth with 112 (56-56). Tied for fifth place with 114 were the teams of Richard Knight, Scott Hornung and Bruce Forysthe (59-55), and first-round co-leaders Alan Mathews, Joe Del Prete and Ted Knowles (53-61).
Senior division
In the senior division for teams with golfers ages 50 and older, the Buckingham trio of Ken Kearse, Jack Winter and Frank Barthelmess had to work overtime to win the Three Man title. Kearse-Winter-Barthelmess finished regulation play tied with the team of Fred Figg, Dennis Layton and Leonard Lea, both at 11-under-par 133.
On the fourth extra playoff hole, Winter knocked in a 4-foot birdie putt to win it. Kearse-Winter-Barthelmess applied constant pressure throughout the playoff and only the clutch putting of Layton kept his team going through the first three sudden-death holes.
The Lakeport team of Greg Scott, Ed Jacobsen and Craig Fletcher came in third with 138 (66-72). Next up was the Kelseyville team of Rod Weiper, Larry Bresso and Lyle James with 157 (77-80).
Sixty golfers competed in this year”s Three Man. The next event on the Lake County Amateur Golf Circuit is the NCGA Lake County Partners, a 36-hole better-ball stroke play tournament that will be contested May 31-June 1 at Buckingham. Entries are available at local golf courses.
