SANTA ROSA — The postman”s got nothing on Lisa Copeland, who also delivers in all kinds of weather.
The Middletown High School junior birdied the first playoff hole in the pouring rain Monday during the North Coast Section Tournament of Champions to secure one of four available at-large berths in next week”s Northern California Girls” Golf Championships at Corral De Tierra Golf Club in Corral De Tierra, which is near Monterey.
Playing on the saturated Oakmont West Course in Santa Rosa, Copeland and three other girls finished regulation play tied at 80. With two at-large berths already secured by Albany High School”s Joy Kim (74) and Mission San Jose High School”s Bonnie Hu (79), that left only two spots remaining. Copeland”s birdie secured the third at-large berth.
Conditions at Oakmont West were so bad after 18 holes of regulation that the playoff had to be held on the first hole, the only one not under water by that point.
Monte Vista won the team title with 410 followed by Amador Valley at 417 and Alameda at 432. The top three teams and the low four scorers who are not members of the top three teams advance to the NorCals.
“This is a big step for her, really impressive,” Kelseyville High School coach John Berry said.
The NorCal Championships are the qualifier for the CIF State Championships the following week at Red Hills Country Club in Rancho Cucamonga. The top three teams and the low six scorers who are not associated with the top three teams advance to state.
“I think they”re not bad for a couple of reasons,” Berry said of Copeland”s chances of moving on to state. “First, she”s competitively hardened. She”s had success at places like Lake Merced (San Francisco), which is a tough course. I think she”s pretty solid on the tough courses.”
Berry said the other reason he likes Copeland”s chances is her mental toughness.
“Because she”s unflappable, she”s not going to worry about what some golfer from Jesuit is doing.”
If Copeland can get a practice round at Corral De Tierra on either Saturday or Sunday, something”s that not easy to do, it should help her chances, according to Berry.
“I think she”ll be able to do that,” Berry said. “And I can see her doing well there.”
Copeland, a bonafide Division I prospect, according to Berry, was one of only two girls to tee it up with the boys during the Coastal Mountain Conference season last spring. She also played a rigorous summer schedule, doing well on some of the tougher courses in Northern California, including Lake Merced, according to Berry.
