TRACY — Playing on a course they had never seen before, members of the Kelseyville High School golf team still managed a third-place finish on Monday at the Tracy West Tournament.
Host Tracy High School won the 16-team competition with a score of 390 on the par-72 course. St. Mary”s of Stockton was next with 401, Kelseyville had 407, Lincoln of Stockton was next at 415, and Bret Harte rounded out the top five at 419.
“We had no knowledge of the course, no notes,” Kelseyville coach John Berry said. “We had to figure it out on the fly.”
The Knights were remarkably consistent as their low five rounds were within a nine-shot shot range. Nick Schaefer and Hipolito Perez led the way with 79, Tyler Drake was a stroke back at 80, Jonathan Bridges had 81 and Corey Huber finished with 88.
“When you have four scores so close to each other, that”s a good sign,” Berry said of Schaefer”s, Perez”s, Drake”s and Bridges” rounds.
“It was good experience for us,” Berry said of the Knights” being able to perform on a course they were unfamiliar with. They”ll have to do the same thing next month in the North Coast Section Tournament of Champions at the Meadow Club in Marin.
“We”ll be playing that one blind too,” Berry said of the private golf course, one that won”t allow practice rounds before the TOC. “Today was a good preparation for that.”
Bridges carded three birdies during his round. Schaefer, Drake and Huber each had one.
The Knights resume their quest for another Coastal Mountain Conference South title Wednesday in Windsor. They lead the South by a comfortable margin with two matches left.
