BUCKINGHAM — The three-man team of Shawn Auten of Hidden Valley, Doug Quinones of Monterey Peninsula College and Billy Witt of Kelseyville won the 13th annual Lake County Three Man Golf Championship on Saturday and Sunday at Buckingham Golf and Country Club.
Playing a scramble format wherein the best shot of the threesome is used, the Auten-Quinones-Witt team fired rounds of 61 and 57 for a 26-under-par winning total of 118 and a one-stroke margin of victory.
Beginning Sunday”s round in third place and four shots out of the lead, Auten-Quinones-Wells caught up to the leaders with a birdie-two on the difficult 220-yard, par-3 15th hole. They followed that up with birdies on 16 and 17 and then jumped atop the leader board with a birdie-three on the 480-yard, par-4 18th. Witt hit the team”s second shot within three feet of the cup on 18 to seal the deal.
Auten is a former Kelseyville High School all-conference golfer from the mid-1990s who has recently regained his amateur status. He was a PGA professional at Hidden Valley Lake for eight years. Quinones, who lives off the ninth tee at Hidden Valley Lake, is a former all-conference golfer from Middletown High School who qualified as an individual this spring for the California Junior College Championships. Witt is the reigning club champion at Adams Springs Golf Course.
One shot back in second place was the all-Kelseyville High School team of Nick Scahefer and Jonathan Bridges ? fresh off their appearance last week at the high school Tournament of Champions at the Meadow Club ? and Kelseyville High coach John Berry. Schaefer-Bridges-Berry slept on the tournament lead after posting a 57 on Saturday. They returned Sunday with a 62 for a 25-under-par total of 119.
The Kelseyville trio lost its lead after seven holes on Sunday, regained it midway through their back nine, and were tied for the lead going to the final hole. All three missed a curling 20-foot downhill putt on the final green.
In third place was the Mendocino-Sonoma team of Paul Moore of Ukiah, Mike Griggs of Willits and John Seed of Sea Ranch.
Seed is the golf coach at Point Arena High School. Moore-Griggs-Seed shot a 59 on Saturday and momentarily took the outright lead on Sunday morning with the shot of the tournament. Trailing by one shot at that point, Griggs his a short iron into the cup on the par-5 seventh hole for a rare double-eagle-two. However, they were unable to maintain momentum, fell out of the lead with a bogey on the eighth hole, and finished third with a second-day score of 62 for a 23-undar-par 121 total.
In fourth place was the team of Jose Perez of Sacramento, Adam Giusti of Rohnert Park and David Burritt of Sacramento with 126 (62-64). Perez and Giusti were all-conference golfers at Kelseyville High School and Burritt was all-conference at Rincon Valley Christian.
Rounding out the top five was the trio of Brels Solomon of Upper Lake, Norm Rentsch of Lakeport and Kelseyville High School golfer Hipolito Perez Jr. with 130 (67-63).
Net flight
In the net flight, the team of Glenn Neasham of Clear Lake Riviera, Dennis Day of Clearlake and Evan Allen of Buckingham ran away from the rest of the field, shooting net scores of 48 and 50 for a 46-under-par total of 98 and a four-stroke margin of victory.
Neasham-Day-Allen started second-round play with a three-shot lead and posted the lowest score again on Sunday to cruise into victory lane.
In second place with net rounds of 51 and 51 for a 102 total was the threesome of Jason Laveglia of Lakeport, Joel West of Cobb and Jeff Markham of Lakeport.
In third place was the trio of Carl Knipping of Nice, his nephew, Luke Lucchesi, a member of the Ukiah High School golf team, and Richard Steenwyck of Willits with 110 (58-52).
Tied for fourth place were the teams of Jack Lucich of Clearlake, his son, Jon Lucich of Pacifica, and Rick Easter of Lakeport, and the trio of Rich Knight of Clear Lake Riviera, Javier Castenada of Kelseyville and Hipolito Perez Sr. of Kelseyville, the greens superintendent at Buckingham. Both teams shot identical net scores of 56 and 55 for 111 totals.
Senior division
In the senior division, Craig Kinser, Alan Mathews and Jerry Pangle, all of Lakeport, came from three shots behind over the final nine holes to pull out a one-stroke victory. Kinser-Mathews-Pangle recorded a 131 (66-65) to beat out first-round leaders Fred Figg of Lakeport, Leonard Lea of Clear Lake Riviera and Craig Fletcher of Lakeport, who finished with 132 (65-67).
Dennis Layton of Kelseyville, Al Mankins of Riviera Heights and Dave Herrick of Lakeport were third with 136 (69-67).
Senior net flight
Rod Weiper of Kelseyville, Larry Bresso of Buckingham and Lyle James of Kelseyville captured the senior net division by a one-stroke margin, posting rounds of 52 and 52 for a 104 total.
In second place was the team of Ken Kearse of Buckingham, Tom Salie of Lakeport and Wayne Adair of Ukiah with 105 (54-51).
Lakeport residents Dr. Bob Jolin, Roy Bruce and Ed Jacobsen were third with 114 (58-56).
A total of 48 golfers competed in this year”s Lake County Three Man. The next event on the Lake County Amateur Golf Circuit is the NCGA Lake County Partners, a best ball tournament with a regional field. It is scheduled for June 6-7 at Buckingham. Entry forms are available at area golf courses or by contacting the Buckingham Pro Shop at 279-4863.
