BUCKINGHAM — Brandon Walker of Kelseyville won the 15th annual Buckingham Summer Junior Golf Classic by a one-stroke margin of victory on Tuesday at Buckingham Golf and Country Club.
The key to Walker”s success was that while all those around him atop the leaderboard faltered down the stretch, he played steady golf while shooting a round of 17-over-par 89.
Walker is relatively new to the Lake County junior golf scene and his victory was a surprise to most observers.
Opening his front nine with a score of 47, Walker trailed the leaders by four strokes and was mired in sixth place. He shot a steady 42 over the final nine, punctuated by a birdie-two on the par-3 14th hole. Until he putted out on the 18th green, he never held the lead and had to rely upon Buckingham”s par-5 17th hole to turn the tide in his favor. He made up a four-shot deficit over Tyler Drake of Kelseyville and Wyatt Ferrell of Lakeport with a rock-solid par on the 17th hole.
It was Walker”s first victory of any sort on the local junior golf scene. He is also entered in today”s Lake County Junior Golf Championship at Adams Springs Golf Course on Cobb Mountain.
Drake finished second with a score of 90. He struggled over the final two holes to finish one shot off the pace. A solid golfer who was a member of Kelseyville High School”s championship team in the Coastal Mountain Conference this past spring, Drake did win the 16-17 age division. Peter Wotherspoon of Buckingham finished second in the 16-17 division with 95 and Ryan Schmidt of Kelseyville was next with 103.
The boys” division for ages 14-15 was a tightly contested affair that required a sudden-death playoff. After 18 holes of regulation play, Ferrell, Corey Huber of Clear Lake Riviera and Stone Phillips of Lakeport were tied with scores of 93. Huber won the playoff on Buckingham”s par-4 first hole as both Phillips and Ferrell had issues with the water hazard left of the fairway. Huber, along with Ferrell, were teammates on this year”s Kelseyville High team. In fourth place in the 14-15 bracket was Max Huff of Kelseyville with 104.
In the boys” division for ages 12-13, Aaron Waldrop of Cobb turned in a nine-hole score of 57 to win the flight. Keanon Jardstrom of Clearlake came in second with 60. Marco Reyes of Clearlake shot 69 while John Miner of Clearlake and Connor Babcock of Clearlake tied for fourth place with 71.
In the boys” 9-11 division, Matt Wotherspoon of Buckingham won a one-hole playoff to beat out Michael Camacho of Lakeport. The younger boys played a five-hole course with a par of 18. Wotherspoon and Camacho tied with scores of 30. Cooper Goff of Kelseyville turned in a 33, Israel Gonzalez of Kelseyville had 35, Jacob Lopez of Finley finished with 37, and Logan Neasham of Clear Lake Riviera shot a 38.
In the girls” division, Liz Berry of Buckingham defended her title with a nine-hole score of 54. Cynthia Hernandez of Clearlake came in second with 74 and won the 16-17 age division. Sophie Sells of Kelseyville was third overall with a 74 and won the 11-12 division.
Thirty-two boys and girls ranging in ages from 9-17 took part in the tournament, which is part of the Lake County Amateur Golf Circuit. Today, a field of 28 players are entered in the Lake County Junior Golf Championship at Adams Springs on Cobb Mountain. The first tee time is 8 a.m.
