BUCKINGHAM — Former San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders tight end Ted Kwalick led his team to an 8-under-par, nine-hole score of 28 to capture the 13th annual Pepsi Celebrity Skins Shootout on Saturday.
Contested at Buckingham Golf and Country Club and hosted by Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa, the Pepsi Shootout is a scramble-format tourney wherein the best shot of the fivesome (one former NFL player and four amateur partners) is used throughout the nine-hole round of golf.
The Kwalick team included Jeff Bour of Kelseyville; Jay Stone of Windsor; Tyler Drake of Riviera West, a three-year member of the Kelseyville High School golf team; and mini-tour professional Tim Bogue of Windsor. Bogue advanced out of sectional United States Open qualifying at Mayacama Golf Club in May and just missed advancing to the 2009 Open at Bethpage, where he came up just short in regionals play in early June at Saticoy Country Club in Camarillo.
Beginning play on Buckingham”s long par-5 fourth hole, Bogue got things rolling for his team by launching a 355-yard tee shot that was followed up by Drake”s 9-iron to the green. Bour made the treacherous, sliding 15-foot putt for an eagle-three and the Kwalick team was off and running. They failed to birdie any of the par-3 holes during the their round, but another eagle on the par-5 seventh hole combined with birdies on the first, fifth, eighth and ninth holes added up to an 8-under total and a one-stroke margin of victory.
Tied for second place at 7-under-par 29 were teams captained by former 49er defensive back Jimmy Johnson and former 49ers tight end Russ Francis. The Johnson team included the KXBX foursome of Mike Wilson of Hidden Valley Lake; his son, Justin, a former Middletown High School golfer; Alan Mathews of Lakeport; and Juan Lopez of Lakeport, the only golfer to win every event on the Lake County Amateur Golf Circuit. The Francis team included PGA professional Mark Wotherspoon; his son, Peter; Greg Scott of Lakeport; and Kelseyville High School golf coach John Berry.
Five teams were tied for fourth place at 5-under-par 31. Former Raiders quarterback Daryle Lamonica, former Raiders defensive lineman Ben Davidson, former Raiders running back Kenny King, former 49ers wide receiver Mike Wilson, and former 49ers cornerback Eric Wright captained those teams.
In the closest-to-the-pin competitions, Tyler Ward of Santa Rosa hit his tee shot on the 165-yard, par-3 third hole within 5 feet of the pin to win. Berry won on the sixth hole, leaving his tee shot within 20 feet of the flagstick on the 225-yard, par-3.
There also was a skins game in this year”s Shootout and there were two skins upon completion of play. The Kwalick team won a skin on the fourth hole for an eagle-three on the long par-5. The Francis team won a skin on the 535-yard, par-5 ninth with an eagle-three. On the ninth hole, Mark Wotherspoon hit a drive 310 yards, Berry hit a 3-wood to the fringe of the green, and Wotherspoon knocked in a hard-breaking putt from 18 feet.
A handful of contestants in this year”s Shootout waived their right to receive a piece of the skins purse in conjunction with USGA amateur status guidelines. The leftover skins money was donated equally to the Buckingham Junior Golf and Lake County Junior Golf programs. Buckingham professional Mark Wotherspoon also donated his share of the skins purse to the junior golfers as well.
A total of 70 golfers participated in this year”s Shootout, including 17 NFL alumni, 50 amateur golfers, and three professionals. Many of the NFL alumni commented at the awards ceremony Saturday night at Konocti Harbor about how much they enjoyed the nine-hole format, which was introduced this year.
