BUCKINGHAM ? Shawn Auten of Hidden Valley Lake and Billy Witt of Kelseyville won the inaugural Lake County Alternate Shot Tournament held Saturday and Sunday at Buckingham Golf and Country Club.
Auten and Witt, winners of the Lake County Partners in June, had the winning formula in the alternate shot format, shooting rounds of 72 and 71 for a 1-under-par 143 total and a two-shot margin of victory.
Auten and Witt burst out to a three-shot lead Saturday, shooting an even-par 72 played under uncommonly cool weather conditions and in blustery winds. Buckingham”s opening holes played long into the fierce wind and the vast majority of the two-man teams carded over-par rounds on the front nine. Auten and Witt carded identical nine-hole rounds of 36, putting them three shots ahead of the teams of Chip Bowlin of Buckingham and Norm Rentsch of Lakeport, and Brels Solomon of Upper Lake and Mike Lemmon of Clear Lake Riviera.
Sunday”s playing conditions were much more benign and the field took advantage of the better conditions with lower scores. Solomon and Lemmon made the front-nine turn at 1-under 35 and promptly rolled in birdie putts on the 10th and 11th holes to take a one-stroke lead. Auten and Witt jumped back into the lead with their own birdie on the 11th hole, just before Solomon and Lemmon had their lone hiccup of the day as both golfers hit their tee shots out of bounds on the par-5 13th hole, leading to a double-bogey seven. Auten and Witt took advantage by adding a birdie on the 16th hole to extend their lead to two strokes. Solomon and Lemmon barely missed birdie putts on the 17th and 18th holes and were unable to close the gap over the finishing holes.
Solomon and Lemmon finished alone in second place with a 1-over-par 145 (75-70). Bowlin and Rentsch were one stroke further behind with 146 (75-71). Rounding out the top five were Kelseyville High School golf coach John Berry and Nick Schaefer of Davis in fourth place and Juan Lopez of Finley and Dan Camacho of Lakeport in fifth place.
Senior division
In the senior division, Craig Kinser and Alan Mathews of Lakeport ran away with the title, posting rounds of 73 and 71 for a 144 total and a 10-stroke margin of victory. Kinser and Mathews played brilliantly on Saturday, shooting a 73 in heavy winds while opening up a six-shot lead over the Lakeport team of Dr. Bob Jolin and his brother Tom Jolin. Kinser and Mathews built upon their lead on Sunday to secure the championship with ease.
The Jolin brothers finished at 154 (79-75), good enough for a tie for second place with the twosome of Dennis Layton of Kelseyville and Leonard Lea of Clear Lake Riviera. Layton and Lea finished at 154 (80-74). Colin Ross of Buckingham and Fred Figg of Lakeport were fourth at 171 (89-82).
Senior net
In the senior net flight, the Jolin brothers carded a 124 (64-60) to win by 10 strokes. In second place was the team of Roy Bruce of Lakeport and Ted Knowles of Kelseyville with 134 (65-69). Glenn Neasham of Kelseyville and Jeff Markham of Lakeport came in third with 156 (79-77).
Net division
In the net division for golfers with handicaps of 10 and higher, Rick Easter of Lakeport and Todd Colbrandt of Middletown were consistent throughout the tournament, shooting identical rounds of 66 for a 132 winning total. First-rounder leaders Bruce and Knowles, who double-dipped and entered both the net flight and the senior flights, were second with 134 (65-69). Carl Knipping of Lakeport and Javier Castaneda of Kelseyville finished third with 136 (71-65).
The Lake County Alt-ernate Shot was added to the Lake County Amateur Golf Circuit schedule this year as a replacement for the Celebrity Quarterback Shootout. The next event on the Lake County Circuit is the Parent-Junior Tournament on Sept. 18 at Buckingham. The next open event is the Lake County Amateur on Oct. 2-3 at Adams Springs Golf Course on Cobb Mountain.
