The Lake County Amateur Golf Circuit kicks off its 18th season later this month. The local golf circuit hosts a total of 11 tournaments from late March through late October. Of the 11 tourneys, a total of seven events are open to all golfers of all ability, gender and age levels. There is also a senior championship for golfers age 50 and older, two tourneys for junior golfers younger than 18, and a parent-junior team event.
Later this month, on March 26-27, Buckingham Golf and Country Club plays host to the Lake County Partners Scramble. First contested in 1996, the Partners Scramble features two-man teams playing their better shot. It”s a good way to start the season as a good many golfers in the field still have cobwebs on their golf clubs from the long winter layoff. Former Kelseyville High School All-Conference golfers Adam Giusti and Jose Perez are the defending champions. Craig Kinser and Alan Mathews won the senior flight while Glenn Neasham and Jerry Wawak took home the senior net championship. Members of last year”s KHS golf team, Peter Wotherspoon and Wyatt Ferrell, won the net division.
The Lake County Open is scheduled to be played April 16-17 at Buckingham. One of the circuit”s three stroke play tournaments, the Open historically features a strong field with a large portion of the field coming from beyond the confines of Lake County. The Open was first played over a frigid Thanksgiving weekend in 1992. Last year”s champion, Billy Witt, parlayed his Open triumph into a rock-solid season that saw him earn On the Links Golfer of the Year honors. Craig Kinser was the senior division champ in 2010, Tom Jolin won the senior net title, and Peter Wotherspoon captured the net flight.
The Lake County Three Man will be played May 21-22 at Buckingham. The Three Man features great golf with lots of birdies and eagles because of the scramble nature of the tourney. Last year, Witt along with reinstated amateur Shawn Auten and Andy Check found the winner”s circle. Dennis Layton, Fred Figg and Al Mankins won the senior title while Roy Bruce, Bob Borghesani and Hipolito Perez Sr. finished atop the senior net flight. Taking a step backward into the dark abyss of net golf, Brels Solomon, Norm Rentsch and Carl Knipping, historically competitors in the championship flight, won the 2010 net flight. Why they were in the net flight I”ll never know.
The NCGA Lake County Partners is scheduled for the weekend of June 4-5. A co-sanctioned event on the local circuit as well as the NCGA calendar, the NCGA Lake County Partners was the first circuit tourney to receive NCGA status. However, for the past two years, contestants in the field have not received NCGA player performance points because the field didn”t have enough scratch golfers entered. First contested in 1993, the NCGA Partners has featured many talented regional golfers, including Jeff Wilson of Suisun, the low amateur at the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, and Bob Heaton of Antioch, a two-time NCGA Senior Golfer of the Year. Last year, Witt and Auten won the championship flight. Kinser and Mathews won the senior division, brothers Tom and Dr. Bob Jolin were senior net winners, and Joe Del Prete and Jesse Santana took home the net flight title.
Last year marked the inaugural season of the Lake County Alternate Shot. Contested on the final weekend in August, the Alternate Shot replaced the Match Play Tournament and took over the slot that had historically been used for the Celebrity Shootout hosted by Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa. The Alternate Shot was a big hit and returns to Buckingham on Aug. 27-28. Witt and Auten, Kinser and Mathews, and the Jolin brothers once again came in first in their respective flights. Todd Colbrandt and Rick Easter won the net flight.
Long before the Lake County Circuit was formed in 1994, the Lake County Amateur was a part of the local golf scene. The first Amateur was held in 1975 and it was won by the top player of the day, George Hoberg Jr. Hoberg would go on to win six Amateur titles from 1975 through 1992 although he may have won a few more. The Amateur wasn”t held eight times during the initial 18-year period. In the modern era, the Amateur was won by Ron Kenneally three times, twice by Charles Creecy, three times by Juan Lopez, and four consecutive times from 2006 through 2009 by Jonathan Carlson. Carlson didn”t defend his title last year as he was competing on Long Island in the U.S. Mid Amateur. Reinstated amateur Brad Pendleton won last year”s Amateur with Kinser winning the senior flight and Eddie Mullins capturing the senior net flight. Colbrandt won the net division. This year, the Amateur will be held at Adams Springs Golf Course on Cobb Mountain on Oct. 1-2.
The season-concluding circuit event is the Tournament of Champions, which will be held at Buckingham on Oct. 22. Jerry Pendleton won the 2010 TOC in tough, wet conditions while Dennis Layton won the senior flight. Jason Laveglia won the net title and Dr. Bob Jolin came through in the senior net division.
There are four limited-field tournaments on the Lake County Circuit. The Senior Amateur will be held June 25 at Buckingham. The Buckingham Junior is Aug. 9 and the Lake County Junior will be held the following day, Aug. 10, at Adams Springs. The Lake County Parent-Junior tees it up Sept. 17 at Buckingham.
The weather has been pretty miserable of late, but ready or not, the spring golf season is just around the corner with the playing of the Lake County Partners Scramble on March 26-27. Tournament information can be acquired by contacting the Buckingham pro shop at 279-4863.
