Adam Giusti of Santa Rosa and Jose Perez of Sacramento shot rounds of 66 and 64 for a winning total of 130 to capture the 16th annual Lake County Partners Scramble Golf Championship at Buckingham Golf and Country Club this past weekend.
Giusti and Perez, who were high school teammates and All-Conference golfers at Kelseyville High School as well as members of the class of 2002, were the defending champions.
Play opened Saturday morning with rain, wind and cold conditions to the extent that tee times were delayed by two hours. Tournament officials were able to get in the first round in spite of the difficult weather situation. Juan Lopez of Finley and Hipolito Perez Jr., a member of the golf team at American River College, took the first-round lead with a scramble score of 7-under-par. Giusti and Perez were one shot back as was the father-and-son team of Jerry Pendleton and Brad Pendleton of Lakeport.
Second-round play on Sunday morning was just as cold as the previous day, but the wind was generally benign and there was just a smattering of rain showers. Giusti and Perez jumped to an early lead on the front nine, shooting a 6-under-par 30, and were able to maintain a solid three-stroke margin throughout much of the back nine. Giusti and Perez finished with a 14-under-par total, good enough for a two-shot victory.
The Pendleton”s shot a second consecutive 66 to post a two-day total of 132. Lopez and Perez Jr. were one shot behind them at 133 (65-68).
In fourth place was the team of Mike Lemmon of Clear Lake Riviera and Brels Solomon of Upper Lake. Lemmon and Solomon finished at 137 (69-68). Tied for fifth place were the teams of Billy Witt and Shawn Auten of Kelseyville alongside Norm Rentsch of Finley and Mike Griggs of Willits. Auten and Witt were at 4-under-par 140 (73-67) while Rentsch and Griggs also came in at 140 (72-68).
Net flight
In the net flight for golfers with handicaps of 10 and higher, Joe Del Prete and Javier Castenada of Kelseyville shot net rounds of 64 and 56 for a 120 total. They won by two strokes. A week earlier the two men teamed up to win the Buckingham Two Man.
Tied for second place with 122 were the teams of Tim Sherrell and Pat Chambers of Kelseyville (66-56) and Manny Mendoza of Buckingham and Ted Knowles of Kelseyville (63-59).
Fourth place was another all-Kelseyville team of Jesse Santana and Craig Werner, who finished at 124 (65-59). Jason Laveglia of Clear Lake Riviera and Tom Salie of Lakeport finished tied with Rick Easter of Lakeport and Todd Colbrandt of Middletown for fifth place at 127. Laveglia-Salie fired rounds of 67-60 while Easter-Colbrandt had rounds of 64-63.
Senior flight
In the senior flight for golfers age 50 and older, Craig Kinser and Alan Mathews of Lakeport defended their Partners senior title by firing rounds of 76-73 for a 149 winning total. They won by four strokes. Kinser and Mathews led by two shots after first-round play, built upon their lead during the second day and were never threatened atop the leaderboard. In second place was the duo of Dennis Layton of Kelseyville and Ricahrd Steenwyck of Willits with 153 (78-75).
Senior net flight
Manny Mendoza and Ted Knowles double-dipped and also entered the senior flight of the Partners Scramble. The results were impressive. While their net division total was good enough for a tie for second place, their scores were solid enough to run away with the senior net division title. Their 122 net total earned them a 14-stroke victory over the team of Lyle James of Kelseyville and Larry Bresso of Buckingham. James-Bresso finished at 136 (66-70).
A total of 40 golfers competed in the Partners Scramble this past weekend. At the conclusion of the tournament, the winners of the four divisions of the On the Links Golfer of the Year were recognized for their 2010 seasons on the Lake County Amateur Golf Circuit. Golfer of the Year honors went to Billy Witt; Dennis Layton was Senior Golfer of the Year; Tom Jolin of Lakeport was recognized as the Senior Net Golfer of the Year; and Javier Castenada received the award for Net Golfer of the Year.
The next event on the Lake County Amateur Golf Circuit is the Lake County Open, which will be contested April 16-17 at Buckingham Golf and Country Club. Entries are available at local golf courses or by calling the Buckingham pro shop at 279-4863.
