COBB — Brad Pendleton of Lakeport successfully defended his title in winning the 29th annual Lake County Amateur Golf Championship on Sunday at Adams Springs Golf Course on Cobb Mountain.
Pendleton, a member of the Clear Lake High School class of 2002, carded a 69 on Saturday followed by a 68 on Sunday for a 1-over-par total of 137, good for a two-stroke win over first-round leader Juan Lopez of Finley, a three-time Amateur past champion.
Pendleton opened play Saturday with a 1-over-par 69 to finish tied for second place with Mike Griggs of Willits. Lopez shot a 3-under-par 31 on the back nine during first-round play to move atop the leaderboard with an even-par 68.
On Sunday morning, Pendleton parred the par-4 first hole to move into a tie with Lopez, who bogeyed the hole. Lopez regained the lead with a birdie on the par-3 fourth hole, but a three-shot swing on the par-5 fifth hole vaulted Pendleton into the lead by two strokes as he made birdie while Lopez carded a double-bogey seven.
Lopez came back to birdie the par-3 seventh hole, but then Pendleton returned the favor with a birdie on the par-3 11th. Lopez nibbled away at the deficit with a par on the 13th hole, but then fell back by three strokes when he bogeyed the par-5 14th hole while Pendleton two-putted for birdie.
Pendleton went on to bogey No. 16 but maintained his two-stroke lead the rest of the way as he and Lopez matched birdie threes on the par-4 17th followed by pars on No. 18.
Lopez finished in sole possession of second with 139 (68-71) and Griggs came in third with 141 (69-72). Billy Witt of Kelseyville made a big move on Sunday to finish fourth with 147 (78-69). Rounding out the top five were Nick Schaefer of Davis with 150 (74-76) and Chip Bowlin of Buckingham with 150 (78-72).
Net flight
John Flynn of Cobb captured the net division for golfers with handicaps of 10 and higher. Flynn returned net scores of 68 and 69 for a 1-over-par total of 137. It was Flynn”s first stroke play win on the Lake County Amateur Golf Circuit. He won by three strokes over Pacifica”s Jim DeCristofaro, who carded scores of 68 and 72 for a 140 total. Javier Castaneda of Kelseyville finished third with 146 (74-72), Joe Del Prete of Kelseyville came in fourth with 148 (76-72), and John Masters of San Mateo finished fifth with 156 (79-77).
Senior flight
In the senior flight for golfers age 50 and older, Kelseyville High School golf coach John Berry won with 158 (76-82). Leonard Lea of Clear Lake Riviera came in second with 160 (80-80) and Alan Mathews of Lakeport was third with 162 (83-79). Dennis Layton of Kelseyville, who shot a first-round 77 and was one stroke out of the lead after Saturday”s play, had to withdraw during the middle of his round Sunday with back spasms.
Senior net flight
Dave Herrick of Lakeport won the senior net division with scores of 65 and 69 for a 134 total. Eddie Mullins of Millbrae, the owner of Adams Springs, was next with 138 (69-69), Tom Salie of Lakeport finished at 145 (78-67), and Al Mankins of Riviera Heights was fourth with 153 (79-74).
Junior division
Wyatt Ferrell ran away with the division title with rounds of 76 and 74 for a 150 total, winning by eight shots. Ferrell is a senior at Kelseyville High School and a two-time All-Coastal Mountain Conference golfer. Daniel Eagle, a senior at Middletown High School, finished second with 158 (80-78), and Lake County Junior champ Corey Huber of Kelseyville High was third with 162 (81-81).
Eagle recently recorded a hole-in-one on the 14th hole at Hidden Valley Lake and Huber had two great shots within the last month, making a hole-in-one on the seventh hole at Rob Roy and then scoring a double-eagle two at the par-5 fifth hole at Adams Springs.
Aaron Waldrop of Vacaville High School came in fourth with 170 (88-82).
A total of 30 golfers competed in this year”s Amateur, which is a fundraiser for Lake County Junior Golf. In a gesture of support for the local junior golf council, Pendleton, Lopez, Griggs, Witt, Schaefer, Bowlin, Berry, Flynn, DeCristofaro, Herrick and Mathews donated their winnings back to Lake County Junior Golf, a combined donation of $650.
The final event on the calendar for the Lake County Amateur Golf Circuit is the Tournament of Champions Oct. 22 at Buckingham Golf and Country Club.
With just one event left in 2011, the four races for the On The Links Golfer of the Year race are as tight as they can be. In the championship flight, Witt has 580 points to Pendleton”s 560, followed by Griggs at 545 and Lopez at 510. In the net flight, Castaneda has 570 points and leads Del Prete by 30 points. In the senior net division, Mathews has 630 points, good enough for a 50-point lead over Dr. Bob Jolin of Lakeport. Mathews also has a decided lead over Jolin in the senior championship division, leading him by 140 points.
