It was just two weeks ago that I was anticipating attending the North Coast Section Division II golf playoffs at Tilden Park Golf Course in Berkeley. I was anticipating that I was going there, but I was not looking forward to it.
As the golf coach at Kelseyville High School, it appeared as if no member of the KHS squad would qualify for the section tourney, something that last occurred way back in 1993. The 2012 version of the KHS golf team had two talented seniors, All-Conference golfers Wyatt Ferrell and Corey Huber, along with six other student-athletes who were novices to the rigors of competitive high school golf. As a team, we struggled at the big invitational tournaments and had a losing record in conference play. We wouldn”t be advancing as a team to the playoffs. Instead, league rivals St. Vincent and Middletown would represent the Coastal Mountain Conference South at the NCS playoffs.
However, the top three golfers not on those teams also advance to the sections. From the start, I felt that Wyatt and Corey had the best chance to make it to Tilden alongside the CMC”s top linkster, Kasey Cazet of Rincon Valley Christian. The conference championship, a 36-hole stroke play tournament, played at Windsor and then Oakmont, would determine who would advance.
Following first-round play at Windsor some 16 days ago, the chances were slim and slimmer. Cazet was in first place, but Ferrell had placed eighth and Huber was 13th. It was obvious that I would be going to the NCS at Tilden to serve as the lead rules official and I”d have a bunch of old coaching friends asking me where were the Kelseyville kids in the field? All I would be able to say was that we struggled in the conference tournament.
Yet really good junior golfers not only have talent, but they have bad memories. Corey Huber, playing what might be the last round of a distinguished high school career, found some sort of golfing inner peace while walking the fairways at Oakmont. Playing three groups behind the leaders, Huber was 2-over-par on the front nine, shot even par on the final nine, knocked in four birdies, and carded a 74 for the lowest round of the day. Everyone in front of him felt the pressure and struggled, and when the dust had settled, Huber was in second place with his ticket punched for Tilden Park. He had done the improbable under the most difficult of circumstances and had come through in grand style.
Corey and I headed to Tilden Park this past Sunday afternoon so that he could play a practice round with Cazet and talented Middletown freshman Aaron Waldrop. Tilden Park is an old-style 1939 Billy Bell design (Torrey Pines, Hidden Valley Lake, Bermuda Dunes) that is located atop Grizzly Peak overlooking the San Francisco Bay. It is a drop-dead gorgeous course. It is also very quirky with lots of uphill and downhill shots, doglegs galore, and trees, trees and more trees. A practice round would, if nothing else, put the junior golfers at ease. One doesn”t want to play a competitive round at a place with zero course knowledge.
Tilden Park was a total madhouse on Sunday afternoon. While millions live in the East Bay, there aren”t a lot of public golf experiences for the locals. It”s the only daily fee course in Berkeley. Tilden is managed by American Golf and its reasonable green fees coupled with great course conditions make it a popular golfing option for Joe Sixpack.
The boys teed off at 3 p.m. on a very crowded course and finished up close to dark. Corey shot 77 and said he liked the course. The next morning he claimed he had slept poorly although he said he wasn”t nervous. That turned out to be a good sign.
It was chamber of commerce day in the Berkeley hills last Monday morning as I headed to the back nine to coordinate rules. Huber headed to the sixth tee and the rest of the field took their places for the 8 a.m. shotgun start. For the next five hours, Division II golfers trudged up and down the hills of Tilden Park. The golfers were serious and stoic, and the only real noise was the sound of golf balls ricocheting off the majestic trees that line the fairways.
When all the scores were posted, Marin Academy was the NCS Division II team champion while Justin-Siena placed and Marin Catholic finished third. St. Vincent finished sixth and the extremely young Middletown team was seventh. Evan Knight of St. Vincent shot 73, Cazet carded a 76, and Huber matched him with his own 76, making birdies on two of his last three holes. Cazet and Huber ended up in a multi-way tie for seventh place. It was a nice way for Corey to finish up, having made it to sections three times as well as making the All-Conference team three times.
The low four golfers would advances to the Tournament of Champions this coming Monday at Castlewood Country Club. Cody Bates of McKinleyville shot an outstanding 66 and was medalist. Matt Cutcliffe of Marin Academy and Darron McClennan of Bentley Prep tied for second with 70. Jack Wilson of Justin-Siena and A.J. Martinez of Marin Catholic both shot 72 and would have a sudden-death playoff for the cherished fourth and final spot at the TOC.
I ran the two playoffs simultaneously with Wilson getting the fourth spot with a par on the first playoff hole. It took Cutcliffe four holes to outlast McClennan for second as they notched pars and birdies over the first three holes. Cutcliffe”s birdie on the fourth playoff hole sealed the deal. Although I have to be neutral in these situations, I was especially happy for Wilson, a senior who is heading to Brown University of the Ivy League. Wilson and his dad, Jeff, the low amateur at the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, are the reason that my son Nick and I did not win the NCGA Father-Son Championship five years ago. Then again, I”m always OK when I lose in golf to talent and class.
From the Lake County perspective, the high school golf season has come to an end. The future is bright for the Middletown High School golfers. Corey Huber heads off to college with great memories of his senior season of high school golf. As for me, thoughts of junior tourneys this summer and fundraising for next year are on the horizon.
And the beat goes on and on …
