BUCKINGHAM — Juan Lopez of Finley ran off five birdies on the front nine Saturday to build an insurmountable lead and breeze to victory in the 20th annual Lake County Tournament of Championships (TOC) at Buckingham Golf and Country Club.
Lopez birdied all the odd-numbered holes on his opening nine to record a 3-under-par 33 and carry an eight-stroke lead into the back nine. He played conservative golf over his final nine, had a couple of hiccups coming in, and ended up posting a 2-over-par 74 for a six-stroke victory over Brad Pendleton of Lakeport.
It”s the seventh time Lopez has won the TOC, his first victory dating all the way back to 1998. The win also was what he needed to finish the 10-tournament, season-long race as the On the Links Golfer of the Year for 2013. It”s the seventh time he”s won golfer of the year honors on the Lake County Amateur Golf Circuit.
Pendelton, the reigning Lake County Amateur champion, stumbled over his front nine, making a triple bogey on the par-5 fourth hole as well as picking up double bogeys on the fifth and seventh holes while recording a front-nine score of 45. After making a double bogey on the 10th hole, Pendleton was able to right the ship, making four consecutive birdies from the 13th through the 16th holes to shoot a back-nine 1-under-par 35 for a runner-up finish of 80.
Brels Solomon of Upper Lake finished in third place with a score of 84.
Net division
In the net division for golfers with handicaps of 10 and higher, Jesse Santana of Kelseyville shot a 72 to win his flight. Santana, who had a strong finish at the Lake County Amateur two weeks ago, continued with his strong play in the TOC and was the only golfer in the field to record a net score of par or better. Max Huff of Clear Lake Riviera finished in second place with a 74, Rick Easter of Lakeport was third with a 75, and Norm Rentsch of Lakeport, Joe Del Prete of Kelseyville and Junior Amateur winner Matt Wotherspoon of Buckingham finished in a three-way tie for fourth place with rounds of 81.
Easter accumulated more than enough points at the TOC to finish atop the standings as the On the Links Net Golfer of the Year for 2013.
Senior division
In the senior division for golfers age 50 and older, Jerry Pangle of Lakeport shot matching front-nine and back-nine scores of 42 to post an 84 and win the senior flight by two strokes. Kelseyville High School golf coach John Berry was the runner-up with 86 while Alan Mathews of Lakeport finished third with 92.
Berry ended up winning the season-long race for On the Links Senior Golfer of the Year.
Senior net division
In the senior net division, Santana, who entered both the net and the senior net flights, won with his net score of 72. Ken Kellner of Kelseyville was runner-up with a 76 and Scot Lamanuzzi of Lower Lake finished third with 78. Dr. Bob Jolin of Lakeport was fourth with 82.
Jolin accumulated more than enough points to win the Senior Net Golfer of the Year honors.
A total of 20 winners of various Lake County Amateur Golf Circuit tournaments were entered into this year”s Tournament of Champions. The weather was almost summer-like with sunny and benign weather conditions although the course setup was most difficult as pins were tucked into the corners of most greens. However, the course setup didn”t seem to get in the way of Lopez as he concluded another stellar calendar season on the local amateur golf circuit that just completed its 20th year of existence.
The Lake County Amateur Golf Circuit resumes in March for its 21st season with the playing of the Lake County One Man Scramble.
