BUCKINGHAM >> Jerry Pendleton of Lakeport had to put in a little bit of overtime this past Saturday, but the end result was well worth the extra effort as he won the 21st annual Lake County Tournament of Champions at Buckingham Golf and Country Club.
The TOC was the 12th and final event on the 2014 Lake County Amateur Golf Circuit schedule and marked the completion of the local amateur golf tour”s 21st season of competition.
Pendleton walked off the 16th green with a three-stroke lead over his closest pursuer, Chip Bowlin of Buckingham. Bowlin made a birdie-four on the watery par-5 17th hole to cut Pendleton”s lead to two strokes. On the 18th hole, Bowlin found the fairway with his tee shot while Pendleton bunkered his drive. He escaped from the bunker with his next stroke, hit his third shot over the green, chipped on and two-putted for a double-bogey six. Bowlin stood over a curving 8-foot par putt on the final green and knocked it into the cup to tie Pendleton with a par-4. Both Bowlin and Pendleton finished regulation with 5-over-par rounds of 77.
On the initial playoff hole, Pendleton outdrove Bowlin and hit a hybrid just right of the green on the 440-yard, par-4 first hole. Bowlin”s second shot was short of the green and his approach to the green was 10 feet beyond the cup. Pendleton hit his greenside chip to mere inches and tapped in for par. Bowlin missed the 10-footer as Pendleton prevailed in the sudden-death playoff. It was the second TOC victory for Pendleton, who won his first title in 2010.
Jason Laveglia of Clear Lake Riviera finished in third place with a score of 79. Billy Witt of Clear Lake Riviera came in fourth after carding an 81. Norm Rentsch of Lakeport rounded out the top five with a score of 82.
Net flight
In the net flight for golfers with handicaps of 10 and higher, Laveglia”s 79 with a 10 handicap gave him a net score of 3-under-par 69 and a two-stroke margin of victory. Peter Wotherspoon of Buckingham finished in second place with 71. Wyatt Ferrell of Kelseyville carded a 74 while Matt Wotherspoon of Buckingham posted a 78. Todd Colbrandt of Middletown and Joe Del Prete of Kelseyville turned in scores of 79.
Seniors
The senior division for golfers age 50 and older just so happened to feature the TOC”s top two golfers as Pendleton and Bowlin are both 50-somethings. Pendleton also won the overall senior TOC title. Bowlin was second as a result of the playoff loss. Jerry Pangle of Lakeport finished in third place with 83. Manny Mendoza of Buckingham carded an 86 and Dr. Bob Jolin of Lakeport finished fifth with 89.
With the conclusion of the yearlong amateur circuit, TOC tournament director and Buckingham PGA golf professional Mark Wotherspoon announced the final results of the four races for the On The Links Golfer of the Year awards. In the championship flight, Billy Witt is the golfer of the year, besting Brad Pendleton of Lakeport. Two-time Lake County Junior champion Matt Wotherspoon won a tightly contested race to garner Net Golfer of the Year Honors. His margin of victory was razor thin, or to put it more succinctly, he won the overall race by one stroke over Todd Colbrandt and Wyatt Ferrell. In the race for Senior Golfer of the Year, Jerry Pangle survived a season long neck-and-neck race with Leonard Lea to win the over-50 honors. Dr. Bob Jolin repeated as Senior Net Golfer of the Year.
The Lake County Amateur Golf Circuit commences its 22nd season with the playing of the Lake County One Man Scramble in February. The four winners of the On The Links Golfer of the Year awards will be recognized at the Lake County Two Man Scramble next March.
