BUCKINGHAM >> Brad Pendleton of Riviera West won the 22nd annual Lake County Tournament of Champions Golf Championship on Saturday at Buckingham Golf and Country Club. Pendleton, who is arguably the best amateur golfer in Lake County, shot a tournament-record 7-under-par 65 to win by three shots over Billy Witt of Clear Lake Riviera.
The TOC is the season-ending event on the 10-tournament Lake County Amateur Golf Circuit schedule and golfers not only had the TOC on their golfing mindset, but also had to deal with the emotions of vying for the On the Links golfer of the year awards.
Pendleton opened his front nine with four birdies and one bogey for a 3-under-par 33. Yet as well as he was playing, Pendleton had no room to breathe as Witt matched his outstanding front nine with his own 33. Pendleton kept playing aggressively on the back nine as he made back-to-back birdies on the 12th and 13th holes, birdied the 16th hole, and finally pulled away from Witt with an eagle-three on the par-5 17th hole. Pendleton closed out with a 4-under-par 32 on the inward nine while Witt shot a 1-under-par 35 to finish second with a most impressive 68.
Pendleton’s power game was the difference maker in the TOC as he was 7-under-par on the par-5 holes.
Juan Lopez of Finley shot 74 to finish in solo third place in the TOC. Most years his score would have been good enough to win the tournament. Wyatt Ferrell finished in fourth place with a 78 and Matt Wotherspoon, the reigning Lake County Junior champion, rounded out the top five with a score of 82.
Pendleton’s win also allowed him to jump above Wotherspoon and Ferrell and win the On the Links Golfer of the Year Award for the second time. He also won in 2011.
Witt’s 68 was his lowest round at Buckingham in a Lake County Circuit event. He attributed his solid round to his recent work with former PGA Tour professional, J.T. Kohut of Stockton.
Net flight
Rick Easter of Lower Lake won a tightly contested net flight for golfers with handicaps of 10 and higher by carding a net score of 3-under-par 69. One stroke behind was Scot Lamanuzzi of Buckingham with a 70. Peter Wotherspoon of Buckingham had the lead for most of the round but struggled with sand issues on the final hole and finished two shots off the pace with a net 71 for third place.
Rounding out the top five were Todd Colbrandt of Middletown with 75 and Javier Castaneda of Kelseyville with 81.
Easter’s win concluded a strong season that resulted in him finishing atop the standings for the On the Links Net Golfer of the Year award. He also won Net Golfer of the Year honors in 2005 and 2013.
Senior flight
Jerry Pendleton of Lakeport and Craig Kinser of Lakeport finished atop the senior division leader board for golfers ages 50 and older. Both shot 6-over-par 78 and Pendleton won the playoff with a par on the first hole. Kinser, a 10-handicap golfer, was able to finish atop the senior net division with a score of 68. Ken Kellner of Buckingham came in second with a 73 net and Dr. Bob Jolin of Lakeport carded a round of 81.
Kinser ended up winning the On the Links Senior Golfer of the Year title for the second time. He also won it back in 2009. Jolin was atop the On the Links Senior Net Golfer of the Year standings for 2015, the third straight year he’s won the award.
New schedule
Buckingham PGA professional Mark Wotherspoon thanked the golfers at the conclusion of the awards ceremony for their continuing support of the Lake County Amateur Golf Circuit. He did mention that the 10-tournament schedule would be adjusted next year. It will feature mainly one-day tournaments on Saturdays with the long-running Lake County Open and the Lake County Amateur remaining as two-day, 36-hole events. The circuit will return next February for the playing of the Lake County One Man Scramble.
