BUCKINGHAM >> The Lake County Amateur Golf Circuit commenced its 25th season of operation with the playing of the Lake County One Man Scramble on Saturday at Buckingham Golf and Country Club.
The One Man is a mulligan-fest as well as an endurance contest as each golfer is able to hit a second shot throughout his round in the hope it will be an improvement upon the original shot. If you should hit it out of bounds or into the water, you can definitely improve upon your result. However, often golfers will try to improve upon each and every shot, meaning that a bogey golfer who shoots 90 will often swing more than 150 times to lower his score. It’s all about improvement and endurance.
Juan Lopez of Finley, arguably the most successful golfer in the Lake County Circuit’s 25-year history, opened a new season by shooting a 12-under-par 60 to win not only the overall tournament, but to also prevail as the senior division champion. Lopez is 51 years old. However, he is as dynamic on the links as he was 20 years ago. Lopez shot matching nines of 6-under-par 30 as he recorded 10 birdies and an eagle-three on the par-5 seventh hole.
Lopez won the championship flight of the One Man by one stroke over Kelseyville High School senior Matt Wotherspoon, a three-time All-Coastal Mountain Conference golfer. The margin of victory wasn’t tight until the very end. Standing on the 17th tee, Lopez was three shots ahead of Wotherspoon with two holes remaining. Lopez played safe over the final two holes and made pars. Meanwhile, it was now-or-never for Wotherspoon, who aggressively attacked the flags on the 17th and 18th holes to record back-to-back birdies. Nonetheless, it was too little, too late as Wotherspoon finished at 11-under-par 61. Wotherspoon recorded 12 birdies with one bogey on the difficult par-3 15th hole.
Ashley Mayhew of Hidden Valley Lake and Dylan Harrison of Mount Hannah finished tied for third place with scores of 6-under-par 66. Billy Witt, the superintendent of Hidden Valley Lake Golf Course, rounded out the top five with a 5-under-par 67.
Net flight
The net flight for golfers with handicaps of 10 and higher turned into an overtime battle as Richard Knight of Kelseyville and Peter Wotherspoon of Buckingham completed play atop the leader board with matching scores of 18-under-par net 54. Wotherspoon almost ended the playoff after the first extra hole as his 40-foot putt for birdie lipped out. Knight ultimately prevailed on the third playoff hole by carding a par for a net birdie.
Richard Steenwyck of Willits and Scot Lamanuzzi of Buckingham finished with net scores of 59 to tie for third place. Gary Cisneros of Napa and Dr. Bob Jolin of Lakeport were two shots farther back at 61.
Senior flight
Lopez ran away with the senior flight for golfers ages 50 and older with a 12-under-par 60. Finishing a distant second place was Jerry Pangle of Lakeport at 4-under-par 68, a score that would have won the division most years. Chris Fisher of Roseville finished in third place with a 1-under-par 71. Rick Easter, the 2017 On the Links Senior Golfer of the Year, came in fourth with an even-par 72.
Senior net flight
In the senior net flight, Todd Colbrandt captured his division with a net score of 16-under-par 56. Colbrandt was last year’s Senior Net Golfer of the year. Manny Mendoza of Buckingham finished just one shot back at 57. Richard Tracy Sr. of Kelseyville recorded a 60. John Flynn of Cobb, Ken Kellner of Kelseyville and Leonard Lea of Clear Lake Riviera finished in a three-way tie for fourth place with 63.
Miscellaneous
Thirty golfers competed in the four flights of the One Man. It was a pleasant day at Buckingham with temperatures in the mid-60s and little breeze to impact the golfers.
The next event on the Lake County Amateur Golf Circuit is the Lake County Two Man Championship, which takes place March 17 at Buckingham. Interested participants can contact the Buckingham pro shop for more information.
