BUCKINGHAM — On one of the most difficult playing days in the 26-year history of the Lake County Amateur Golf Circuit, Hidden Valley Lake superintendent Billy Witt prevailed in overtime to capture the 28th annual Lake County Open Golf Championship on Saturday at Buckingham Golf and Country Club.
While it was a pleasant spring day as far as temperatures go, the winds alongside the base of Mount Konocti and Clear Lake swirled and gusted, ranging at times from 25-40 miles per hour, and with the prevailing winds changing almost on a minute-by-minute basis.
Championship flight
In the championship flight, it was a three-man battle that featured more carnage than birdies. Witt shot a 10-over-par 46 on the front nine and found himself trailing Dylan Harrison, the reigning Lake County Match Play champion, and Matt Wotherspoon, on spring break from the golf team at Cypress College, by two strokes. With just three holes left to play, Wotherspoon and Harrison were tied atop the leader board at 10-over-par while Witt remained two strokes back. On the par-5 16th hole, Witt made par while Harrison posted a bogey-six. Wotherspoon clipped a tree off the 16th tee, saw his ball go sideways into the maintenance barn, and ended up carding a double-bogey seven. Harrison now led by one with Witt and Wotherspoon sitting one shot back
On the watery par-5 17th hole, Wotherspoon made birdie while Witt ran off another par and Harrison made bogey. With one hole to go, Wotherspoon led both Harrison and Witt by one stroke. On the par-4 18th tee, Wotherspoon’s tee shot rode the harsh left-to-right wind and ended up out of bounds. He would make a triple-bogey seven while Harrison gutted out a tough par. Witt hit a brilliant second shot to within 6 feet of the cup but missed the putt and posted a par. When the dust had finally settled, Witt and Harrison were tied at the top with 12-over-par 84s while Wotherspoon finished in third place with an 86.
On the first playoff hole, both Witt and Harrison sent their tee shots up the middle only to watch their balls drift more than 40 yards toward the out-of-bounds markers. Harrison found his tee shot beyond the white stakes while Witt was in bounds by less than a foot. Witt made a safe bogey-five to win the sudden-death playoff and capture the Open title. It was his second Lake County Open triumph, the first coming in 2010.
Senior flight
The difficult course conditions were equally imposing upon the senior flight for golfers ages 50 and older. Rick Easter of Lakeport struggled on his front nine but came back strong, making birdie on the difficult par-4 18th hole to shoot a back-nine score of 3-over-par 39 and post a 91, good for a two-shot victory. Manny Mendoza of Buckingham was the runner-up with 93 while Dr. Bob Jolin of Lakeport and Jesse Santana of Kelseyville came in third with rounds of 97.
Senior net flight
In the senior net flight, Todd Colbrandt of Middletown weathered the winds to shoot a 3-over-par 75 to capture his division. Ted Knowles of Lower Lake and Jerry Tilton of Clear Lake Riviera matched one another with rounds of 81. Ken Kellner of Buckingham shot an 85 and Joe Del Prete of Kelseyville finished with 87.
Circuit history
In the history of the Lake County Circuit, local golfers said they could remember a similar day of competitive golf during the 1996 Tournament of Champions, which used to be played in April. The winds this past Saturday were the equal of 1996 and created havoc throughout all divisions of the Lake County Open. In the end, the flight winners were more survivors than champions. Witt shot a 38 on the final nine and Easter carded his back-nine 39, but those were the only two nines that broke the 40 barrier.
Schedule
The next event on the local golf circuit is the Lake County Three Man Golf Championship, which is May 18 at Buckingham.
