Norm Rentsch of Finley carded a five over par 77 at Buckingham Golf and Country Club on Saturday to capture the 24th annual Lake County Senior Amateur Golf Championship. Rentsch, who has been a very competitive amateur on the Lake County Amateur Golf Circuit prior to his movement to the over-50 ranks of senior golf, had a very clean scorecard with two birdies, nine pars, and seven bogeys. It marked Rentsch’s first victory among the senior set on the Lake County Circuit..
Two strokes behind Rentsch was the twosome of Chip Bowlin of Buckingham and Leonard Lea of Clear Lake Riviera, both of whom posted seven over par scores of 79. Lea, who is a 70-something, is a former two time Senior Amateur champion having won the title in 2002 and 2011. Two shots further back was Jerry Pendleton of Lakeport and Chris Fisher of Lincoln after turning in scorecards of 81. Fisher is also a two time past Senior Am titlist with wins in 2014 and 2015. Rick Easter of Lakeport came in sixth place with a score of 83.
Norm Rentsch attributed his Senior Amateur victory to a combination of a solid putting stroke and his pairing. Rentsch contended that he “putted very well during the course of the tournament. However, I also have to admit that my pairing with Leonard Lea and Chip Bowlin was to my benefit. They played very well and I knew what I had to do to maintain my small lead against them.”
In the super senior division for golfers aged 65 and above, Lea was the overall super senior champion. Dr. Bob Jolin of Lakeport shot 87, Todd Colbrandt of Middletown carded an 89, and Ron Garcia of Buckingham finished with a 91.
Leonard Lea, a 13 handicapper, was atop the net division leader board with a net 66. One stroke further back with a net 67 was Ken Kellner of Clear Lake Riviera. It was Kellner’s highest finish on the local amateur circuit.
A total of 11 golfers competed in the senior division while seven golfers were entered in the super senior flight.
The next event on the Lake County Amateur Golf Circuit is the Lake County Partners Championship which will be held at Buckingham on Saturday, June 22nd. The Partners is a two person better ball tournament with open flights for scratch, net, senior, and senior net golfers. Tournament information is available by contacting the pro shop at Buckingham at (707) 279-4863.
