BUCKINGHAM — Cypress College star golfer Matt Wotherspoon won the 27th annual Lake County Tournament of Champions held Saturday at Buckingham Golf and Country Club. Wotherspoon ran away from the rest of a strong field as he carded a 2-under-par 70 to win by six strokes. It was the third consecutive Lake County TOC title for the 21-year-old.
Wotherspoon opened play with a front-nine score of 1-under-par 35 and matched that number on his back nine. He took advantage of his length off the tee by recording birdies on the seven, ninth, 13th and 16th holes, all par-5s. He also birdied the par-4 fifth hole and the par-4 12th.
Hidden Valley Lake superintendent Billy Witt came in second after shooting a 4-over-par 76. Senior golfer Juan Lopez of Finley had the third lowest overall score with a 6-over-par 78. Dylan Harrison of Mount Hannah finished in fourth place after carding an 81.
Senior flight
Lopez’s 78 was good enough to capture the senior flight for golfers age 50 and older. It was the third consecutive Senior TOC victory for the 52-year-old who serves as a golf coach at Clear Lake High School.
Norm Rentsch of Finley finished in second place after returning a score of 84. Joe Del Prete of Kelseyville was third with 89.
Net/Senior net
Senior golfer Mel O’Meara of Upper Lake won his second consecutive Lake County Circuit tournament with a strong performance in the TOC’s net and senior net flights. O’Meara shot a net score of 68 to finish atop the leader board in both flights for golfers with handicaps of 10 and higher.
Darren Hostetler of Cobb shot an even-par 72 to finish second while Dr. Bob Jolin of Lakeport came in third with 73. Enrique Monsante of Lakeport shot a 74 and Todd Colbrandt of Middletown carded a 75.
Schedule/leaders
The Lake County Tournament of Champions was the final event of the year on the 10-tournament Lake County Amateur Golf Circuit schedule. At the conclusion of the TOC, Buckingham PGA professional Mark Wotherspoon recognized those golfers who finished atop their flights in the season-long races for the Lake County On The Links golfers of the year. For the third consecutive year, Witt was atop the standings in the championship division, finishing ahead of Matt Wotherspoon. Witt also was the golfer of the year in 2010 and 2014.
Lopez was the runaway winner in the race for senior golfer of the year. He is a six-time golfer of the year and is the most decorated golfer in the 27-year history of the local circuit.
The senior net golfer of the year was Colbrandt, who prevailed in a tightly contested race with Jolin. Colbrandt has now won the senior net division five straight years.
Finally, the net division ended up in a dead heat with Colbrandt and Hostetler atop the standings. This marked the third time that a season-long race has finished in a tie, but it was the first time since 1999.
