BUCKINGHAM — Hidden Valley Lake superintendent Billy Witt and reigning Hidden Valley Lake club champion Gene Manning captured the 26th annual Lake County Two Person Scramble on Saturday at Buckingham Golf and Country Club. Witt and Manning carded a 5-under-par 67 to eke out a one-stroke victory over the team of Cypress College standout Matt Wotherspoon and current Adams Springs club champion Dylan Harrison.
The format for the Two Person Scramble allows each team to choose the better of their two shots until the ball is holed out. If the first golfer hits a decent drive into the fairway, then his or her partner can try to better it by hitting it straighter and farther. Of course, if the first shot is somewhat wayward, then the pressure is on the second golfer to put a quality shot into play. It is a good early season format that can be strategically intense as well.
Witt-Manning and Wotherspoon-Harrison played in the same pairing and their match was back and forth throughout the day. Standing on the 18th tee, both teams stood at 5-under-par. Although Wotherspoon and Harrison hit a close-to-perfect drive down the right side of the 18th fairway, they were unable to reach the final green in regulation. Their chip shot came up 8 feet to the left of the cup and both golfers were unable to make the curling left-to-right putt for par. Witt and Manning were able to make a solid par on the final hole to take home the Two Person Scramble crown.
It was the fourth time Witt has been part of the winning Two Person team, having won in 2012 with John Dunn, 2016 with Shawn Auten, and in 2019 with Dylan Harrison. Wotherspoon and Harrison were the defending Two Person champions and also won the team title in 2018.
Net flight
In the highly competitive net flight for golfers with handicaps of 10 and higher, the team of Clear Lake High School golfer Nathon Lopez and Enrique Monsante finished tied atop the leader board alongside Peter Wotherspoon and Darren Hostetler. Both duos came in with net scores of 11-under-par 61.It marked the second time this season that overtime was required to determine a winner in the net division.
In the sudden-death playoff, both teams missed the par-4 first hole in regulation but were able to chip and one-putt for matching pars. On the second playoff hole, it was once again a chipping duel. Lopez and Monsante were able to get their ball onto the green and were left with a 6-foot par putt. After Peter Wotherspoon and Hostetler two-putted for bogey, Monsante was able to knock in the par putt for the victory.
Kelseyville High School golfer Cory Holt and KHS baseball coach Billy Shaul finished in third place with 64. Mason Smith and Tim Brown were two shots farther back on the leader board after carding a 66.
Senior flight
In the senior flight for golfers ages 50 and olver, Witt and Manning prevailed over their fellow senior citizens with their score of 67. It’s the second Lake County Amateur Circuit tournament in a row Witt has found the winner’s circle in both the championship flight and the senior division. Mike Patterson and Brian Bechtol finished in second place with a score of 1-under-par 71.
Senior net flight
In a very tightly contested senior net flight, Rick Easter of Lakeport and Todd Colbrandt of Middletown won their division with a 9-under-par 63. Easter and Colbrandt are longtime partners on the Lake County Amateur Golf Circuit and they also won the senior net flight in the Two Person in 2017.
Two strokes behind Easter-Colbrandt was the Willits team of Richard Steenwyck and Dave Lovitt with 65. Joe Del Prete and Ken Kellner carded a 5-under-par 67 while Rick Tracy and Robert Harn posted a 68.
2020 awards
Following the conclusion of play, tournament director and Buckingham PGA professional Mark Wotherspoon recognized the 2020 On the Links Golfers of the Year on the Lake County Amateur Circuit. The champions of the four divisions received plaques and engraved golf shirts for their efforts last year. Witt was recognized as golfer of the year while Juan Lopez was the senior golfer of the year. Colbrandt was the senior net golfer of the year. For the third time in the circuit’s history, there was a tie atop the standings for net golfer of the year. That honor was shared by Colbrandt and Darren Hostetler.
Next tourney
The next event on the Lake County Amateur Golf Circuit is the Lake County Match Play Championship scheduled for April 3 at Buckingham.
