MENDOCINO — While it was cold and windy at most North Coast locations on Tuesday, one of those places wasn’t Little River Golf Course on the Mendocino County coast, the site of a Coastal Mountain Conference North match between Clear Lake, Fort Bragg, Willits and host Mendocino.
“The weather was gorgeous, the course was gorgeous,” Clear Lake head coach Ted Mattila said. “The only thing that wasn’t gorgeous was the way we played.”
For only the second time in five CMC North matches this season, the Cardinals didn’t come out on top. Fort Bragg, which also won at Little River a month ago, finished with a score of 387 (the combined total of its four lowest rounds) to Clear Lake’s 417 and Willits’ 532. Mendocino was incomplete (fewer than four golfers).
“I was talking on the phone to a friend from Fort Bragg and he told me that he was glad we weren’t here the other day (Monday),” Mattila said. “He said there were 45-mile-per-hour winds and it was pouring. Today it was gorgeous. I was shocked how nice it was.”
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, they couldn’t parlay the sunshine and a nearly complete lack of wind into a good day on the course.
“You have good days and you have bad days and this is one of those days you don’t want,” Mattila said.
Clear Lake’s Nathon Lopez led the Cardinals with a round of 91 on the par-72 course, finishing with the third-lowest round of the day, the first time this season he hasn’t earned medalist honors. The low round Tuesday went to Fort Bragg’s Wyatt Salinen with a 85.
Also for the Cardinals, Peyton Ewing finished with 104, Miles Mattina had 106, and Keara Alonso 116. Other Clear Lake scores had Sophia Arredondo at 124 and Breanna Allen at 138.
Through the first five CMC North matches, Clear Lake sits atop the standings at 13-2 followed by Fort Bragg at 12-3.
The CMC North returns to the coast — this time the Sonoma County coast — next Tuesday when it visits Sea Ranch.
