BROOKTRAILS — The Coastal Mountain Conference North golf race came down to a four-on-four sudden-death tiebreaker Tuesday afternoon at Brooktrails Golf Course, the Clear Lake Cardinals prevailing on the first playoff hole to capture the championship.
Fort Bragg forced the tiebreaker by edging Clear Lake 310-312 during regulation play, putting both teams at 20-4 in the final North standings. Only one team can advance to the North Coast Section playoffs as the league’s automatic selection and Clear Lake won that right by winning the tiebreaker, which matched four players from each teams.
Two foursomes started at the par-3 first hole and Clear Lake’s Peyton Ewing and Sofia Arredondo went out first against their Fort Bragg counterparts. Fort Bragg took a 8-9 lead as the second foursome played the same hole, this time with Clear Lake’s top two golfers, Miles Mattina and Nathon Lopez, taking their turn. They both parred the hole for a total score of six while their two Fort Bragg opponents combined for a nine, giving Clear Lake an overall 15-17 win.
Clear Lake’s squad now advances to the opening round of the sectional playoffs Monday at the Valley of the Moon Golf Club (formerly Oakmont West) in Santa Rosa where the low 18 scorers advance to the next round, the Tournament of Champions, the following week at Lone Tree Golf Club in Antioch.
“I know in match play we have a little more experience than them and that experience came through today,” Clear Lake head coach Ted Mattila said. “They (Mattina and Lopez) aren’t afraid to be up there when the game is on the line.”
Mattina was the medalist during regulation play as his 18-hole round of 70 led the North field on a nine-hole Brooktrails course that features eight par-3 holes and one par-4. Lopez tied for the second-best round with 71 and Ewing was sixth with 83. Arredondo carded a 88.
Despite losing during the regulation match, Clear Lake bounced right back in the tiebreaker that immediately followed.
“I don’t think we were down,” Mattila said of his team’s reaction to dropping such a tight match to the Timberwolves in regulation play. “We have the utmost respect for Fort Bragg, the improvement on their team has been tremendous this season.”
Clear Lake and Fort Bragg each won four of the eight North matches held this year. It’s the first time in North history that a league championship has been decided by tiebreaker and only the third time in conference history, including the South division.
“Someday these guys can say they were part of that when that pennant is hanging up there (at the school gym),” Mattila said. “They can’t take that away from you.”
