In a closely contested, back-and-forth match Saturday, Wyatt Ferrell of Kelseyville and Pete Wotherspoon of Buckingham outlasted Hidden Valley Lake superintendent Billy Witt and HVL resident Gene Manning as well as Lucerne’s Rob Cattalini and Jeremiah Valador of Riviera West to win the 13th annual Lake County Alternate Shot Championship at Buckingham Golf and Country Club.
The Ferrell-Wotherspoon and Witt-Manning twosomes were paired together and had team drama down to the final hole. Ferrell-Wotherspoon carded and even-par score of 72 while Witt-Manning came in at 2-over-par 74. Cattalini and Valador played solid golf throughout until stumbling near the finish. They ended up tied for second place, also with 74.
Witt-Manning played par golf throughout the front nine and posted an outward score of 36. Ferrell-Wotherspoon were three strokes behind at one point until they made an eagle-three at the par-5 seventh hole to get back into the fray. They shot a front-nine 37 and sat one shot back.
Ferrell-Wotherspoon caught Witt-Manning with a birdie on the 13th hole. Both teams birdied the par-5 16th hole and were tied with just two holes to play. Witt-Manning had a hiccup on the watery par-5 17th hole and recorded a double-bogey seven. Ferrell-Wotherspoon had a golden opportunity to take total control of the tournament as they stood over a 12-foot birdie putt. However, the birdie putt went 4 feet past the hole, the comebacker for par was missed, and the resulting bogey-six gave Ferrell-Wotherspoon a precarious one-stroke lead. They made par on the difficult 18th hole while Witt-Manning carded a bogey. The end result was a two-stroke win for Ferrell-Wotherspoon over both Witt-Manning and Cattalini-Valador.
Ferrell-Wotherspoon carded a 1-under par 35 on the inward nine while Witt-Manning posted a 38.
Competing in a different pairing, Cattalini-Valador took an early front-nine lead with a 2-under-par 34. With two holes to go, they were unknowingly in a three-way tie with Witt-Manning and Ferrell-Wotherspoon at 1-under-par. However, a bogey on the 17th hole and a double-bogey six on the par-4 18th hole knocked them into a tie for second place. They shot 34-40 — 74.
Wotherspoon acknowledged that his team’s win in the Alternate Shot was a “team effort” that featured some outstanding shotmaking by both golfers. Wotherspoon and Ferrell grew up together locally, played youth sports together, and played basketball and golf alongside one another at Kelseyville High School. It was their first partnership win in the championship flight on the Lake County Amateur Golf Circuit.
Senior flight
Witt and Manning successfully defended their title in the senior division of the Alternate Shot for golfers ages 50 and older with their 2-over-par 74. Mike Patterson of Kelseyville and John Sherman of Hidden Valley Lake carded an 81 to finish in second place.
Net flight
In the net division for golfers with handicaps of 10 and higher, Kelseyville High School athletic director Shane Boehlert and Mason Smith of Kelseyville finished atop a tightly congested leader board with a net score of 6-under-par 66. Boehlert and Smith won the County Two Person Scramble back in March.
Dr. Bob Jolin of Lakeport and Jesse Santana of Kelseyville finished one stroke back at 67. One stroke further back in third place was the longtime partnership of Rick Easter of Lakeport and Todd Colbrandt of Middletown. Easter-Colbrandt posted a 68.
Tim Brown of Lakeport and Darren Hostetler of Fort Bragg came in fourth with a 3-under-par 69.
Senior net flight
Jolin and Santana also prevailed with their net 67 in the senior net division for golfers over 50 years of age and with handicaps of 10 and higher. Jolin’s senior net victory marked the sixth time he has been on the winning twosome at the Alternate Shot, and he has had a different partner each time.
John Goostree of Riviera West and Lauren Silva of Kelseyville finished one stroke back in second place with a 68. Mike Bailey of Millbrae and Mel O’Meara of Upper Lake shot an even-par 72 to take third.
Schedule
The final event on the Lake County Amateur Golf Circuit is less than two weeks away with the playing of the Lake County Tournament of Champions. The fourth-longest running event in Lake County golf circles, the TOC is scheduled for Oct. 29 at Buckingham. The races for the On the Links golfer of the year, senior golfer of the year, net golfer of the year, and senior net golfer of the year titles will be finalized following play in the TOC.
