Robert Gautney: Patel favored in Kern Amateur this weekend
| Thursday, Oct 20 2011 10:53 PM
Last Updated Thursday, Oct 20 2011 10:53 PM
The 61st Men’s Kern County Amateur golf tournament will certainly have a different look to it this weekend when the county’s best amateur players converge upon the Haggerty-North Kern and Foss-Kern River golf courses. Many players who have dominated this event over the past few years will not be there.
Defending champion John Balfanz, who won his record-tying fourth title last year, turned professional earlier this year and is ineligible to defend his crown. Ditto for Bryan Hogan and Stephen Hale.
Hogan is a two-time champion and the tournament’s youngest-ever winner, while Hale owns the best round in the history of the event, a 65 in the first round in 2007. Both turned pro earlier this year, after completing their college eligibility.
Add in UCLA’s Manav Shah and CSUB sophomore Chase Goodvin and you have quite a list of top players who will not be in the field. Shah is competing in another tournament this week and Goodvin is using the time to rest after a top 20 finish in the Bill Cullum Invitational in Northridge earlier this week.
“I tweaked my back a little playing this week,” said Goodvin, CSUB’s No.1 player. “I just felt like I needed the time to rest instead of playing and possibly making it worse.”
One player who will be competing is Bhavik Patel. Patel, a Fresno State senior and the 2008 KC Amateur champion, as well as co-record holder of the tournament scoring mark of 135, confirmed his participation on Thursday morning.
“I wasn’t sure after playing up north this week, but I have decided to come out and support the tournament,” Patel said in a telephone interview.
Patel finished eighth in the Alister MacKenzie Invitational in Berkeley earlier this week with rounds of 70-63-71. The 63 is the lowest round in the 34-year career of FSU coach Mike Watney.
“I’m playing well and hopefully I can continue to play well and make some putts,” Patel said. “It’s always a good field, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Patel will be the overwhelming favorite. His top challengers could be Scott Anderson, D.J. Fernando, M.J. Morin, Nick Vallejo, Ron Killmer, Rich Gilkey, Scott LaBare, among others.
Fernando is one of three former champions in the field, having won in 2002, while Hank Hoss, the 1985 winner, joins Patel and Fernando.
Last year, Fernando, Morin and Shah finished equal second to Balfanz.
With Goodvin and Shah not playing and Hogan now a pro, the chase for the 2011 Michelob Ultra/Sports Authority Player of the Year title will probably come down to Patel and Anderson. Shah was the 2010 winner, while Patel won in 2006 and 2008.
Goodvin leads with 56 points, with Patel next with 52. Shah is third with 47, Anderson has 44, and Hogan 36. Mathematically, Nick Vallejo at 32 and Ron Kilmer and Morin at 30 still have a chance, but would need to win and hope those above them finish out of the top 10.
“All you can do is show up and play,” said Anderson, the 2009 Player of the Year. “You don’t have any control over who plays or how the other players do, so you just do your best and see where you finish.”
Brady Baguio and Josh Barnes own the final-round scoring mark with 66s while Justin Pitts in 2007 and Arnold Kirschenmann in 1966 are the other players who have shot 135.
Players will tee off between 9-11 a.m. Saturday at North Kern.
The public is invited to watch free of charge.
The final group will tee off at 10:22 a.m. Sunday at Foss-Kern River.
Gautney’s columns appear each week on bakersfield.com
