Robert Gautney: Fernandez ties for second at Long Beach City Championship
| Wednesday, Jul 15 2009 07:49 PM
Last Updated Wednesday, Jul 15 2009 07:49 PM
Stockdale High golfer Pete Fernandez was at it again this past week when he tied for second at the prestigious Long Beach City Championship.
Fernandez shot rounds of 65, 74 and 67 at Skylinks Golf Course in Long Beach to finish at 10-under 206 in the 54-hole tournament. That put him into the runner-up spot with two others -- Andrew Kramer of Chino Hills and Lou Carrasco Jr. of Tustin. Kramer is an All-American at the University of LaVerne, an NAIA school.
But as well as those three played, they found themselves eight shots back of champion Austin Graham of San Clemente. Graham shot a blistering 62 in the opening round, then after a 65 in the second round, he had a 10-stroke lead on the entire field of well over 200 players.
Graham, who plays for UC Davis, "slipped" to a 1-under 71 in the final round to finish at 18-under 198 and no one was closer than six shots to him from the middle of the second round.
Fernandez, who will competing in a Toyota Tour event next week and an AJGA event the following week, won the Long Beach Crosby Memorial Junior Championship at Recreation Park the last weekend of June and grew up in Downey, just a few miles from Long Beach, before moving to Bakersfield prior to enrolling in high school at Stockdale as a freshman.
Fernandez will also compete in the California State Boys Championship at Oak Valley in Beaumont in August as he heads into his senior year at Stockdale in hopes of landing a scholarship with a top-notch Division I school.
PATEL IN SCGA CHAMPIONSHIP THIS WEEK
Fresno State sophomore and former Bakersfield High star Bhavik Patel will be Bakersfield's lone entry in the 110th Southern California Golf Association's Amateur Championship Friday through Sunday at Wilshire Country Club.
Patel was co-medalist in qualifying at Sterling Hills GC on June to etch his spot into the championship. Now he will face the best players from Southern California.
Three years ago, Patel finished second in the 108th Championship.
BAKERSFIELD CITY AMATEUR CLOSING IN
Sign-ups for the 30th Bakersfield City Amateur Championship will continue through July 22 for the event, which will be July 25-26 at Sundale Country Club. Entry is $120, which includes tee prize, Saturday lunch and prizes. There is no cut.
There will be a championship flight for players with indexes of 5.9 and less and a handicapped flight for players with indexes of 6.0 through 14. Anyone above 14 must play down to that figure.
The tournament is the third of the Sports Authority/Michelob Ultra Player of the Year Series events in which the top 10 and ties in the championship flight receive points towards the 2009 Player of the Year title.
Currently, Scott LaBare leads with 23 points, followed by Scott Anderson with 22 and Brian Edick with 20. The winner receives 30 points with 27 for second, 24 for third, an so on down to three points for 10th.
To enter, call the Sundale pro shop at 831-5224 or stop by in person.
"RO THE PRO" DIES
Longtime local golf course professional Roland Reese passed away on July 5 at the age of 67 after a long battle with leukemia.
Reese was the head pro at Valle Grande Golf Course for a number of years in the 1980s and early 90s, then was the head pro at China Lake in Ridgecrest from 2000 until he retired in March.
Reese, affectionately known as "Ro The Pro," loved to teach the game and loved playing with everyone. I played my first pro-am with Reese back in 1987 and went to a number of out-of-town tournaments with him to compete in pro-ams in the So Cal PGA back when I was the VG Club Champion in 1987-89. He always had a smile.
Reese, who was awarded Life Membership to the PGA, will surely be missed by his long-time wife Roberta, as well as the golfing communities in and around Kern County.
SHAIN, HUSER IN OPTIMIST INTERNATIONAL
Local players Connor Huser and Meghan Shain will compete in the Opitimist International Junior Golf Championships in Palm Beach Gardens over the next couple of weeks. The tournament will be played at the PGA National Resort and Spa, with Shain competing in the girls 14-15 age division July 25-27 and Huser playing in the boys 16-18 age flight from July 30-August 2.
Both had to qualify at regional events for the tournament, which attracts players from all over the world. There will be 35 states and more than 30 nations represented.
Some notable competitors over the years include Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, Davis Love III and Phil Mickelson on the boys side and Nancy Lopez, Michelle McGann and Brittney Lincicome on the girls' side.
You can track the play of Shain and Huser at www.optimist.org/golf.
CHIP SHOTS
-- Entries for the 2nd Taft City Amateur are being accepted. The event will be Aug. 15-16. Entry of $100 includes both days' greens fees, lunch on the15th, and prizes. Deadline is Aug. 8. Call (661) 398-9720. The tournament is the fourth in the Sports Authority/Michelob Ultra Player of the Year Series and the top 10 and ties in the championship flight will earn points.
Tee to Green appears weekly at Bakersfield.com/sports. You can reach Gautney at rgautney@bak.rr.com.
