Robert Gautney: LaBare put it all together for Kern Am title
| Wednesday, Oct 26 2011 04:44 PM
Last Updated Wednesday, Oct 26 2011 10:44 PM
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Golf Scott Labare drives on the 2nd hole. LaBare wins over his opponent DJ Fernando by one stroke in a sudden death -7 to -6.
Finally, for Scott LaBare.
That was the theme for the former Ridgeview High, BC and The Master's College product after he won the 60th Men's Kern County Amateur championship in a 2-hole playoff over D.J. Fernando Sunday at the Foss-Kern River golf course.
LaBare told The Californian's Stephen Lynch after his win that it was his biggest win and that he had had a lot of good first rounds in the Kern County Amateur before but could never back it up with a solid final round to come through with a win.
He won't have to worry about that any more as his final round 3-under-par 67 on the tough par-70 Foss-Kern River layout was the best round of the day and one of only three scores under par. He and Fernando finished at 6-under 136, just a stroke off of the tournament record shared by Arnold Kirschenmann (1966), Justin Pitts (2007) and Bhavik Patel (2008).
After both players made birdie on the par-5 finishing hole, they went to the par-5 first hole for the playoff. LaBare found the fairway with his tee ball over the big eucalyptus trees, while Fernando was a bit right.
Fernando played his second just short and left of the green while LaBare's second finished pin high just a foot or so off the green in the fringe. Fernando made a great pitch to about 3 feet while LaBare coaxed his second to about a foot. Both players tapped in for birdie and the playoff went to the 138-yard par-3 second hole.
Hitting first, LaBare came up just a foot short of the green, about 20 feet under the hole while Fernando's tee ball sailed long and left, leaving a tough pitch from below and behind the hole.
"I should have just went for the miracle shot," Fernando said afterward. "But I just wanted to give myself a putt for par. I thought I could get it to 15-20 feet, but it went a little long."
Fernando's par putt from about 27 feet came up just inches short and all LaBare had to do was two-putt to win. He stroked his first putt to about six inches to the right of the cup and tapped in for the victory.
"It's huge. It's great. It's fantastic," he told Lynch after his win.
Fernando was trying to win his second KC Am, having won in 2002 and his opening 5-under 67 at Haggerty-North Kern put him into position to do it. His final-round 69 was solid, but just not quite enough to make him the event's 14th multiple winner.
Rich Gilkey and Nick Mears tied for second at 2-under 140 with Mears' 69 the third score under par on the day. Tying for fifth were Scott Anderson and Ron Kilmer at 1-under 141 while M.J. Morin finished even-par 142 for seventh. Rounding out the top 10 were Steve Roodzant at 144, Matt Hammons at 145 and Bob Rensel at 146.
For Anderson, the equal fifth finish was just fine with him as the 18 points he earned gave him enough to win his second Michelob Ultra/Sports Authority Player of the Year title. He also won in 2009. He now has his "book-end" bronze trophies and the perpetual trophy will once again be on display at The Links at RiverLakes Ranch, Anderson's home course, for the next year.
Anderson finished with 62 points, six more than Chase Goodvin. Bhavik Patel finished third with Ron Kilmer fourth and Manav Shah, the 2010 Player of the Year, fifth. The rest of the final 10 were Fernando sixth, Morin seventh, Mears eighth, Bryan Hogan ninth and Nick Vallejo 10th.
Goodvin, Patel, Shah and Hogan did not compete in the tournament.
Hale Advances to Second Stage of PGA Q-School; Hogan tries this week
Two down and two to go for former Garces High and Cal Berkeley star Stephen Hale.
Hale shot rounds of 66-72-71-72 for a 7-under 281 total in the First Stage of the PGA Tour Q-School Qualifying at Dayton Valley GC in Dayton, Nev., last week. Hale was one of five players who tied for 18th . There were 22 spots and ties up for grabs for advancement into the Second Stage.
It is not known at this time what site Hale will be at for the Second Stage which will take place in mid-November. There are six sites, the closest being Bear Creek GC in Murrieta. If Hale advances he would play in the grueling 108-hole finals in Palm Springs in December for a chance to earn a PGA Tour or Nationwide Tour playing card.
Hale earned his invitation into the First Stage by finishing T-33 in pre-qualifying at the Norman Course at PGA West in La Quinta. Hale shot 76-73-69 for a 2-over 218 total. The cut was at plus-3.
Bryan Hogan, a former Stockdale High and Fresno State player, is competing this week in the First Stage at San Juan Oaks GC in Hollister where there are the same 22 spots and ties up for grabs to advance into the Second Stage.
Hogan participated in the Monterey Open last week at the Old Del Monte golf course and finished equal 21st. Hogan shot 68-71-74 (3-under-par) and earned $525. The opening 68 placed him in second place and he was tied for eighth after the second round.
Three Teams Qualifying for SCGA 4-Ball
Three teams will have a bit of a local advantage when the Bakersfield Country Club hosts the SCGA 4-Ball Championship Nov. 14-15.
D.J. Fernando and his partner Greg Lopez shot a 6-under 65 to finish second in the qualifying at Dove Canyon in Murrieta. Lopez is a former teammate of Fernando's at CSUB and now lives in Irvine.
Also qualifying at Dove Canyon were Bryan Lynn and Bill Frankhouser Jr., who shot 3-under 68 to finish equal 5th. There were 11 spots and there was a playoff at 2-under for the final berths. Just missing out on the playoff were Jeff Campbell and Jeff Acebedo who shot a 1-under 70.
At Rustic Canyon in Ventura, Scott LaBare and Kevin Anderson from LA shot a 4-under 68 to finish equal 4th. There were 13 qualifying spots and it took a 3-under 69. Just missing were Ron Kilmer and Nick Vallejo who shot 70, while Dale Keene and Mark Pavletich shot 72.
SCGA Senior 4-Ball at The Alisal
Local senior amateurs Bob Gibson and Greg Nichols and Hank Hoss and Bob Rensel will compete in the 8th SCGA Senior 4-Ball Championship Nov. 2-3 on the Ranch Course at The Alisal in Solvang.
There is no qualifying for the tournament which is open to SCGA members who are at least 55 years old. There might be one other team to compete as Kent Richardson and Jim Seymour are No.2 on the waiting list as of Monday afternoon.
Kern County Cup
The inaugural Kern County Cup will be played Nov. 19-20 at the Bakersfield Country Club. The KC Cup is the brainchild of local amateur Tony Denesha and will pit an East versus West match-up in a Ryder Cup style format.
The East team will consist of players from Sycamore Canyon, Rio Bravo CC, Foss-Kern River, Bakersfield CC and Haggerty-North Kern. The West will consist of players from Sundale CC, Stockdale CC, RiverLakes Ranch, Seven Oaks CC and Mifflin-Buena Vista. Denesha will captain the East while Scott Anderson will captain the West.
The list of players from each team reads like a current who's who of local players and should provide for some thrilling matches!
Justin Pitts Sponsorship Scramble
Justin Pitts, the former North High and BC star who shot a 57 at Foss-Kern River earlier this year, is holding a tournament to help raise funds for his professional career.
The 4-player scramble will take place on Nov. 12 at Foss-Kern River with an 8 a.m. shotgun start. There will be a tri-tip awards luncheon after the tournament with both gross and net winners and there will be a raffle. It's $125 per player.
Pitts is also accepting any donations, and tee signs are $100 each. Call Pitts at 599-4068. Deadline is Nov. 5.
14th Ed Kuehn Memorial
The 14th Ed Kuehn Memorial Golf Tournament presented by the Bakersfield Breakfast Lions Club, will be this Friday at The Links at RiverLakes Ranch. Anyone wishing to get a late entry, help with sponsorship or volunteer should call 203-5300. The tournament is $100 per player and includes dinner, drinks and a raffle ticket. The tournament benefits children within our community.
Stockdale Girls Advance to So Cal Regionals
The Stockdale High girls golf team had battled with the Frontier High girls team for SWYL and Area supremacy all year, but the Lady Mustangs got the final say over the Lady Titans when they finished second to Clovis West in Division I at the CIF Central Section team championships at Sunnyside CC in Fresno on Monday and advanced to the CIF So Cal Regionals in Murrieta on Nov. 10.
Frontier had reached the So Cal Regionals the last three years (all section titles), but this year's team wasn't as strong from top to bottom. CW won with a best-five score of 424 but Stockdale came in with a 426 for the runner-up spot, just four strokes ahead of the Division II winner Clovis North. Only the top two teams from either Division advance to Regionals. Frontier was third in Division I at 445.
The CIF Central Section Individual championships will be next week.
Chip Shots
The Bakersfield College women's golf team will compete in the WSC Championships this Sunday and Monday on the Olivas Links GC in Ventura. The 'Gades will have to win the event to qualify for So Cal Regionals but BC could have 2-3 players qualify as individuals including Malea Miller who has a chance to finish as the No.1 scoring player in the conference.
Tee to Green appears weekly at Bakersfield.com/sports. You can reach Gautney at rgautney@bak.rr.com.
