Fernandez fires 68, lifting Stockdale to season-low round to win team title
| Monday, May 11 2009 11:29 PM
Last Updated Monday, May 11 2009 11:29 PM
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Henry A. Barrios / The Californian Stockdale High's Pete Fernandez keeps an eye on his putt on the 18th green while competing in the area golf tournament at Kern River Golf Course.
Henry A. Barrios / The Californian Centennial's Manav Shah watches his put on the 18th at Kern River Golf Course as he competes in the area golf tournament Monday.
Henry A. Barrios / The Californian Garces High's Gunner Kirschenmann watches his ball drop onto the 18th green while competing in the area golf tournament.
Henry A. Barrios / The Californian The ball pops up from Highland High's Matt Hammons' club as he competes in the area golf tournament Monday.
Monday was the official start of the high school boys golf Peteseason.
Err, that's postseason.
It's easy to get confused, though, after Stockdale junior Pete Fernandez shot a 2-under-par 68 on Monday at Foss-Kern River Golf Course to win the Central Section South Area tournament.
It was Fernandez, remember, who went on a postseason tear last year, one that ended with a runner-up finish at the state tournament.
"There's a little more pressure, if you want to throw it in," Fernandez said. "But really, it's no difference. It's another round; you've still got to go shot to shot."
Displaying the steady golf that got him so far last year, Fernandez made only two bogeys and four birdies on a short, narrow Kern River course where he's hit 30 of the past 36 greens he's played there.
That's a sign that his driver is improving -- he struggled with it earlier this season but shortened his backswing and made a few other adjustments in the past few weeks.
"Right now, things are starting to come together," Fernandez said.
The same could be said for Stockdale's team, which shot a season-low 366 to successfully defend its area team title. Alex Marina chipped in for an eagle on No. 18 to shoot 71 and tie for second place with Liberty's Richie Gilkey and Centennial's Manav Shah.
Bryce Keene shot 75 and even sixth man Daniel King -- whom the Mustangs call "Dirtbag" because of his "non-country club" background and big, bushy sideburns -- got in on the act with a 74.
The secret to the Mustangs' low round, coach Jim Keene said, was increased focus on Kern River's challenging par-3 holes.
"We didn't really have a good feel the last time we played here," Jim Keene said. "We felt like putting and chipping and par 3s were the problem, so we worked all week on it, and the kids stepped up."
Centennial finished second with a 374, led by Shah's 71 and Jeremy Choi's 73.
"I don't think our top players played as well as they could," Hawks coach Andy Muro said, "but we always have somebody picking us up. All six guys were in the 70s, and that's great. We played well, but we can play better."
Garces shot 380, exactly what it needed to join Stockdale and Centennial at next Tuesday's team section championships at Sundale Country Club in Fresno.
Rams coach Keith Perkins knew he needed a 79 or better from sixth man Rito Guzman to hit the magic 380, but he waited until Guzman finished his final hole to ask him the score.
Guzman birdied, then sauntered over to Perkins. The verdict? Exactly a 79.
"Just trying to give me a few more gray hairs than I want," Perkins said.
Garces had been third in the SEYL pecking order throughout the year but surprised Liberty (384) and league champion Highland, which shot a 389 on its home course.
Bakersfield Christian shot a 411 to edge Frontier (420) for the Division II title. The Eagles also will go to the section tourney.
The top 15 individuals, plus ties, also advanced to the individual section finals May 28 at Seven Oaks Country Club. Outside of the top four, that group was: Liberty's Rufie Fessler and Frontier's Chase Goodvin (72s); Garces' Gunner Kirschemann, Stephen Harmer and Riley Scott, Liberty's Max Schmidt and Choi (73s); King and East's Jake Jacobus (74s); and Ridgeview's Matt Wisniewski, Stockdale's Bryce Keene and Bakersfield's Connor Huser.
Notably absent from that group was defending area champion Joseph Choi, a Centennial sophomore who shot 76 and missed the cut by a stroke, and any members of Highland's SEYL champions (the best was James Phillips' 76).
