Will Cross leads the San Benito boys golf team with 76, but
falls short of the individual cut to the CCS Championships by a
single stroke
CARMEL VALLEY
And some people wonder why the game of golf is a frustrating sport.
In a tightly contested, highly congested Central Coast Section Regional on Tuesday at the Rancho Canada Golf Club in Carmel Valley, many golfers were left wondering what could have been if only they birdied the first hole, shot par on the last, didn’t land in the bunker on one hole, didn’t plant it behind a tree on another.
Second guessing tends to ensue when just a stroke or two would have made a world of difference.
“Maybe putting I think was something we struggled with together as a team,” said San Benito head coach Reggie Synegal, who marshaled the 16th hole on Tuesday. “Just putting the ball into the hole.
“But everyone played on the same turf. We should have been able to figure it out as a team. We should have been able to figure it out, but we couldn’t, I guess.”
Falling just two strokes short of making the cut at last year’s CCS Regional with a 397, the San Benito High boys golf team compiled a 404 on Tuesday to finish 10th overall among 11 teams.
St. Francis (371), Menlo-Atherton (379), Palo Alto (385) and Carmel (390) took the top four spots to advance to next week’s CCS Championships, while the top eight individuals, with the cut set at 75, advanced to the final round next week as well.
Noah Sheikh of St. Francis medaled the round with a 3-under 68 on the West Course.
Although the lowest scores were slightly higher compared to last year, the majority of the scores were strong yet tightly packed, with half of the 83 golfers carding a 79 or lower. Considering a team score of 385 was first place last year, and third this year, Tuesday’s Regional left many strong scores on the outside looking in.
San Benito’s Will Cross, who was 20th overall after shooting a 76 (37-39), was one of the many.
“I had some high standards and I didn’t achieve them,” he said. “I feel like I kind of took it for granted. There were a couple of holes where I thought I would have made birdie and I ended up making bogey. I just kind of took it for granted.
“Instead of playing the hole, I kind of let it play me.”
Despite missing the individual cut by a single stroke, Cross, who advanced to the CCS Championships last year as an individual, said he wasn’t disappointed. After shooting a 76, he didn’t feel he even had a chance.
“I didn’t think I was going to make it,” he said. “I had the mindset that I wasn’t going to make it.”
Cross, only a sophomore, will return next season alongside teammate Nathan Winn, who shot a 77 at the par-71 West Course.
A light misting rain fell early in the morning on Tuesday – each San Benito golfer had teed off by 9:28 a.m. – and some felt the greens were inconsistent as a result.
Winn, meanwhile, felt the greens were just flat-out bumpy.
“The greens were horrible, just ridiculous,” said Winn, who also qualified to the CCS Championships as an individual last year. “I had the most putts I’ve ever had in probably two years.”
Senior ‘Baler Marcus Synegal, who shot an 81, said the course was good, but he too had difficulty putting.
“I drove the ball good. I just couldn’t putt,” he said. “A lot of people had a tough time on the green – a lot of subtle breaks that were tough to see.”
“I’m disappointed. I feel like we could have done a lot better as a team. I’m not excited that the season is over.”
The ‘Balers will be losing the services of Synegal next year, as well as fellow seniors Derell Aton, Joey Amaral and Blake Stephens.
Aton carded an 83 Tuesday at the West Course, while Stephens’ 87 and Amaral’s 90 rounded out the team.
“I’m not disappointed at all,” Coach Synegal said afterward. “I know a few of them will be disappointed because they weren’t in the top four. But that’s the way it goes sometimes.
“I felt like we had a great season, but that’s the way it goes.”
