In a situation that was not at all unlike San Benito’s run in
2008, when, as a team, it fell two strokes short of advancing to
the next round in CCS but qualified a pair of individuals in
then-freshmen Will Cross and Nathan Winn, the Balers on Tuesday
again fell painstakingly short as a team
— four strokes, to be exact — but still qualified three
individuals to next week’s final, including the now-seniors Cross
(72) and Winn (78), as well as the freshman Ryan Han (77), who
pretty much thought his season was over.
CARMEL VALLEY
As Chris Branon said after Tuesday’s Central Coast Section Regional Championships had wrapped up in Carmel, “You can’t control scores. You can only control your own.”
Staring at the numbers posted on the leaderboard and trying to quickly compute the math in your head can sometimes be as brutal and gut-wrenching as the game itself — the part where you realize you’ve fallen painstakingly short, of course.
But some members of the San Benito High boys’ golf team tried it out anyway on Tuesday, while others were already convinced their team score, and even their individual score, was already well beyond of making the cut.
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Ryan Han, for instance, stood in the back of the room, waiting patiently to pile into the team van and drive back to Hollister, not at all thinking his score would be enough to advance to next week’s CCS Championships.
But like Branon said, “You can’t control scores. You can only control your own.”
In a situation that was not at all unlike San Benito’s run in 2008, when, as a team, it fell two strokes short of advancing to the next round in CCS but qualified a pair of individuals in then-freshmen Will Cross and Nathan Winn, the Balers on Tuesday again fell painstakingly short as a team — four strokes, to be exact — but still qualified three individuals to next week’s final, including the now-seniors Cross (72) and Winn (78), as well as the freshman Han (77), who pretty much thought his season was over.
In other words, San Benito as a whole team didn’t qualify, but half the team did, at least.
“I’m disappointed but I’m excited for the team,” said Branon, head coach of the Balers, following Tuesday’s 18 holes at the Rancho Canada Golf Club in Carmel Valley. “I’m disappointed we couldn’t take the entire team. But I’m happy half of them are going to CCS.”
Beginning with the team, its score of 402 was seven strokes shy of Branon’s “magic number” of 395, which he thought was a realistic goal and a number that would have sent the Balers — as a team — toward next week’s CCS Championships.
In reality, it was just four strokes shy of Palo Alto (398), the fourth and final team to advance past Tuesday’s CCS Regional.
Stevenson, whose five best golfers were positioned in the top six overall on Tuesday, including medalist Scott Riley (68), Skyler Finnell (69), Michael Decker (70), Kyle John (71) and Seb Crampton (71), easily earned first place with a team score of 349, which was 6-under par for the course.
Meanwhile, St. Ignatius with its 375 and Archbishop Mitty with its 383 both qualified as well, while Sacred Heart Prep and San Benito, finishing in fifth and sixth place, respectively, with matching 402s, sat just on the outside looking in, albeit by four strokes each.
Said Branon, noting Tuesday’s windy and cold conditions while playing at the Carmel Valley course, “The West Course is difficult, but we get to do it again.”
While the top four teams advanced to the CCS Championships, so did the eight individuals who weren’t on those teams.
That bit of news brought a smile to Han’s face, if not until the very end when he discovered he had made the cut.
The frosh golfer shot a 6-over 77 (40-37) on Tuesday, and described his 18 holes as “pretty horrible.”
“The main problem was putting,” he said. “Everything lipped out and I couldn’t get the speed on the longer putts.
“I just couldn’t get anything to work.”
Having made the cut of 78, though, Han’s 77 at the end of the day looked a little bit better, and, at the very least, could be a point of motivation at next week’s CCS Championships.
The finals are, after all, held at the very same West Course at the Rancho Canada Golf Club, giving those who were unhappy with Tuesday’s round a second chance.
“Mentally, I’m pretty sure it will be the same approach,” Han said. “But I’m gonna try and play conservative around certain greens that I know are dangerous. Now, I know where not to miss.”
Luckily for Nathan Winn, he didn’t miss — on the back nine, that is. The senior’s 78 (41-37) sat right on the cut, and with only eight individuals qualifying, it came down to a tiebreaker — the best scores on the back nine, with the cut set at 38.
Winn shot a 37 on the back nine.
“I’m just really confident about next week,” he said. “I can only be happy that I made it and do better next time.”
Winn felt like it took the first nine holes to essentially warm up on Tuesday, after he carded a 41 on the front. But recording three birdies on the back nine may have been the difference for the senior, the difference in extending the season another 18 holes.
“On the back nine, I was synching pretty well and that led to some closely hit approach shots, which led to some birdies,” said Winn, who sunk a 15-foot downhill birdie on 18 to finish his round Tuesday.
“I’ve never birdied that hole my whole life and I’ve played here dozens of times,” he added.
Of the 84 golfers who played on Tuesday, seven shot a 78. But only two, Winn being one of them, had enough of a back-nine score to advance to the CCS Championships.
As for the rest of San Benito, Jade Kimura finished with an 87, which placed him fourth on the Balers and 63rd overall, while Jared Lantis rounded out the team’s scoring with an 88, which was 67th overall. Aaron Smith, meanwhile, carded a 91 for San Benito.
Nobody on the Balers fared better than Cross, though, who, like Winn, qualified to the CCS Championships for a third time in four years. His 1-over 72 (36-36) was never really in doubt of not making the cut, as it placed the senior seventh overall on Tuesday.
Still, Cross looked back at the last 18 holes, finding places here and there where he could have improved.
“I could have shot lower,” he said. “I mean, I played good today, but I could have played a lot better.”
Noting a couple of missed two-footers as well as the West Course’s typically “bouncy” greens, Cross felt the 72 he shot was the worst score he could have compiled on Tuesday.
And playing at Rancho Canada in the CCS Regional Championships for the fourth time in his prep career didn’t necessarily help quell his nerves, either.
“There’s still nervousness to me because I still really want it,” he said.
The Central Coast Section Championships will take place Tuesday, May 17, at the West Course of the Rancho Canada Golf Club in Carmel Valley. Tee times are expected to be announced later this week.
Central Coast Section Boys Regional Golf Championships
1, Stevenson, 349; 2, St. Ignatius, 375; 3, Archbishop Mitty, 383; 4, Palo Alto 398; 5, Sacred Heart Prep, 402; 6, San Benito, 402; 7, Carlmont, 411; 8, Leigh, 414; 9, Harbor, 420; 10, Saratoga, 422; 11, Archbishop Riordan, 424.
