One year after winning the Bill Dougherty Memorial Junior Golf
Tournament, where he carded a 4-under 68 (34-34) at the Yolo Fliers
Club and defeated not only the 35 other golfers in his 16- to
17-year-old age division, but also the other 135 golfers in the
tournament, Will Cross found the top of the scoreboard once again
at the premier event through the Junior Golf Association of
Northern California.
HOLLISTER
The game of golf can often have an unexpected feel from round to round, with different conditions normally providing different results.
But for Will Cross, the incoming senior at San Benito High School has found a nice niche in Woodland, and a bit of a home-away-from-home at the Yolo Fliers Golf and Country Club.
One year after winning the Bill Dougherty Memorial Junior Golf Tournament, where he carded a 4-under 68 (34-34) at the Yolo Fliers Club and defeated not only the 35 other golfers in his 16- to 17-year-old age division, but also the other 135 golfers in the tournament, Cross found the top of the scoreboard once again at the premier event through the Junior Golf Association of Northern California.
Topping the 37 other golfers in his age division, and the 120 other golfers in the tournament as well, Cross recorded a 7-under 65 (33-32) at the Bill Dougherty Memorial to take first place on July 9, defeating his nearest competitors by four strokes.
And again, for the second straight year, the junior golfer couldn’t help but comment on the greens at the Woodland club.
“The greens are really nice,” said Cross, who is also a member of the San Benito High boys golf team. “It’s kind of a short course, and I’m a decent ball-striker. But I played pretty good because I gave myself opportunities to make putts.
“The greens are really nice and it’s a lot easier to make putts.”
The junior golfer has had a busy offseason this summer. Since his July 9 victory at the Yolo Fliers Club, Cross finished fifth with a 146 (72-74) in the Charlie Culver Junior Masters at the Salinas Golf and Country Club, and finished runner-up with a 3-under 69 in the Jim Donahue/Salinas City Junior tournament at Salinas Fairways on July 14, placing just behind Palma’s Matt Ogden (68).
This past week, Cross qualified to the championship flight of the San Francisco Junior after qualifying with a 3-over 71 on Tuesday. Results from the championship flight were not official at publication, however.
Winn brothers compete at Junior World Golf Championships
Hollister’s Nathan Winn recorded a 30-over 246 (81-82-83) over 54 holes last week at Torrey Pines Golf Course and younger brother Travis Winn carded an 18-over 234 (76-78-80) at Riverwalk Golf Club as part of the exclusive 2010 Callaway Golf Junior World Golf Championships in the San Diego area.
Nathan, who competed in the 15- to 17-year-old age division, fell short of making the fourth-round cut at Torrey Pines, which was host to the 2008 U.S. Open, while Travis, who competed in the 13- to 14-year-old age division, finished tied for 75th out of more than 150 golfers at Riverwalk.
Meanwhile, Canada’s Adam Svensson won the 15-17 age bracket with a 6-under 282 (73-71-66-72), and India’s Viraat Badhwar earned the 13-14 division title with an 8-under 208 (69-71-68).
The two Hollister brothers each recorded qualifying scores in recent weeks to reach the elite tournament, which represented the pinnacle of their junior golf resumes.
For Nathan, the incoming senior at San Benito High carded a 1-under 71 at Mountain View’s Shoreline Golf Links in late June to advance to the tournament at Torrey Pines, while Travis, who will enter the eighth grade at Sacred Heart, recorded a 3-under 69.
The Junior World Golf Championships includes six age divisions and welcomes more than 1,000 golfers from more than 40 different countries, and includes past winners like Ernie Els, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Craig Stadler, Anthony Kim, David Toms, Notah Begay III, Nick Price, Corey Pavin and Lorena Ochoa.
