With a qualifying score set at 72, San Benito’s Nathan Winn
carded a 77 (38-39) to finish 38th, while Will Cross recorded a 73
(36-37) to place 14th at the Central Coast Section Boys Golf
Championships on Tuesday at Rancho Canada Golf Club in Carmel
Valley.
CARMEL VALLEY
By the time Will Cross reached the back nine on Tuesday, the chipping on his approach shot had improved.
But it was the front nine where he had struggled.
“On the front, all my approach shots were terrible,” said the San Benito junior following Tuesday’s round at the Central Coast Section Boys Golf Championships in Carmel Valley.
Cross and teammate Nathan Winn were San Benito’s lone representatives at the West Course of the Rancho Canada Golf Club, where some 64 golfers were vying for a top score and a bid into next week’s Nor Cal tournament in Patterson.
But both Cross and Winn fell just short.
With a qualifying score set at 72, Winn carded a 77 (38-39) to finish 38th, while Cross recorded a 73 (36-37) to place 14th, despite his struggles inside 140 yards.
“I was putting good, but I wasn’t chipping good at all,” Cross said. “On the back nine, I was chipping good because I was getting used to missing so many greens (on the front).”
Inconsistencies plagued Winn’s 18 holes, too, as he called it one of biggest “rollercoaster” rounds he can remember. The San Benito junior tallied six bogeys, four birdies and two double-bogeys.
“I felt like I would have come out a lot better than that,” Winn said. “I just felt like I could make stuff happen, but I didn’t have the swing to do it. The swing wasn’t there.”
Winn’s swing is what may have led to the up-and-down round. He said his game from approximately 120 yards was solid, but anything inside of that mark — from the 8-iron on up — is where his game began to go down.
“But I hung in there when I found out I wasn’t going to have it today,” Winn said.
The round wasn’t a loss by any means, however. Winn still carded four birdies over 18 holes, which was something he struggled with this season.
The junior golfer suffered a hand injury at the beginning of the year, which he said affected his game early on in the season. But during last week’s CCS Regional I at Rancho Canada, Winn carded one of his best rounds of the year with a par 71.
“I finally felt like last week that I came to play,” Winn said. “Last week I felt like I was more in control of my swing and I wasn’t having to think about it as much.
“Things happened more easily.”
Cross, meanwhile, carded a 76 at last week’s Regional I, as both qualified to Tuesday’s sectional championship for the second time in three years — each advanced to the year-end tournament as freshmen.
“Freshmen year, I didn’t know what to expect,” Cross said. “I just felt really positive going into today.”
Cross finished just two strokes off the cut after recording five bogeys and three birdies on Tuesday. Perhaps more importantly, he had just one 3-putt — one week after he had five 3-putts at Rancho Canada.
Menlo’s Patrick Grimes, meanwhile, medaled Tuesday’s round with a 7-under 64, while Bellarmine’s Johnny Castles (70), Sacred Heart Prep’s Kevin Knox (71) and Carmel’s Evan McCloud (72) all advanced to Nor Cals as individuals. Stevenson, St. Francis and Tri-County Athletic League rival Palma advanced to Nor Cals as well, but in the team portion.
Winn and Cross still have one more year to further advance their spring seasons, though, and perhaps make-up the few strokes that separate them from a bid to the state tournament.
“I played better on the back,” Cross said, “but I put myself in a bad position because I did so bad on the front.
“It’s always a little easier if you play better on the front nine. It makes it so much easier.”
