San Benito juniors Nathan Winn and Will Cross will live to see
another 18 holes of golf after the Baler duo carded qualifying
scores of 71 and 76, respectively, during Monday’s Central Coast
Section Regional I Championships at Carmel’s Rancho Canada Golf
Club.
CARMEL
San Benito juniors Nathan Winn and Will Cross will live to see another 18 holes of golf after the Baler duo carded qualifying scores of 71 and 76, respectively, during Monday’s Central Coast Section Regional I Championships at Carmel’s Rancho Canada Golf Club.
Winn anchored the Baler boys’ team by shooting a par 71 on the West Course to finish second overall out of some 82 golfers, and just one stroke shy of medalist Jay Burlison (70) of Stevenson.
“His game plan was to be aggressive and be competitive,” San Benito head coach Chris Branon said. “Today, he was aggressive with his swing.”
It was a strong sign for Winn, who suffered a hand injury before this season and recently recorded an 85 during last week’s Tri-County Athletic League Championships, held at the Salinas Fairways Golf Course.
Meanwhile, Cross had an “abnormal” day on the putting greens when he had five 3-putts, but the San Benito junior didn’t let his rough short game influence his final score of 76.
“Will (Cross) hit the ball very good today,” Branon said. “With that score, he obviously had to hit the ball very good.”
Both Winn and Cross made the cut of 79 and will advance to next week’s CCS Sectional Championships as a result, scheduled to be held again at the West Course in Carmel on Tuesday.
It will be a return, of sorts, for the two San Benito golfers, each of whom qualified to Sectionals as freshmen but fell short last season as sophomores.
Monday’s Regionals marked the end of the season for the rest of the San Benito boys golf team, though, which compiled a team score of 419 to finish eighth out of 11 teams.
Only the top four teams, which included Stevenson (372), St. Francis (386), St. Ignatius (386) and Menlo (391), advanced to Sectionals from Monday’s round.
“Our team goal was 400,” Branon said. “We obviously didn’t play as a team as good as we could have.
“I thought with the conditions, we could have changed a few numbers.”
Only Dalton Destefanis managed to find a score in the 80s when he shot an 88, which was a strong performance considering the situation. Destefanis injured his shoulder on the second hole Monday, but found a way to finish 18, nevertheless.
“A little too much turf,” Branon said of the injury. “But he stayed with it and did score for the team.”
Meanwhile, Jade Kimura (91), Taylor Weatherly (93) and Tony Ramos (95) rounded out the Balers on Monday, with Weatherly’s round being the final of his prep career. He is the only senior on San Benito this season.
“He had a phenomenal year with a lot of things to look back on,” Branon said. “I know he wanted to do better in his last tournament, but he has a lot to look forward to.
“And for the rest of them, this was a great experience. I’m already looking forward to next year.”
