Roundup: Brothers Winn compete at junior world golf
tournament
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.
Roundup: Brothers Winn compete at junior world golf tournament
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 until after The Weekend Pinnacle’s press time, 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.
Hollister American 10-11 eliminated from Section 5
The Hollister American 10- and 11-year-old All-Stars were eliminated from Section 5 contention on Sunday when they lost 11-7 to District 59 representative Gilroy National.
Hollister American went 0-2 at the tournament in Saratoga. On Saturday, Hollister American lost its opener to District 39 representative Scotts Valley by a narrow 8-7 score.
“It could have gone either way,” said manager Frank Soto, whose team had bases loaded in the last inning when Scotts Valley’s shortstop ended the threat with a strong defensive play up the middle. “The kids played extremely tough. It was a heckuva game.”
The narrow defeat was followed with an 11-7 loss to Gilroy National, though. Hollister fell behind 3-0, fought back to tie it at 3-all, but Gilroy grabbed a 4-3 edge and never looked back.
“They worked hard from start to finish,” Soto said. “Every obstacle that came in front of them, they overcame it.
“They had a great time and we had a great time coaching.”
San Benito 16-18s fall at state tournament
Playing in the Central California State Tournament last week, the San Benito Babe Ruth 16- to 18-year-old All-Stars went 0-2, dropping games to Hanford and Delano.
San Benito lost its tournament opener to Hanford by an 18-4 margin, and then fell in its first game of the elimination bracket, losing 8-7 to Delano.
Hanford, meanwhile, advanced to the tournament championship before falling to Modesto for the title.
San Benito 15s finish 1-2 at state
The San Benito Babe Ruth 15-year-old All-Stars were eliminated from the state tournament on Sunday with a narrow 5-4 loss to Tulare.
San Benito went 1-2 at the state tournament in Fowler.
The local 15-year-old All-Stars opened the tournament last Friday with another one-run loss – a 7-6 defeat against San Luis Obispo. San Benito was then moved to the elimination bracket on Saturday where it topped Santa Maria 12-0, but followed the comfortable win with its second loss to Tulare.
