BUCKINGHAM — Pete Wotherspoon of Buckingham, Jeremiah Valador of Lakeport and recent California State University San Bernardino graduate Matt Wotherspoon teamed up to win the 27th annual Lake County Three Person Golf Championship on Saturday at Buckingham Golf and Country Club.
The Three Person is contested under the scramble format with the best shot of the team used. It normally turns into a birdie-fest. This time around it was undeniably more dramatic as the Wotherspoon-Valador-Wotherspoon team relied upon three eagles to outlast the Hidden Valley Lake trio of Billy Witt, Gene Manning and Ashley Mayhew to win by two strokes. Wotherspoon-Valador-Wotherspoon carded a 14-under-par 58 while Witt-Manning-Mayhew turned in a scorecard of 12-under-par 60.
Every time the Hidden Valley Lake trio seemed to close in on the eventual champions, Wotherspoon-Valador-Wotherspoon nudged ahead with a dynamic eagle. On the par-5 ninth hole, Matt Wotherspoon rolled in a 40-foot putt to give his team a two-stroke lead at the midway point of the tournament. On the par-3 11th hole, Pete Wotherspoon made the shot of the day when he holed out a knocked-down 6-iron from 155 yards away to record the first hole-in-one of his amateur golfing career. Thinking that he would have to overpower the ball to get to the green with a 7-iron, Wotherspoon took the 6-iron out of his bag, swung easy and made sure he took a controlled swing. The ball landed some 25 feet short of the flagstick and ran toward the cup, trickling into the bottom of the hole at the last moment.
Witt-Manning-Mayhew stayed close to the leaders, however, and the Wotherspoon-Valador-Wotherspoon needed a third eagle on the watery par-5 17th hole to put some distance between themselves and the HVL trio, ultimately winning by two strokes.
Witt-Manning-Mayhew were the defending Three Person champions and also won in 2018 and 2020. Witt, a member of the inaugural class of the Lake County Circuit Hall of Fame, was also part of winning Three Person teams in 2009, 2010 and 2014. Pete Wotherspoon was on other winning side of the Three Person in 2019 and 2021 while his younger brother Matt was part of a winning trio while a high school freshman in 2015.
Pete Wotherspoon acknowledged following completion of his round the drama of the moment while making his hole-in-one. He added that Matt Wotherspoon came through at crucial moments with strokes of genius. Pete concluded by saying, "Matt bailed us out throughout the day."
Sharing third place was the team of Kelseyville High School alumni Corey Huber and Max Huff alongside former KHS girls basketball coach Jimmy Hale. They posted a 10-under-par 62. The senior trio of Lake County Circuit Hall of Famer Juan Lopez and teammates Mike Patterson and Stacey Duty, both Kelseyville residents, matched the 10-under-par 62 total.
Senior flight
Lopez-Patterson-Duty prevailed in the senior division of the Three Person for golfers ages 50 and older with their 10-under-par 62. That was good enough for a three stroke margin of victory. Lopez was part of the winning senior flight Three Person team in 2020 and 2022 and Patterson was part of that winning trio in 2020.
Lake County Circuit Hall of Famers Rick Easter and Todd Colbrandt teamed up with Jesse Santana of Kelseyville to finish in second place with a 7-under-par 65. Colbrandt and Easter won the senior Three Person in 2017 and 2019.
Reggie Osburn and Doug Frey of Eureka teamed up with Kelseyville's Rob O'Hara to finish in third place with a 3-under-par 69.
Net flight
In the net flight for golfers with handicaps of 10 and highers, circuit Hall of Famer Bob Jolin teamed up with Terry Norwood and Cindy Forest to shoot a net 49 to win their division by three strokes. Jolin has experienced much success in the Three Person, most recently winning the senior division of this tournament in 2017 and 2020. Norwood is a longtime Lake County circuit veteran while Forest has been a trailblazing female member of the local circuit of late.
Brian Castro, Daniel Been and Nik Lub were three strokes back after posting a net score of 52.
In a tribute to his recently deceased father, NCGA Rules Official Jack Lucich, Jon Lucich of Pacifica put together a Three Person team with longtime teammate Jim DeCristofaro, the superintendent at Adams Springs Golf Course on Cobb Mountain, and Lucich's grandson, Keanon Jardstrom of Clearlake. The Lucich team came in third with a 53.
The trio of Mel O'Meara, Don Bunch, and Huey Lewis, the Mountain Vista softball coach and not the singer, were next with a 57.
Schedule
A total of 33 golfers representing 11 teams entered this year's version of the Lake County Three Person. Next up on the Lake County Circuit's calendar is the County Senior for golfers ages 50 and older. It takes place June 3. The next open event on the local circuit is the Lake County Partners on June 24, a better ball tournament, that also will be held at Buckingham. Entry forms are available by contacting the Buckingham pro shop at (707) 279-4863.
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