Consistency is a beautiful thing. Palo Alto had four players shoot in the 70s at Tuesday’s Central Coast Section boys golf First Regional at Rancho Canada West Golf Club in Carmel. The Vikings’ five-player total of 398 earned them the fourth and final qualifying spot for next Tuesday’s CCS championship, back at Rancho Canada West GC. It is the second time the Vikings had qualified for the CCS championship under fifth-year coach Doyle Knight.
“It was cold and windy, but not too windy,” Knight said. “It was an overcast day in the morning.”
Michael Yuan shot a 5-over 76 to pace the Vikings. Sam Niethammer and Grant Raffel each carded a 77, while sophomore Mathias Schmutz shot a 79. Toby Weber, filling in for Cathy Rong, shot an 89 to round out the Vikings’ scoring. Freshman Annie Chen, playing with a sore wrist, shot a 90.
“Schmutz was 6 over after four holes,” Knight said. “After his round, he came towards with his fist pumped. We wondered what he was excited about, then he told us he had a 79. Then we got all fired up. This is a good group of kids.”
Sacred Heart Prep-Atherton totaled a 402, tying for fifth with San Benito-Hollister. The Gators’ Bradley Knox, however, qualified as an individual. Knox was one of seven players to card a 78, which forced a playoff to determine the top eight individuals not qualifying with a team. Other Gators’ scores: Kevin Knox (78), Spencer Clark (79), J.P. Ertola (82), Andrew Vetter (85) and Spencer Lamb (88).
Also not qualifying as a team was Carlmont-Belmont, which totaled 411 for seventh place. The Scots’ Luke Li and Patrick just missed out on qualifying as individuals, both shooting a 78. Other Scots’ scores: Ryan Tierney (82), Garrett Allen (86), Jacob Rudger (87) and Andrew Witt (89).
Colton Bares of Pinewood-Los Altos Hills and Jarvis Sill of Woodside each shot a 78, barely missing the cut. Serra-San Mateo’s Jack Ryan carded an 86.
The CCS Second Regional is today at Rancho Canada West GC.
Email John Reid at jreid@dailynewsgroup.com.
