NOVATO, Calif. (February 26, 2017) -- Connor Blick made it back-to-back AmateurGolf.com wins with a final-round 74 at Bay Club StoneTree.
Blick shot a final-round 66 in a come-from-behind win at the AGC Silicon Valley Amateur last month. In this case, however, Blick simply had to hold on to a three-shot lead to claim the AGC Wine Country Cup.
The St. Mary's junior figured he just had to beat out the guys in the group to win but ended up needing to hole an eight-foot par putt on the last hole to hold on by one.
"I just kinda of broomed it in," said Blick. "I didn't expect that someone in front of me would have shot 69."
The someone was Alex Park who rode a hot putter to shoot one of only two under-par rounds in windy conditions Sunday afternoon. The other under-par effort was a 1-under 71 by defending champion Daniel Dal Poggetto who finished in a tie for third with three players including: Dylan VanderVeer, Maxwell Ferrari, and Jaskaran Sihota.
NET DIVISION
Lynes Downing Jr. captured the Net Division with back-to-back 69's. The Novato, Calif. native played extremely solid down the stretch, recording seven gross pars and two bogeys on his homeward nine.
Jim Farmer finished runner-up with rounds of 71-75. Spencer Short and last year's champion Doug Nickels shared third at 148.
SENIOR DIVISION
The senior division was all Chris Hyland. The San Francisco, Calif. native backed up his opening round 73 with a 2-over 74. His 147 total was nine better than second place which was shared by Sherman Haggerty and Barry Soicher.
"I pretty much played both rounds with 6 clubs only," said Hyland. "Three wedges, putter, driver and a 19 degree hybrid which I used from 150-220 yards out. I hit a knock down shot on most approaches to take the big numbers out of the equation."
The approach worked well for Hyland, he only had one double in two days on the difficult Johnny Miller designed course.
ROUND ONE STORY
St. Mary junior Connor Blick leads the AmateurGolf.com Wine Country Cup after an opening 3-under 69.
The recent AGC Silicon Valley Amateur champion bogeyed his first hole but quickly bounced back with a birdie on 2nd hole. Three birdies and no bogeys from there gives him one of the best rounds we've seen in awhile at the difficult Bay Club StoneTree.
Blick sits three shots ahead of 14-year-old Ben Soicher. The local kid played well beyond his years with five birdies to five bogeys for an even-par 72. He was 2-over with three to go before a tap-in birdie on the 16th hole was followed by a near ace on No. 17 brought him back to even-par.
In third place from Dublin, CA is Jaskaran Sihota with a 2-over 74. The former CSU Stanislaus and CSU East Bay golfer handled the par 3's exceptionally well in round one with three birdies. He's in third and one shot in front of four players: Alex Park, Grant Fairbairn, Dylan VanderVeer, and Maxwell Ferrari.
SENIOR DIVISION
After finishing third in the Net division last year, Chris Hyland decided try his luck at winning the Senior division. He's well on his way after a 1-over 73. The San Francisco native had three birdies and four bogeys on the day.
Mill Valley native Barry Soicher sits tied for second with defending champion Sherman Haggerty after rounds of 7-over 79. Soicher's highlight of the day was a 100-yard wedge shot that he almost holed on the par-5 12th. Dennis Martin of Oakland, CA sits in fourth after an 80.
NET DIVISION
2016 Tour Championship winner Calvin Knop and Lynes Downing Jr. share the lead in the net division after rounds of 3-under 69. Knop's round included three birdies, one of which came by a near hole-in-one in the par-3 17th. Downing's round was much more steady, making a lot of pars and never worse than a bogey.
The pair will take a two-shot lead over Petaluma's Jesse White and Novato's Jim Farmer.
NOTES
Chad Solter aced the 186-yard par-3 3rd hole with a six-iron that landed six inches behind the hole and spun back in. Though he couldn't see it go in, Solter had a feeling something special happen after watching the shot take off all over the pin the whole way. Amazingly, Solter played the par 3's 1-2-3-4 for his round.
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ABOUT THE
AGC Wine Country Cup
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The Original Wine Country Cup is back! After
taking
a break for three years, we are returning to
one of
the first three courses to host the
AmateurGolf.com
Winter Tour. The 2021 edition will be a 36-hole
medal play event on Monday and Tuesday
March15
and 16. We'll offer Scratch, Senior Scratch, and
Net divisions. Mid-Amateur (age 25+) players
and
Super-Seniors (65+) will be awarded a bonus
and
separate trophy if there are at least 6 of each.
And
women are welcome to play.
Our
host
club, Bay Clubs StoneTree, is one of Northern
California's premier private courses.
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