A 30 foot birdie putt on the 17th hole lifted Jake West of Weed to a one-stroke victory at the 39th Annual Top of the Bay Junior Golf Classic in Santa Rosa on July 7.
West was in a three-way tie for second place and four strokes off the lead after the tournament’s first round on July 6, when he shot a two-over par 74 at Santa Rosa Country Club.
The second round was played at Windsor Golf Club the following day, and West played in the same group with the leader and one of the players he was tied with.
By the 9th hole, West had moved into the lead. He was three under-par going into the 15th hole, but made double-bogey and bogey to fall back to even par.
Then he rolled in a 30 foot birdie putt on 17 and parred the 18th to finish with a score of 71 for the day, one under par 145 for the tournament.
West, who has won Shasta Cascade League MVP honors during his first three years on the Weed High School golf team, was accompanied during the tournament by WHS coach Steve Neel.
West said he was excited and happy that coach Neel could be there with him. Neel kept contact with West’s family throughout the two-day tournament via text messaging, relaying play by plays and West’s position in the standings.
West continues his golf tournaments this month. He was scheduled to play yesterday and today in Sacramento. He’ll then travel to Cal Berkeley on the 19th and 20th to tour the campus and talk with the golf coach before heading to Fresno to play in a qualifier for the US Amateur.
