Blackhawk CC - Lakeside

Our first COVID-era tournament was a rousing success. It was a beautiful sunny day, without the excessive heat that often befalls the Tri-Valley Area in July. The Lakeside Course was in pristine condition for our sellout field of 24.

The Blackhawk pro shop and staff were very accommodating while following proper COVID safety protocols. Even the metal “shallow” cups were cool in allowing holed putts to sound like they had TV microphones in them. Thanks to our host, Greg Coplans, for arranging the event!

Welcome to four new LJGA members who played in their first event: Jose Espinoza, Greg Trento, Vishnu Ramaswamy and Drew Philip.

The Low Gross competition was heated. Dave Marshall bolted out of the gate with birdies at 1, 3 and 4 and finished the front nine at 2-under. Visions of shooting his age danced in his head! Playing partner and “old” friend, Peter Mankin, was 5 strokes back after 10 holes and was just trying to get some pars and shoot a respectable round. Dave then found a couple of Blackhawk’s nasty hazards on 14 and 17. When the scores were added up on the 18th green, Peter surprisingly eeked out a one shot victory with a 77 to Dave’s 78. It was a good day for Super Seniors and Old Blues, as Peter (Cal ‘70) and Dave (Cal’69) are the longest-tenured members of LJGA with 40+ years each. [By the way, a slightly younger Cal Grad (Cal ‘19) also had a nice day recently at Harding Park… It was also nice of Harding to erect a statue of Sandy Tatum, who was President of Lawyers & Judges in the 60’s or 70’s, before going on to bigger and better accomplishments.]

LJGA Rookie, Jose Espinoza, was tied for the lead on the 18 th tee but found a watery grave in the lake fronting the green, still finishing with a very respectable 79. Mat Yamagata took very aggressive lines off the tees all day. The golf gods bit back a few times and he finished with a disappointing (for him) 80 for 3rd place.

Jose’s fine net 71 was enough to win Low Net. Kelly Park finished second with a net 75 and Stephen Estes took third with a 76. Scores were announced and prizes awarded at a 19 th Hole Zoom gathering the next evening. While it wasn’t quite the same as hanging out after the round at a Clubhouse Bar, the Zoom gathering was great fun, despite Kelly Park’s blatant violation of our strict Zoom dress code. Next time, we plan to invite all members to join in the virtual festivities!

Gross Points:

Rank	Name	Points
1	Peter Mankin	100
2	Dave Marshall	50
3	Mat Yamagata	25

Net Points:

Rank	Name	Points
1	Jose Espinoza	100
2	Kelly Park	50
3	Stephen Estes	25