Bennett Reichard of San Marcos rose to the occasion in the final round of the Channel League Individual Golf Championship on Tuesday at Soule Park in Ojai.
Reichard shot a 3-under par 69 and won the championship with a two-day total 143.
“Winning this tournament with a field of incredible players is a huge honor and feels great after working really hard this season,” Reichard said. “I am very proud of my team this year and I’m very excited for CIF on May 16th.”
Reichard and the next six place finishers qualify for the CIF-Southern Section Individual Championships. First-round leader Brandon Crane followed his 71 with a 75 and finished second at 146. Chad Visser of San Marcos (76-72—146), Andres Fairbairn of Dos Pueblos (75-73—148), Buena’s James Rodriguez (79-71—150), Sam Metzger of San Marcos (73-79—152) and Zach Steinberger of Dos Pueblos (76-78—154) round out the qualifiers.
The Soule Park course played tough for all the players.
“There were only three under-par rounds these past two days, but Bennett having the lowest round of the tournament was certainly helpful today,” San Marcos coach Aaron Solis said. “His physical and mental game has been improving with each round and I am proud of him finding a way to put it all together today.”
Channel League Individual Championships
At par 72 Soule Park GC
top 7 players qualify for CIF-SS Individual Championships
top 6 players are first team All-Channel League
Last Name, First Name, School, Scores
Reichard Bennett, San Marcos 74-69 —143
Crane Brandon, Santa Barbara 71-75— 146
Visser Chad, San Marcos 76-72 —148
Fairbairn Andres, Dos Pueblos 75-73— 148
Rodriguez James, Buena 79-71 —150
Metzger Sam, San Marcos 73-79 —152
Steinberger Zach, Dos Pueblos 76-78 —154
Stone Isaac, Santa Barbara 74-82 — 156
Teron Mason, Buena 78-79 —157
Pigatti Joseph, Dos Pueblos 77-80 —157
Quezada Bryce, San Marcos 80-79 —159
Gomersall Preston, Santa Barbara 79-82 —161
Coombs Austin, Santa Barbara 79-84 —163
Benedictus Mikha, Dos Pueblos 82-84 —166
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.