Preston Gomersall had a great start to his spring break from Santa Barbara High School, winning the 36-hole Goleta City Championship at Glen Annie Golf Club on Sunday.
Gomersall, 16, a junior and a member of the Dons’ golf team, went wire-to-wire to take the championship flight. He is the youngest winner since Carpinteria’s Johnny Ruiz won at age 17 in 2011.
Gomersall posted a 3-under par 68 in Saturday’s first round and shot a 74 on Sunday for an even-par 142. He finished three strokes ahead of Ricky Castillo, a sophomore at Valencia High who has committed to Florida. Castillo shot 70-75-145.
“It’s a good feeling to have got myself into contention and to have found a way to turn it into a win, particularly against some quality opponents,” Gomersall said. “The course was demanding today, and you really had to understand where to land the ball and what the best approach to the greens might be.
“It’s all about keeping your head together and knowing what you’re capable of. There’s a lot of preparation that has gone into creating this result.”
Third place was shared by Parama Chansue, a native of Thailand (74-72-146), and San Luis Obispo’s Andrew Eppright (71-75-146), while Santa Barbara’s Brandon Gama (77-71) and Jonny Hogan (71-77) of Solvang tied for fifth at 148.
In the Men’s Net Flight, Michael Walker took top honors after sharing the first-round lead with Michael Blackwell. Walker shot 69-67-135.
Gabby Minier of Dos Pueblos High won the Women’s Division title (79-85-164).
In the first round, Gomersall fired three straight birdies on Nos. 13 (par 4), 14 (par 5) and 15 (par 4) to open up a lead he would never relinquish.
He started the second day with a double bogey on No. 1 but settled down and finished the front nine at two over. Castillo birdied Nos. 15 and 16 to get to within two shots, but he bogeyed No. 17 and Gomersall made pars on the final four holes to secure the win. He had just one bogey on the back nine.
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.