Beau Forest of Redding held on to win the Amateur Golf.com Winter Invitational presented by Callaway Golf by one stroke over Nate Jetter of Pleasant Hill and Kristian Bressum of Denmark on the South Course at Corica Park Golf Complex in Alameda.
Forest, who played golf at University of the Pacific in Stockton, took the lead with an eagle on the 15th hole in round one and despite two late bogeys in round two claimed the victory with a score of 68-71—139, 5-under-par.
“My ball-striking was really good,” said Forest, who also made an eagle on his first hole of the tournament. “I think that’s the best I’ve hit it in a while, so that helped. I just tried to get the ball down there as far as I could to leave a shorter club in. I played aggressively on the par-5s because they’re all fairly open. That was the game plan.
“This is probably the third or fourth year I’ve played in this tournament, so it’s the sixth or eighth time I’ve played the course. Knowing where to hit it helps a lot out here, especially with the greens to know the angles.”
Jetter, who played at San Jose State, put pressure on Forest by shooting 74-66—140 to tie for second with Bressum, a freshman at St. Mary’s College in Moraga, who finished at 71-69—140.
Griffin Long of Davis totaled 72-69—141 to tie for fourth with Jake Bettencourt of Clovis, who also finished at 72-69—141, Luke Dugger of Davis at 71-70—141 and Andy Moren of Turlock at 69-72—141.
Leonardo Vieira of San Leandro was eighth at 69-73—142, while Matthew Lin of Orinda shot 75-68—143 to tie for ninth with Jake Aberle of Lodi, who wound up at 73-70-143, Justin Hopkins of Danville, who finished at 70-73—143, and Brendon Choe of Orinda, who came in at 69-74—143.
Craig Miyamoto of Sacramento carded a score of 74-73—147, 2-over, to tie for first in the Senior Division with Gomer Piercy of Aptos, who shot 72-75—147, and Miyamoto claimed the title with a par on the second playoff hole.
“I tried to remain present,” said Miyamoto, who bounced back after making two early bogeys in the final round. “I made a couple birdies after that and it gave me a little more confidence.”
Daniel O’Connor of San Francisco totaled 75-73—148 to tie for third with Michael Staskus of Los Gatos, who finished at 74-74—148, and Jim Williams of Orinda was solo fifth at 75-74—149, while Bob LeDoux of Anderson carded a score of 77-75—152 to tie for sixth with Bobby Davis of Buckeye, Ariz., who finished at 76-76—152.
Dan Young of Redwood City was eighth at 79-74—153, while Steve Donnelly of Salinas totaled 78-77—155 to tie for ninth with Tony Ralph of Sunnyvale, who came in at 71-84—155.
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