Josh McCarthy of Danville captured the 116th Northern California Golf Association Match Play Championship with a 7-and-5 rout of Toby Briggs of England and USF in the scheduled 36-hole final at Spyglass Hill Golf Course www.pebblebeach.com/golf/spyglass-hill-golf-course in Pebble Beach.
The 22-year-old McCarthy, who will be a senior at Pepperdine after playing high school golf at De La Salle High in Concord, became the first medalist to go wire-to-wire since Maverick McNealy of Portola Valley and Stanford in 2015.
“This win is really important to me, everything this event means,” said McCarthy, who finished off the match when he holed out with a pitch shot for birdie on the 31st hole. “I’ve always hoped to win it. Growing up, you see the age groups ahead of you and the guys who’ve won it. It’s something I’ve always aspired to.
“The weather turned bad there. I knew that pars were the goal. I went into that grind it out mentality. That’s really when the match went to my favor. … I’m thinking I’ll possibly turn pro next June. It depends on how the year goes.”
Said Briggs, who will be a junior for the Dons: “Can you complain? This week was about getting in some reps before the (college) season. “I’d wanted to see where my game was.”
McCarthy took charge early by winning five of the first six holes and built a commanding 6-up lead through 24 holes while coasting to victory.
In the semifinals, McCarthy defeated Chase Sienkiewicz of Carmichael, 2 and 1, while Briggs turned back Nicholas Caputo of Hollister, also by a score of 2 and 1.
Former champions of the NCGA Match Play Championship, which was first played in 1903, include Lawson Little Jr., George Von Elm, Charlie Seaver, Bob Rosburg, Tal Smith, Bob Silvestri, John Brodie, Vern Callison, John Lotz, Ron Cerrudo, Vic Loustalot, Roger Maltbie, Kevin Sutherland, Casey Boyns, Randy Haag, Gary Vanier, Spencer Levin, Shintaro Ban and Isaiah Salinda.
For complete results visit, https://www.golfgenius.com/pages/1811665
