Corey Pereira of Cameron Park capped a strong summer by sinking a 25-foot birdie putt on the final hole to beat Jonathan De Los Reyes by two strokes in the California State Fair Open on the Alister MacKenzie Course at Haggin Oaks Golf Complex in Sacramento.
Pereira, a sophomore at the University of Washington who won the 48th Pacific Coast Amateur in July at Pine Canyon Golf Club in Flagstaff, Ariz., posted scores of 65-68-67–200, 16-under-par.
“I knew I had to stay patient, stay in the moment and that it would come down to putting,” said the 19-year-old Pereira, a graduate of Ponderosa High. “You have to make clutch putts. I really learned about patience today and now my confidence is high.”
De Los Reyes, a junior at St. Mary’s from Antioch who captured the Alameda Commuters in May, finished at 66-66-70–202, including a 30-foot eagle putt on the 17th to tie Pereira for the lead before making a bogey on the final hole.
K.K. Limbhasut of Loma Linda was third at 65-70-69–204, while Amol Mahol of San Francisco shot 69-71-65–205 to tie for fourth with Brandon Baumgarten of Granite Bay, who came in at 69-67-69–205.
