Mike Rowley of San Luis Obispo couldn’t remember the last time he won a big tournament, but there he was on top of the leaderboard at the finish of the 58th Northern California Golf Association Senior Championship at Poppy Hills Golf Course https://poppyhillsgolf.com in Pebble Beach.
The 57-year-old Rowley, CEO of Straight Down Clothing, tapped in for a birdie on the final hole to win by one stroke over Tony Padilla of Sacramento, who won the tournament two years ago.
“I won our Straight Down Classic in 2017, but other than that I don’t know,” Rowley said. “It feels great to get the monkey off my back. I really swung the club well each day. I’m very humbled.”
Rowley, who hit his 3-wood approach shot from 233 yards to within 10 feet of the hole on the par-5 18th to set up his winning birdie, posted a winning score of 73-70-68—211, 2-under-par, while Padilla finished at 69-74—69—212.
Minutes earlier, Padilla’s second shot hit the cup and bounced out before he tapped in for an eagle.
“I tried,” said Padilla, a basketball referee who has officiated in the NCAA Final Four. “I lost my timing in the middle of the round. Then I just kind of decided that I had to make some good shots, and I did.”
Mark Morgan of Shingle Springs, the 2017 California Senior Amateur champion, shot 73-70-70—213 to tie for third with Bobby Schaeffer of Pebble Beach, who finished at 71-74-68—213, while Casey Boyns of Monterey, who won this event in 2015 and 2016, totaled 72-74-70—216 to tie for fifth with defending and three-time champion Jim Knoll of Sunnyvale, who wound up at 75-72-69—216.
Randy Haag of Orinda, the 36-hole leader, carded a score of 69-73-78—220 to tie for seventh with Scott Anderson of Danville, who wound up at 76-74-70—220, while Terry Foreman of Brentwood shot 78-71-72—221 to tie for ninth with Mike Staskus of Los Altos, who came in at 75-75-71—221.
Gary Vanier of Pleasant Hill, the 2009 SCGA Senior champ, finished 11th at 77-73-72—222.
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