Pritchard, Holt fire low rounds

St. Helena's consistency carries the day in South match

>> St. Helena didn’t have the low score in the field, but the Saints’ consistency carried the day as they beat the five other teams that make up the Coastal Mountain Conferen South during a match Wednesday afternoon at Buckingham Golf and Country Club.

With teams using their best four rounds out of six for team scoring purposes, St. Helena’s low four golfers all shot in the 90s as the Saints finished with 385 strokes to 398 for Clear Lake, 401 for Middletown, 432 for Kelseyville, 438 for Credo and 478 for Technology.

Winning on Clear Lake’s home course moved the Saints to 10-5 in the CMC South standings where they trail Middletown (12-3) and Clear Lake (11-4) through the first three matches of the 2021 season.

Miles Dunham led St. Helena with a round of 93 on the par-72 Buckingham course, the fourth-lowest round of the day behind Austin Pritchard’s 82 for Middletown, Cory Holt’s 83 for Kelseyville, and Nathon Lopez’s 90 for Clear Lake.

“St. Helena is balanced,” Kelseyville head coach John Berry said. “That’s kind of a key when you’re keeping your best four rounds of six. Their four low rounds were all in the 90s.”

Clear Lake had two players in the 90s to earn runner-up honors. Besides Lopez, Miles Mattina had a 95.

For Middletown and Kelseyville, only Pritchard and Holt avoided triple-digit final rounds. Holt also had a birdie during his round of 83.

While most of the 18hole match was played under sunny skies with no wind and the temperature in the mid-70s, the final seven holes got a bit on the chilly side as the wind came up and the mercury sunk into the mid-50s.

“It was like a three-club wind,” Berry said.

With the wind at his back on the par-4, 480yard 18th hole, Holt went driver-wedge to card his birdie.

The CMC South tees it up again April 22 at Hidden Valley Lake Golf Course. Play begins with a shotgun start at 1:30 p.m.