High School boys golf: Stevenson three-peats as CCS champions with 13 stroke win
MONTEREY — It’s not like the moment has been too big for Calvin Etcheverry. Rather, he is on a team that arguably has five of the top 15 golfers in the Central Coast Section.
Still, sizzling the first nine holes Tuesday at the CCS golf championships at Laguna Seca Golf Course put an unfamiliar name near the top of the leaderboard for Stevenson.
“Our program gives kids an opportunity that are young to be in these big moments,” Stevenson coach Justin Bates said. “It carries over in subsequent years. Our younger kids showed up today in the biggest way.”
Etcheverry carded a team and career low 3-under 68 Tuesday, leading the Pirates to their third straight CCS title at Laguna Seca, securing a 351-364 win over runner-up Palo Alto.
“I was surprised a little bit with my score,” said Etcheverry, who was the CCS runner-up. “It’s been a rough few weeks. A lot of it was mental. I wasn’t as confident as I needed to be. Today I built that confidence back up.”
Etcheverry’s score was six strokes better than last week’s round at the CCS regionals. As a team, Stevenson shot 11 strokes better, with four players compiling better scores than last week.
Etcheverry wasn’t the only sophomore that came up with perhaps his best effort of the season as Zachary Hawkins fired a 2-under 69, finishing in the top five along with senior Luke Brandler.
“Our goal today was not to try and do too much,” Bates said. “See where the rounds are headed in the first four holes and use that to base your decisions on how to play your holes. I don’t need everyone to shoot 8-under par.”
Owners of 14 consecutive Pacific Coast Athletic League Gabilan Division titles, the Pirates, who were playing at Laguna Seca for a third consecutive week, shot a season best 4-under par as a team.
“What we’ve done the last few years has been super special,” said Brandler, who is headed to Princeton next fall. “I’m super proud of the teams we’ve had. I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
Last year’s medalist at the CCS finals, after setting a course record at Laguna Seca with a 9-under par 62, Brandler settled for fourth overall with Hawkins.
“I’m a little disappointed with how I played personally,” Brandler said. “I made a few mistakes. Ultimately, what I shoot doesn’t matter as much as what the team does. That matters more to me than anything else.”
Brandler, who was the first player in for the Pirates, went back out to catch the later rounds of Hawkins and Etcheverry, becoming a fan of their efforts.
“I’m super happy for all the boys,” Brandler said.
If the Pirates are to achieve their goal of chasing a state title in three weeks at Poppy Hills, they will need another team effort when they compete on May 27 at the Northern California tournament at Berkeley Country Club, where the top three teams advance to state.
“NorCal is a different beast,” Bates said. “It’s a challenging course. We’ve played OK there. It’s hard to replicate what we do at Laguna because we spend so much time there. That’s why we go on the road and play at unfamiliar courses.”
The last time Stevenson tested its mental fortitude at a different venue, it finished third among 60 teams from throughout the United States in Palm Springs.
Bates looked at that tournament as a turning point in the season, as the Pirates put together their best team performance of the year prior to Tuesday’s section finals.
“I’m so happy we have the depth we do,” said Bates, who has guided Stevenson to nine CCS titles in the last 15 years. “We do not have to rely on just the guys at the top. This was truly a team effort.”
Etcheverry, who was the Pirates last golfer out on the course, was consistent with his putting over 18 holes. When he sank a pair of putts for par early in his round, his confidence shot up.
“I was sinking six to 10-foot putts in the first few holes,” Etcheverry said. “I was steady and consistent. I’m on a good track. I don’t need to make too many changes.”
The same can be said for Hawkins, who has seen his score go from a 75 at the league finals to a 73 at last week’s CCS Regionals — to Tuesday’s four-stroke improvement.
“My short game was working,” Hawkins said. “On the front one, I didn’t really mess up much at all. There was a lot of pressure. I wanted to break 70. Now it’s about keeping the good spirits and leaving everything that’s bad behind me.”
Brandler, who was the medalist at the league finals and CCS regionals, will get back in the lab to correct what he called mental mistakes on the course.
“Absolutely, the mistakes are correctable,” Brandler said. “I had a few bad swings. A lot of it is mental. I’ll work all week to make the changes necessary.”
Steven Lai finished with an even par 71 for Stevenson, while Johshveer Chadha finished with a 73, both having improved from the previous week.
Joining the Pirates as an individual qualifier will be Carmel’s Julien Cho, who shot a 2-under 69 to earn one of the four individual spots.
While the Padres finished in a tie for third with St. Ignatius of San Francisco, they lost on a tiebreaker for the third and final team qualifying spot, shooting 367.
Cho, who shot a 76 at last week’s CCS regionals, felt if he shot even par on the back nine, he’d put himself in a position to make a run at one of the individual spots.
“Basically, my game plan today worked well,” Cho said. “I just wanted to be even on the back nine. I knew I could play the front nine well. My swing was on. I was making putts. I think I missed just two fairways.”
Teammate Cullen Pritchard shot a 1-under to finish in a tie for the fourth and final individual qualifying spot, but fell in a one-hole playoff with three other qualifiers.
Following the pair for the Padres were Jonathan Chen (73), Carson Varney (77) and Colin Dean (79). Trinity’s Eric Li (73) and Salinas’ Alex Jarvis (76) competed as individuals.
