Patton is medalist at 70; Vaqueros post first WSC victory

Brett Patton shot a season-best, 2-under 70 to earn medalist honors on Monday and Jonny Hogan was second at 71, leading SBCC to its first WSC men's golf victory at River Ridge GC in Oxnard. Patton, a sophomore from Dos Pueblos High, helped the Vaqueros to a one-stroke win (369-370) over previously unbeaten Canyons in WSC No. 4 on the Victoria Lakes Course.

"I hit a lot of greens today," said Patton, who nearly had an albatross (a 2 on a par-5) on the 525-yard fourth hole. "My putts weren't exactly going in but I didn't three-putt all day, so I kept it relatively steady."

Patton's second shot from 225 yards lipped out on the fourth hole and he tapped in for eagle.

"We're starting to connect as a team," he added. "Things are going in the right direction."

Hogan, a four-time medalist this year, has shot par or better in all seven of his rounds. He had four birdies and three bogeys on Monday.

The Vaqueros, 50-6 on the season, had four seconds and a third in their previous five tourneys.

"We stayed disciplined and focused and we reached our goal today," said Hogan. "I started out with a couple mistakes at the start but I hung in there, played my game and focused on one shot at a time."

All six Vaqueros shot 79 or better with Manny Manzone and Joakim Flinck carding 75s. No. 6 player Jake Ledbetter added a 78 and he's shot 76, 73 and 78 in his last three rounds. The Vaqueros totaled 9-over 369, missing their season best by 2 strokes.

"We're really trying to focus on the team this year and getting all our scores together," added Hogan. "I've been challenging everyone on the team and they finally stepped up and made it happen."

Ventura was third in the eight-team field at 375 and Glendale was fourth at 386. Canyons leads the WSC at 27-1, followed by the Vaqueros (25-3), Ventura (16-12) and Glendale (16-12).

"We've been knocking at the door for a good while this season and it feels good to finally win," said coach Chuck Melendez. "But like I've been telling you all season, I don't think we played to our capabilities. The whole team needs to play well for us to have a chance at the end. Today feels good but I know we're capable of a lot more."

The Vaqueros will play in the Southern Cal Preview on Monday at Olivas Park in Ventura, starting at 9 a.m.

WSC No. 4
At par-72 River Ridge GC
Victoria Lakes Course
 Team -- 1, SBCC 369 (9 over). 2, Canyons 370. 3, Ventura 375. 4, Glendale 386. 5, Bakersfield 399 (won tiebreaker). 6, Citrus 399. 7, Hancock 409. 8, Antelope Valley 416.
 Medalist – 1, Brett Patton, SBCC, 70. 2 (tie), Jonny Hogan, SBCC, 71; Emil Ozeke, Ventura, 71. 4, Jeremy Choi, Bakersfield, 72.
 SBCC scores – 1, Patton 70. 2, Hogan 71, Manny Manzone 75, Joakim Flinck 75, Jake Ledbetter 78, Jaren McCartney 79.
 WSC standings – Canyons 27-1, SBCC 25-3, Ventura 16-12, Glendale 16-12, Citrus 11-17, Bakersfield 9-19, Hancock 5-23, Antelope Valley 3-25.