By Sunday evening as the final pairing walked westward down the 18th fairway, Domingo Jojola had a firm grip on the tournament he'd been aspiring to win for decades.
“I’ve been playing in this tournament since I was 15-years old,” the 35-year-old Jojola said. “Growing up seeing both golf courses, it’s super cool to join this list of champions.”
Round 1 Recap: Dugger, Goin share first-round lead at Alameda Commuters
“It’s been a long time, probably college days, since I've put up a meaningful round like this,” Jojola said. “It’s fun to know that deep down in these bones there’s a special round every once in a while.”
An admittedly short driver of the golf ball, Jojola’s success stemmed from consistent iron play and a particularly strong display of putting on the South Course’s highly-lauded greens.
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“The greens are fantastic here,” Jojola added. “I was talking with a few friends and we were commenting on how impressively these greens roll and how fast they are. They’re probably some of the better greens we play in amateur golf in Northern California.”
One of those friends is the aforementioned Engellenner, who was thrilled to see his upcoming NCGA Four-Ball partner perform as he did.
“In an alternate universe, I’m not getting to 9 under,” Engellenner said. “He beat us handily today. I’m really excited for Spyglass knowing I’ve got a horse as a partner.”
Engellenner, who plays out of Catta Verdera in Lincoln, Calif., posted 69 on Sunday to continue his string of successful competitive play over the last 12 months. He’s taken crowns at the Tony Lema, Sacramento City, AmateurGolf.com San Diego Amateur (South), and even the Trans-Miss Four-Ball, which he won alongside Jojola.
“It was a little loose yesterday in the 71 and I’m still not 100% tight,” Engellenner said. “There’s still some things I can clean up.”
Yun, a 15-year old sophomore at Menlo School in Atherton, Calif., carded 71-69 to match Engellenner at 4 under. He chipped in for eagle at the drivable par-4 8th to secure a memorable highlight for his solid performance this weekend.
“The pin was front so I told myself I’d like to be short of the green if I can,” Yun said. “I intentionally (or unintentionally) hit a high fade that got held up in the wind, so it dropped short right of the green in a perfect spot for the chip and I just happened to roll one in.”
Traditionally a two-weekend, 72-hole event, the committee hopes to one day return to the original format. Still, the 36 holes on the redesigned South Course yielded another wonderful execution of an ever-flourishing tournament.
“All the Green Coats do an incredible job,” Jojola said. “This tournament means so much. There’s a lot of history here and people with a lot of pride that takes place in this event, so I’m honored.”