Tetrault shares lead at Century League Championship
Ryan Tetrault sat down in front of the big green scoreboard at Los Serranos Country Club, holding his head in his hands and looking miserable.
Villa Park coach Chris Salio walked over to his player to see if he was alright. “We’re not going to have to put you on suicide watch?” Salio asked.
“No, I’m fine,” Tetrault said, managing a smile.
Tetrault's round on the North Course came to a frustrating end as he took a triple-bogey seven on No. 18, but he still posted a 1-over-par 73 which put him in a tie for first after the first round of the Century League tournament.
He shares the lead with his Villa Park teammate, Kyle DeSilva, who chipped in for an eagle on the 492-yard, par-4 No. 1, and Canyon’s Zach Chavous.
“I can’t remember (the last time I took a seven). I am not happy at all with the 73,” the Cal State Fullerton-bound Tetrault said. “I am pretty disappointed. I just can’t worry about what happened.”
He holed four birdies Wednesday, and he was 2-under-par when he walked onto the 18th tee. But after his drive, he had to take a drop to get relief from a cart path and ended up with a worse lie.
His approach flew the green and he landed in the back bunker on a downhill in a footprint. He hit it out of that bunker and it to another one at the front of the green.
And on his fourth shot he landed in … another bunker. Finally, he found the green and two putts later, he had his seven.
“When the golf course keeps giving you nothing, you can’t get anything in return,” he said. “There was no sand in the bunkers and the greens were brutal … really bumpy. The course conditions are what made the course hard today.”
Tetrault was among the 24 players who made the cut for Thursday's second round, and he will try to defend his Century League championship on the more challenging South Course, which plays 7,188 yards.
The top seven players are two rounds will advance to the CIF-SS Southern Individual Regional, which will be played at Skylinks in Long Beach on May 16.
“I don’t favor either one. It is was it is. I remember the greens weren’t quite as good on the South Course last year,” Tetrault said of the courses. “It’s the same course, really, just longer.”
In the Empire League championships:
Valencia’s Michael Shum won the 36-hole tournament, carding a 4-under 142 at Los Serranos Country Club. Brenton Hirao (Cypress) and Austin Amayo (Kennedy) both shot a 149, but Hirao finished second after a card-off.
Cypress’ Frankie Simpson placed fourth with a 157 and earned the league’s final berth into the CIF-SS Southern Individual Regional.
