SANTA CRUZ — Call Rancho Santa Fe golfer Jed Dy good. Call him opportunistic. Call him the first repeat champion of the Santa Cruz City Amateur since 2005, when Aptos’ Eddie Olson accomplished the feat.
Dy, an incoming senior at San Jose State University, was in the right place on the leaderboard at the right time on Sunday at DeLaveaga Golf Course. With a little help, he made up a four-shot deficit over the final four holes to rally for the Championship flight title.
“It’s a great feeling to win again,” said Dy, who was featured on Netflix’s 2013 documentary “The Short Game.” “I had to play two pretty solid rounds to get it done. So, overall, I’m feeling pretty happy about this one.”
Dy finished with a even-par 140 total. Santa Cruz’s Neil Ostermann struggled late and took second at 141.
Dy spent 2 1/2 months with his family in their homeland in Makati, Philippines, over the summer. It rained so much, Dy didn’t get to practice or play as much golf as he would’ve liked. Though, he admitted, “Once in a while, it’s nice to take a little break.”
When he returned to the Bay Area roughly two weeks ago, he was extra excited to work on his game.
An hour after securing his win, he delivered a nice wake-up call to his parents, Bobby and Lani, who are still in the Philippines.
“They were pretty happy,” said Dy, who celebrated with healthy serving of mediterranean cuisine in San Jose.
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Nathan Robinson blasts out of a bunker on Sunday during the final round of the Santa Cruz City Amateur at DeLaveaga Golf Course. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
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Nathan Robinson blasts out of a bunker on Sunday during the final round of the Santa Cruz City Amateur at DeLaveaga Golf Course. (Shmuel Thaler – Santa Cruz Sentinel)
Santa Cruz’s Nathan Robinson coughed up his lead with an errant shot on the first hole of the final round.
Ostermann led for much of the round, but fell on hard times late. He led by four strokes with four holes to play, but carded double-bogeys on hole Nos. 15 and 17.
Dy earned birdies on Nos. 16 and 17 to take a one-shot lead entering the final hole. Both players closed with par on No. 18 to shoot 71.
Dy said he learned an important lesson: It’s not over until it’s over.
“Suddenly, I was put into the mix,” he said. “I wasn’t in the mix the whole back nine.”
Dy wasn’t pleased with his approach shots, but he recovered on the greens by playing it safe, so he could stay as close as possible to Ostermann. Dy said he relied heavily on lag putting to set up two-putts.
“I tried staying patient,” he said. “I didn’t start well either. I told myself I’d have opportunities. Pretty soon I’d have chances and I’d have to capitalize on those chances. And I did.”
On No. 16, Dy crushed his drive through the narrow shoot of trees, used a wedge to put it close to the pin, and made his birdie putt. A hole later, he drained a 15-foot putt for birdie. Ostermann’s drive on No. 17 hit a tree and never came down. He took an unfortunate lost-ball penalty.
“I’m disappointed,” Ostermann said. “I had a chance to put it away and I didn’t quite execute. Jed had nice birdies on 16 and 17 and that’s all she wrote. … The decisions I made were the right ones; I just didn’t hit the shots.”
Ostermann, noting he also hit a tree on No. 17 during his 2022 City Am champ, said this loss stung. It was his fourth runner-up finish.
“I’d trade all those in for another win,” he said. “But credit to Jed. He’s a really cool kid.”
As tough as the finish was for Ostermann, both he and Dy said they really enjoyed playing together and praised each other’s composure.
Santa Cruz’s Trevor Whiting closed with 72 for a 143 total and third place.
Sonora’s Billy Kiriluk followed up his opening round 69 with 75 for a 144 total, and shared fourth place with Robinson, who closed with 76.
Robinson, the newly crowned men’s club champion at DeLaveaga, was happy to compete in the leaders’ foursome, but was frustrated that he didn’t compete the way he would’ve liked in the final round.
“My putter cooled down a little,” he said. “And I missed a 2-footer on No. 5.”
Ben Lomond’s Ryan Hodge shot the lowest score Sunday, 67, which helped him finish with a 145 total and tied with Santa Cruz’s Brant Schenk for sixth place.
Clovis’ Chadley James and Carmichael’s Joe Pardini tied for eighth with 146 totals. Capitola’s Van Smith (147) rounded out the top 10.
Senior: Steve Sear, of Washoe Valley, Nevada, who will compete in the U.S. Senior Amateur Championship at Oak Hills Country Club in San Antonio on Aug. 23-28, won the Senior flight in his City Am debut after firing rounds of 69 and 70. Sunnyvale’s Tony Ralph (72-72–144) took second on a scorecard tiebreaker, and Anderson’s Bob Ledoux (70-74-144) placed third.
Super Senior: Auburn’s Joe Stillwagon (75-72-147) pulled away from Aptos’ Frank Pieper (75-79-154) for the Super Senior title. Morgan Hill’s Edgar Romero (80-75-155) took third.
Ladies (gross): Eden Anderson (79-81–160) won the Ladies gross title, Carmel’s Megan Ikemiya (85-78–163) took second, and UC Santa Cruz sophomore Brisa Trollinger (86-80–166) took third.
Ladies (net): Trollinger (72-66-138), of Oakland, won the Ladies net title. Santa Cruz’s Macy Balassone (72-70-142) took second, and Santa Cruz’s Michele Thiltgen (76-78-154) placed third.
Other flights: In the First flight, Moss Landing’s Jonathan Vitale (70-70–140) took first. He was followed by Santa Cruz’s Crispin Ditz (70-73-143) and Scotts Valley’s Alfred Tenoso (72-73–145). … In the Second flight, Los Gatos’ Mike Georgiana (68-66–134) took first. Santa Cruz’s Dino Pizarro (69-66-135) took second and Santa Cruz’s Dave Heavey (64-72–136) was third. … In the Third flight, Santa Cruz’s Justin Reyes (67-68–135) took first, Santa Cruz’s Shaidu Kiven (67-69–136) was second, and Aromas’ Michael Gomez (78-63–141) and Santa Cruz’s Francis Farley (73-68–141) tied for third.
FINAL LEADERBOARD
Championship flight
1, Jed Dy, Rancho Santa Fe, 69-71–140
2, Neil Ostermann, Santa Cruz, 70-71–141
3, Trevor Whiting, Santa Cruz, 71-72–143
T4, Billy Kiriluk, Sonora, 69-75–144
T4, Nathan Robinson, Santa Cruz, 68-76–144
T6, Ryan Hodge, Ben Lomond, 78-67–145
T6, Brant Schenk, Santa Cruz, 77-73–145
T8, Chadley James, Clovis, 73-73–146
T8. Joe Pardini, Carmichael, 76-70–146
10, Van Smith, Capitola, 77-70-147
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