SANTA CRUZ — All Nick Gavasse could do was smile.
The Aptos High freshman golfer was peppered with compliments throughout the back half of Tuesday’s Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League Championships.
“You’re kidding me?” one of the other golfers in his quartet remarked after he blasted the ball to tee off on hole 17.
“Nick, you’re a tank,” another rival-turned-fan joked as they walked through the back nine.
His favorite compliment of the day?
“Nick, you’re a monster,” Gavasse said. “I heard that one quite a few times,”
He might not resemble a beast quite yet, but the lanky 6-foot-1, 130-pounder already has a frighteningly good golf game.
He proved as much at Pasatiempo Golf Club on Tuesday.
Gavasse edged teammate Johnny Staka by one stroke with a 6-over-par 76 to capture the SCCAL Individual crown.
The two Mariners were tied with three holes to go, but Gavasse carded a pair of pars and survived the 18th hole with a double bogey to hold off Staka, a junior who bogeyed all three final holes.
“On 14, I heard that my teammate was 4-over, also,” Gavasse said. “I just really had to do good on the last few holes.”
His brilliance on the infamous three-tiered 16th hole gave him enough cushion for the win. From 150 yards out, he planted his second shot on the middle tier of the green just 10 feet from the cup. He two-putted for par.
“16 is a make-or-break hole,” Gavasse said. “I had to hit a good drive, and a good second shot there… I just executed the shots well.”
Aptos sophomore Cole DeFrancesco and senior Noah Clarke tied for third with Scotts Valley High’s McClain Kressman after firing an 83, while junior Adam MacDonald took sixth with an 85.
The Mariners also had sophomore Jake Lanagan (tied for 9th, 89) finish within the top 10 golfers.
The final results were a testament to their deep and talented team, which went undefeated (12-0) in SCCAL action and captured the league title for the third straight season.
“Anyone of the six guys on our team could have had it today — we have a good team this year,” Staka said. “I knew that one of us was going to play well, and sure enough two of us did.”
All six will need to continue their strong play when they travel to the Central Coast Section Regionals at Laguna Seca Golf Ranch in Monterey on Tuesday.
Aptos finished 11th at last year’s regionals, and has not advanced past the regional round as a team since 2004.
Longtime head coach Jamie Townsend said his golfers will need to return to form if they wish to end the drought. At the beginning of the season, Aptos entered with a laser focus and had each golfer averaging at least a 2-over-par. Over the last few weeks, Townsend said, the fire has not been the same. But after a somewhat disappointing showing at the 45th annual Aptos High Invitational in late April, Townsend said the focus has returned a bit.
The pressure of playing to their talent level, the coach said, is the latest bump in the road.
“Most of us golfers have to learn to handle that pressure and make it work for them and not against them. That’s where we’re struggling,” Townsend said. “Can we show up next week and finally go, ‘today, I feel good,’ and they’re relaxed and they don’t feel like they’re playing against the best teams in all of Northern California? I think so. They’ve got the skills. They really do.”
Along with Aptos, SCCAL runner-up Scotts Valley will advance to the CCS regionals. Santa Cruz High’s Paul Soetaert (8th, 88) and Harbor High’s Nathan Robinson (t-9th, 89) earned the league’s two individual CCS berths.
Gavasse opened his day with a double bogey, but didn’t panic. He finished the front nine with a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-5 ninth hole. He held his poise the rest of the way.
“It was nothing really special,” Gavasse said. “Just making pars.”
Staka birdied on the 13th hole and carded a pair of pars on the next two to pull into a tie with Gavasse, but couldn’t keep his good day rolling down the stretch.
Staka said he was happy with his score — a personal best on the brutal course.
“I hit a lot of good shots and I felt like I kept my emotions at a low. I didn’t get too high and I didn’t get too low,” Staka said. “Overall, it was a good round. I can’t complain.”
St. Francis High’s Izzy Mendez and Bill Xiao each fired a 112.
