Jesuit’s Laskin, Davis’ Long leave par in the dust at divisionals

A spin around the region, starting with highlights from Monday’s Sac-Joaquin Section high school boys divisional round:

Division I (North): Jesuit’s David Laskin was the medalist with a 5-under-par 67 at El Macero. Davis’ Griffin Long (69) was the only other player under par in the field of 66. Davis (377), Granite Bay (381), Jesuit (388) and Oak Ridge (389) advanced to next week’s Masters at the Reserve at Spanos Park, which figures to be a battle royal.

D-II: Kennedy’s Kenji Lo (5-over 77 at Mare Island) helped the Cougars advance. Del Campo’s Bryce Kuick tied Lo for medalist honors and qualified as an individual.

D-III: Vista del Lago’s Austin Fox (2-over 74 at Oakdale) helped the Eagles advance. Christian Brothers’ Tai Mamea (75) qualified as an individual.

D-V: Dixon’s Jacob Rosenthal (7-over 79 at Diablo Grande) advanced as an individual.

▪ Hiram Johnson didn’t qualify for the playoffs, but it did win its first match in six years. The Warriors, profiled in a Sacramento Bee story before the season, beat Laguna Creek 277-289 on April 17 at Land Park. Luck Vuong was the medalist with a 48.

College postseason

Sacramento State’s Aaron Beverly, the Big Sky Conference Player of the Year, received an at-large bid to compete as an individual in next week’s NCAA Division I regionals. Hunter Rappleye (Elk Grove) will compete as part of Saint Mary’s West Coast Conference title team. Corey Pereira (Cameron Park), a first-team All-Pacific-12 Conference selection, will compete for Washington.

▪ UC Davis’ Andrea Wong qualified as an individual for the D-I championship on May 20-25 in Eugene, Ore. She was co-medalist at the Stanford Regional.

▪ Chico State, the nation’s top-ranked D-II men’s team, won its regional to advance to next week’s national championship in Denver. Lee Gearhart (Roseville) tied for eighth to lead the Wildcats.

Big ‘I’ on the horizon

The Trusted Choice Big “I” National Championship is considered a “major” on the annual junior golf circuit.

Not just because of its tradition and longevity – the Aug. 1-4 renewal at Del Paso Country Club will be its 48th. Or because it’s a springboard for some of the game’s all-time great players (Tiger Woods, Billy Andrade and Cristie Kerr are two-time winners). But also because of the way it takes care of its players.

Travel costs are subsidized and accommodations arranged for the majority of the 156 players from the 35 to 40 states who will have advanced through local and state qualifying.

To that point, the championship seeks Sacramento-area families to host players. Email California committee chair Tabb Randolph at bigihousing@gmail.com to express your interest.

The field will consist of 99 boys and 57 girls. Local qualifying is June 23 at Morgan Creek.

For more information, go to bigigolf.com.

Et cetera

▪ Jake Johnson (Cameron Park) and Nick Podesta (Yuba City) earned conditional status during the final stage of qualifying for the Canadian Tour. Austin Smotherman (Loomis), the 2012 Big “I” winner who recently turned pro after completing his senior season at SMU, failed to earn status.

▪ Peter Lansburgh (Elk Grove) advanced through local U.S. Open qualifying at San Joaquin Country Club.

▪ The teams of Brandon and Bryan Baumgarten (Granite Bay) and Zach Solomon and Blake Taylor (Sacramento) tied for sixth in the Northern California Golf Association Four-Ball Championship at Spyglass Hill.

▪ Rocklin High’s Josh Verhaag won the Cal Invitational at Plumas Pines.

▪ Mike Harrop (men), Suzanne Fletcher (women) and Davis’ Long (junior) won divisions of the Sacramento City Putting Championship.

This story was originally published May 10, 2016 at 7:32 PM with the headline "Jesuit’s Laskin, Davis’ Long leave par in the dust at divisionals."