Brownfield, Rodriguez bow out in CCS Championship at Rancho
Canada Golf Course
CARMEL VALLEY – From one week to another made a world of difference for seniors Chad Brownfield and Ale Rodriguez as the two Gilroy golfers competed in the CCS Championship rounds.
After both made the qualifying cut in last week’s sectional meet at Rancho Canada Golf Course in Carmel Valley, Brownfield’s 18-hole score shot up four strokes and Rodriguez’s round blew up nine strokes on their return to the same course. Both missed the NorCal Team cut to qualify for this year’s State Finals.
“I double-bogied the first two holes. I kinda dug myself into a hole,” said Brownfield, who came into the clubhouse with the first of eight four-man groups. “I played decent after that. I didn’t make enough birdie putts, though. I thought I was heating up on the front nine, but I missed some opportunities, missed some birdie tries.”
While Brownfield finished off his high school career with three straight CCS playoff berths as well as consecutive CCS Championship bids, Rodriguez played in his first CCS competition to highlight his senior campaign.
“Last week, I had confidence in my driver. This week, it just was not working out for me,” Rodriguez said. “I hit a lot of OBs (out-of-bounds) and I didn’t make enough putts. It’s not that bad of a course. I just didn’t play well.”
Brownfield – who is off to the University of Hawaii next fall where he might try to walk-on to the golf team – recovered from his consecutive double-bogies by hitting 14 pars, one birdie and one bogey on the final 16 holes. He finished with a four-over 75 on the wet, overcast day in Carmel Valley.
“I’m pretty familiar with this course. I know what to hit on every hole. It’s no longer a new course,” Brownfield said. “The back nine is ridiculous. There are a few ridiculously hard holes.”
Rodriguez sank two birdies on the sixth and 15th holes at Rancho Canada, but struggled to stay consistent in his first CCS action – completing his 18 holes with an 84.
“I made sure I shot well enough to get here,” Rodriguez said. “There’s a lot of good golfers here. It was cool to be here with them.”
Rodriguez plans to play in a bunch of summer golf tournaments before heading off to either UC-Santa Cruz or Long Beach State in the fall. He said if he chooses Long Beach State he wants to play on the golf team.
