Santa Cruz's Neil Ostermann wins second Santa Cruz City Amateur title in four-hole playoff | Local Roundup
Santa Cruz's Neil Ostermann earned his second Santa Cruz City Amateur title in five years in dramatic fashion at DeLaveaga Golf Course on Sunday.
Ostermann survived Treed Huang, of Katy, Texas, in a playoff that lasted four holes, all played on the par-4 18th. Both players shot 136 totals over 36 holes of regulation.
"It was crazy," said Ostermann, a former standout at Harbor High and Cabrillo College.
It was the longest City Am playoff since Aptos' Steve Pacheco edged Scotts Valley's Hae Young Lee on a third extra hole in 2006.
And, it was the first time the title was decided in a playoff since '09, when Menlo Park's Weston Payne edged Stockton's Patrick Kucich in a one-hole playoff.
Huang, who completed his junior season at UC Davis this spring, made a 20-foot putt from the back fringe for par on the first playoff hole.
Both players shot par on the second playoff hole, and bogey on the third, when Ostermann missed his six-foot par putt for the win.
On the fourth playoff hole, Ostermann got up and down for par and Huang finished with a bogey to decide the championship.
"Everything felt hard, but I found a way," said Ostermann, of his play in the second round.
It was the first year that the City Am was held in May. It was previously held in mid-August, ahead of the NCGA Amateur Championship. The NCGA moved up its start date to Sunday last year, which created a scheduling dilemma for several prospective City Am entrants.
The City Am's late May start offered competitors near pristine conditions, a byproduct of recent rain and DeLaveaga's course maintenance crew.
Ostermann opened with a career-best 63 in the opening round Saturday. He closed with 73.
"My rounds couldn't have been more different," he said. "And I can't say I was surprised. My first round was like a dream. I won't forget that forever. It was a special round."
Ostermann thanked his caddie, Santa Cruz's Cam Hanson, who finally picked up a win while working Ostermann's bag. Hanson caddied for Ostermann during a handful of near-misses over the past two decades, but wasn't when Ostermann broke through for his City Am first win in 2022.
"My first win was the best because it was so hard to get on top of the mountain," Ostermann said. "And, (win) No. 2 was just as hard as I expected. I'd never been in a playoff."
Huang shot rounds of 66 and 70.
Former PGA Tour player and Santa Cruz native Nate Smith, of Teton Valley, Idaho, returned to town and took third with a 141 total, He closed with 69,
Sonora's Billy Kiriluk and Santa Cruz's Nathan Robinson shot 142. Kiriluk took fourth after closing with 71 and Robinson closed with 75.
Scotts Valley's Lucius Niesen (143), Atascadero's Jeremy Gearhart (148), Santa Cruz's Ryker Barnes (149) and Brentwood's Garrett Wagner (149), and Capitola's Van Smith (150) and Santa Cruz's Peter Wood (150) rounded out the top 10.
Pacheco (140) won the Santa Cruz City Senior Am title on Sunday. Capitola's Mark Holguin (150) won the Super Senior crown, and Hollister's Tomi Marcus (159) won the Ladies Championship.
Outrigger canoe
Monterey Hoe Wa'a: Santa Cruz's Kua Nalu Canoe Club earned two first-place finishes at the Monterey Hoe Wa'a at Del Monte Beach in Monterey on Sunday.
Kua Nalu's Senior Master Men (ages 50 and over) and Senior Master Co-Ed crews earned wins.
The club's six-man crew consisted of Robert Boltje, Brent Culver, Kyle Samuels, Forrest Monroy, John Hedrick, and Matt Muirhead.
Its Senior Master Co-Ed age group (ages 50 and over) crew consisted of Sal Contreras, Tai Boutell, Samantha Garcia, Heidi Laber, Nicole West, and Mike Irete.
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