High School golf: Stevenson advances to the state championships

LIVERMORE — The strength of the program all spring has been its depth, where the names are interchangeable, depending on the day.

For the fourth consecutive postseason golf tournament, a different player stepped into the medalist position for Stevenson. This time it was Will Keszler casting his name into the spotlight.

The junior shared team medalist honors with Zachary Hawkins on Tuesday, carding a 1-under in blustery conditions at Poppy Ridge Golf Course in Livermore, leading the Pirates back to the CIF State golf championships.

Finishing 4-over as a team, the Pirates earned an opportunity to defend their state title next Wednesday at San Gabriel County Club after finishing second to De La Salle for the second straight year at the Northern California tournament.

“I’ve kind of learned over the years that CCS is something we really want to win,” Stevenson coach Justin Bates said. “But NorCal is about surviving and getting through. We get to keep this adventure going. Lets see if we can give it another run.”

Last year the Pirates took advantage of the comforts of Poppy Hills in Pebble Beach to win the state title by five strokes over runner-up De La Salle, gaining a measure of redemption after falling to them at the Northern California finals.

“De La Salle had two golfers who shot 8-under today,” Bates said. “That is pretty amazing. We struggled in tough conditions. But I was happy for the boys. It was a total team effort.”

The Pirates will have some familiarity playing at San Gabriel Country Club, having shot a practice round back in March, just in case they found themselves back in the state championships.

“The hope was we would get to play here,” said Bates, who has guided Stevenson to 16 straight Gabilan Division titles. “Not being the champions from Northern California keeps us under the radar.”

You might get an argument from the five other opponents that will compete in the state finals. Prior to Tuesday, Stevenson had won its league title by 39 strokes and its fourth straight Central Coast Section crown by 10 strokes.

Whether it was the two-week layoff after winning the section title or the wintry conditions, the Pirates failed to shoot under par as a team for the first time in over a month.

“We got off to the start we had hoped,” Bates said. “We were under par through nine holes. That was our goal. It’s the hardest nine. We gave up some shots on the back nine. The rounds were long, going six hours. The boys were grinding over every shot.”

The Pirates held a slight two-stroke lead over De La Salle through 11 holes before the Concord-based national power blistered their final eight holes to run off with a 13-stroke win, shooting 9-under as a team.

Keszler, who was 4-over par two weeks ago during the Pirates run at a section title, eagled the first hole and found himself 3-under through six holes.

“The eagle gave me a little cushion,” Keszler said. “The whole day I was telling myself I’m going to do my thing. I trusted myself, and it worked out pretty well.”

Keszler, who was not a part of last year’s state title run, didn’t feel the conditions were a distraction at all, having played a practice round last week, paring his final eight holes.

“We were expecting some tough conditions with the wind,” said Keszler, one of five juniors on the roster, who earned all-Gabilan Division honors three weeks ago. “We enjoyed it.”

Hawkins, who was the team’s medalist at the CCS Regionals, shot 1-under par for the second time in his last three events, while Ethan Merrick put together an amazing final three holes.

Another newcomer to the postseason for Stevenson, Merrick, who has spent most of the season as the team’s No. 5 golfer, birdied his last three holes to get to even par, with Calvin Etcheverry finishing 1-over and CCS medalist Dylan Hirst 5-over.

“We’ve seen everyone at some point this year,” Bates said. “It’s always a different beast at state. Southern California has some top-tier schools, and we are playing in foreign territory.”

Keszler believes the San Gabriel course plays to the team’s strengths in that it’s a narrow course. The Pirates have been able to find the fairways all season.

“It is very similar to the courses in the Central Valley in that it’s flat,” Keszler said. “All we can do is control our swings, and the rest will come to us.”

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