Thomas Hutchison (UC Davis photo)

Hutchison, a rising sophomore at UC Davis, took control of the tournament with a 65 in the second round, which gave him a four-shot lead after trailing first-round leader Dominick Hoover (Monterey, CA and CSU Bakersfield).

His final-round 69 kept his chasers at bay and gave him an 11-under 205 total.

It was another good performance for Hutchison, who started his summer with a fourth place finish at the Memorial Amateur in Sacramento.

Billy Moon (East Garrison, CA) shot a second-straight 69 on Sunday to finish as joint runner-up and finish as the low mid-amateur in the event at 6-under 210.

Christian Banke (Danville, CA) and Michael Slesinski (Fremont, CA) were also a part of the second-place tie, with Banke shooting 68, the low round of the day, and Slesinski carding a 69.

Will Strauss (La Jolla, CA), who was closest to Hutchison going into the final round, closed with a 74 and a solo fifth-place finish at 2 under.

The defending champion Armand Melendez (Pebble Beach, CA and Sonoma State University) got off to a slow title defense, opening with a 75 that put him seven shots back. His final-round 69 got him to even par and in sixth place.

Last year, Melendez won in a three-way playoff after finishing 54 holes at 1-under 215, but red numbers were far more prevalent this year.

Blake Hathcoat, a rising junior at St. Mary's College who had a breakout win at the Saguaro Amateur earlier this year, was a part of a five-way tie for seventh at 1-over 217, along with Sacramento City and Modesto City champ Ashkaan Hakim (San Ramon, CA) and Simi Valley champion Andrew Spillman (Simi Valley, CA).

Joey Burlison (Salinas, CA) and Cameron Henry (Los Gatos, CA) also finished tied seventh.

SENIOR DIVISION

Casey Boyns scored a three-shot win over Bobby Schaeffer, shooting rounds of 72-73 for a 1-over 145 total. Boyns took a one-shot lead over Randy Haag after round one and again shot the day's low score in round two. Schaeffer had rounds of 74-74 for the runner-up finish.

Haag (73-76) was third, while Jim Knoll (74-76) finished fourth.

SUPER SENIOR DIVISION

Herb Jensen won in a playoff against Chuck Richesin after both players finished at 8-over 152. Richesin began the final round five shots back of the lead but shot a 1-under 71, the low round of the tournament by four shots, to pass seven players and get into the playoff.

Frank Pieper shot 153 to miss the playoff by one shot, while Bill Schmidt and Neil Duffy shared fourth at 156.

Tournament Notes

For Jim Tuttle, this was his last time as Tournament Director for the Monterey City Championship, having served in the position for 25 years.

Players were treated to perfect weather for the championship, as well as a beautifully prepared course that was universally applauded by the participants.