Live Oak senior Erick Justesen finished off his junior golf
season with a strong performance at the Tournament of Champions at
Spanish Bay on Dec. 26.
Live Oak senior Erick Justesen finished off his junior golf season with a strong performance at the Tournament of Champions at Spanish Bay on Dec. 26.
Justesen was one of a field of the top 30 junior golfers in North California ranked by the JGANC for their year-end invitational.
After a dismal start on the first two holes, Justesen battled back by playing the middle 13 holes at 3 under par. He finished with a 77, which earned him fifth place in this elite field.
The highlight of that day was on a 540-yard par 5, where he drove a ball 340 yards and played a 4 iron from 200 yards to 15 feet. His eagle putt just lipped out, and he settled for a birdie – one of his five on the day.
Another senior standout represented at the tournament playing for Gilroy was Chad Brownfield, whose mom works in Morgan Hill. Although he wasn’t in this particular field as a competitor, he was presented with a scholarship at the awards ceremony for the college of his choice.
Justesen had a strong year on the links. The young golfer placed third in Texas at Ben Crenshaw’s Austin course (Barton Creek) for the International Junior Golf Tour and received invitations to both the International Tournament of Champions at Grand Cypress in Florida and to the Junior World Tournament at Torrey Pines in San Diego.
“We play some great tournaments and play on some awesome courses,” Justesen said. “The entries are so cheep compared to international play. They just spoil you. I think I paid $35 for one tournament, and they gave me a $250 dollar putter I still use. It is a shame I can’t play any more in the tournament because I am getting to old.”
Justesen, who moved to California from Florida midway through his sophomore year, has competed as far away as the Lake Trinity course next to Mount Shasta in the Jiffy Lube Classic. As a freshman in Florida, he qualified for the varsity team that took second in state.
Justesen has had the chance to play golf with John Brodie. One of Justesen’s five hole in ones came most recently on the Poppy Hills course.
Last season as a junior, Justesen was a Monterey Bay League medalist. He wasn’t able to advance to the Central Coast Section playoffs after having a bad round at San Juan Oaks. For awhile when he lived in Hollister, Justesen’s home course was Ridgemark.
“I am hoping to win league again,” Justesen said. “That would be nice, but my main goal is I want to get to CCS. I want to have a fun last year.”
Justesen puts in many hours practicing for the upcoming season.
“My boss is great and gets me out there a lot,” said Justesen, who along with teammate Jarrod Anderson caddy at CordeValle. “It really depends on the season it is. When golf season come around, I usually put in two hours a day. I kind of go in the grind when I have a tournament coming up just trying to get back in.”
The Live Oak team looks to be an experience group, Justesen said.
“We don’t have a particularly strong team compared to the competition, but everyone’s improved, and we’ve all had fun,” Justesen said. “Most of the people that are in golf are in it just to have fun. It’s our last year, so everyone is taking it seriously. I believe the top four of six golfers are seniors, but I can’t say for sure because we haven’t had tryouts yet. They can all play with me so I am not going to boast.”
Some of the top colleges Justesen is looking into are San Jose State, CSU Monterey Bay and San Diego State.
