Bautista takes lead at Purefect Shootout at Chardonnay
AMERICAN CANYON — Austin Bautista is used to playing in windy weather.
“Being from Sydney, Australia, we were right on the coast, so it’s very windy,” said Bautista, who played out of Bonnie Doon Golf Club and turned professional when he was 20 years old. “I’m no stranger to the wind.
“You just go out there and you know that you can hit the shots. It’s just repetition. You practice so much.”
There were windy conditions for the first round of the Purefect Shootout at Chardonnay, a Golden State Tour event. Bautista turned in a bogey-free 5-under-par 67, a round that featured five birdies, at Chardonnay Golf Club & Vineyards on Monday.
Bautista, who is from Clearwater, Florida, will take a one-shot lead into Tuesday’s second and final round of the mini-tour event. Rain is in the forecast on Tuesday, starting at 10 a.m. and continuing throughout the day, according to www.accuweather.com.
There are 47 players in the field for the Purefect Shootout at Chardonnay and there is a $9,000 purse. It’s hosted by Zack Sims and Brandon Duncan of Purefect Golf, a Napa company. The winner will receive a first-place check and a duffel bag featuring merchandise from Purefect Golf.
Gregor Main of Danville is alone in second place following a 68.
Adam Ruben of Tigard, Oregon, David Na of Alameda, Jonathan De Los Reyes of Modesto and Charles Porter of San Francisco are tied for third, each with 70s. Na and Porter are amateurs.
Ryan Gronlund of Pleasanton and Hayden Hui of Dublin are tied for seventh following 71s.
Four players are tied for ninth at even-par 72: Perry Cohen of La Jolla, CA, Alex Lee of Sacramento, Audra Kepler of Pleasant Hill, and Alexander Chin of Pleasanton. Chin is an amateur.
Bautista had birdies on Nos. 7 and 8 on the front nine and Nos. 10, 11 and 15 on the back nine. He said the 45-foot putt he made for birdie on the par-5, 582-yard seventh hole kick-started his round.
“That one was a good one,” he said.
He battled the winds to keep a clean scorecard.
“It was windy pretty much the whole day and it was cold early on,” said Bautista, 23. “You know that the wind is there. If you’re playing in these type of tournaments and you don’t know your distances, then you’re going to have trouble.”
Bautista was solid and consistent all day, keeping his driver in play and finishing with 26 putts.
“I’m definitely happy that I had 5-under,” he said.
Bautista played golf in both Australia and the U.S. at an early age, as he spent time in Northern California, playing out of Bennett Valley Golf Club in Santa Rosa.
“It’s cool to come back and play in this area, which is kind of like home,” he said. “I played here once or twice when I was a really, really young junior.”
Bautista was the №1 amateur in Australia for two years, in 2015 and 2016.
He has had success since turning pro.
He won the Temecula Creek Championship, a Golden State Tour event, Aug. 24–26. He earned $4,000 after rounds of 65, 67 and 65 for a 19-under 197 total.
He also won the West Florida Golf Tour’s Tampa Palms Series 1 at the Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club on Nov. 4. He shot a 3-under 69 and beat Paul Ferrier of Edinburgh, Scotland in a playoff.
“I know my game is in the right area. Today just solidifies the good play that I have been having,” he said. “Keep doing what I’m doing — being very committed to each shot, staying very committed to shots.”
Bautista will stay in Napa for the week, as he is also entered in the Napa Open, a Golden State Tour event Wednesday through Friday at Silverado Resort and Spa.
The Napa Open, hosted by Andy Miller and now in its third year, has a sold-out field of 87 players and has a $47,500 purse.
The wind was a factor in Round 1 of the Purefect Shootout.
“It was a little windy to start the day, and it kind of just stayed all day. I would say it got a little windier throughout the day,” said Sims, a Napa resident, who is tied for 13th after shooting 73. “The greens are awesome and the course is in good shape. The wind is a big factor. It just depends on which way it’s blowing and how hard. It was blowing pretty hard today.”
Chardonnay is set up as a par-72, 6,948-yard layout from the Sovereign tees.
“You could take advantage of the helping par-5s, and even the helping par-4s or par-3s,” said Sims. “But when it was back into the fan, it was a little different ballgame. I think the people that played the holes that were into the wind better probably ended up shooting a little better than everyone else. A par was a good par if you’re playing any of those holes into the wind today.”
Michael Butler of Napa (76), Aaron Beverly of Fairfield (77), Tim Long of Napa (79), and Kyle Wall of Napa (87) are also in the field.
Long and Wall are amateurs.
The final group of Bautista, Main and Ruben will start at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday from №1.
The Napa Open will be played at Silverado on Wednesday on the North Course, Thursday on the South Course, and Friday on the North Course.
The Golden State Tour, founded in 1982, “is the longest running professional ‘Mini Tour’ in the country,” according to its website, www.bluegolf.com/pro/programs/gstour/about.html.
