The message back home to their moms in Sacramento was loud and clear. An NCGA title was on its way for Mother's Day.
Mason Benbrook and Luke Dariotis made birdie on the the third hole--the par-3 12th--of a sudden-death playoff to defeat the tandem of Scotty Raber and Patrick Cairns to win the 58th NCGA Senior Four-Ball Championship at Spyglass Hill.
The clinching putt was just short of a 3-footer, sunk by Dariotis after he nearly made an ace. Benbrook and Raber missed their lengthy birdie putts. Cains was off the green and missed his pitch attempt for birdie.
For Dariotis, the putt was sweet redemption. A hole earlier on the par-5 11th, he missed a similar putt for birdie and the win. It also came after what was a long night prior. Following Saturday's second round, Dariotis, a senior at Jesuit High, drove back to Sacramento to attend his Senior Ball. He arrived back on the Monterey Peninsula at 2 a.m. Sunday morning.
The two would win with a final score of 16-under 197 after a final round 66.
"It feels great to win such a big tournament with one of my best friends," Dariotis said. "We just stayed patient and tried to give ourselves looks, where we would give ourselves at least a chance at par."
Prior to the event, the two had never paired up before in a Four-Ball competition. While Dariotis still attends Jesuit High, Benbrook, who's now at Fresno State, is a Jesuit High alum. To make things even more interesting, Cairns is the jayvee coach at Jesuit High.
"Luke and I have played over 100 rounds together. It was great to put it through such a great test," Benbrook said. "Patrick is a great player. Scotty is a great player. They play a lot in Sacramento. It was fun competing against them."
Over what turned out to be 57 holes, Benbrook and Dariotis only carded two bogeys--both coming on the closing par-4 18th. Their second bogey there dropped them into the playoff with Cairns and Raber,who finished at 16-under after a final round of 65.
"Patrick was rolling the rock all week. To come so close, it was fun. Patrick had a great look to win at on No. 10 (the first playoff hole)," said Raber, who was searching for his second Four-Ball crown, having won the event in 2015 with then-partner Ben Corfee.
Said Cairns of Benbrook and Dariotis' play over the three rounds--"I'm really proud of Luke and Mason. I coach at Luke's school and I'm really proud of him. I can't wait to see what they do for the rest of their golfing careers."
Third place went to the team of Nick Randazzo and Matt Cohn at 198 after a final round 68.