Boys golf: Marin Catholic’s Anderson among top NCS qualifiers

Marin Catholic’s Theo Anderson packed up his golf bag and headed home from Rohnert Park with a little extra hardware from Monday’s North Coast Section Division II tournament.

Anderson posted the second-lowest score of the day to punch his ticket to the NCS D-I tournament next week at Rancho Solano Golf Course in Fairfield. His 1-over 73 helped carry the Wildcats to third place in the team scoring. Anderson shot a 71 when the tournament was last played at Foxtail in 2023.

Justin-Siena took first place at 307, followed by Cardinal Newman (310) and Marin Catholic (314). Marin Academy finished two strokes behind the defending tournament champions from Marin Catholic for a fourth-place finish at 316. Marin Catholic edged Marin Academy in a tiebreaker to win the tournament last season.

College Prep’s Will Chang shot a 69 to win the individual title Monday, and Miramonte’s Archer Eames (74) placed third.

An early morning downpour Monday made for a sluggish start at the Foxtail North course in Rohnert Park, but the warming conditions dried the course slightly as the day went on, adding an extra bounce and roll to shots on the fairway. Anderson did a masterful job of navigating the bunkers to stay out of trouble for the most part. But still, when asked how his round was going, he simply said, “OK.”

As the scorecards were turned in, Anderson felt fairly confident his round would be good enough to keep his postseason momentum rolling. Teammate Finn Henne had to wait a little while longer as the scores were tabulated for confirmation that he would join Anderson among the top 20 qualifiers. Henne shot a 78, ranking him 17th for a qualifying berth.

Tamalpais High, the MCAL tournament champion, and runner-up Redwood, are also in the NCS D-I field.

Marin Catholic was buoyed by solid play from Bode Ransom (81) and JP France (82), who won’t advance to next week’s tournament.

Marin Academy’s Charlie Hansen, who played in a group with Marin Catholic’s Jasper Smith (85), shot a 75, and teammate Charlie Wilhelm shot a 76 as they placed 11th and 12th, respectively.

“There were some big par 5s, where I was went for it, which was probably my biggest mistake,” Hansen said.

Marin Academy’s Dylan Siegal shot an 81, with teammate Drayson Jaffee at 84 to round out the Wildcats’ scoring.

San Domenico’s Oskar Valiauga overcame a difficult day for a 79, good enough to qualify as an alternate for next week’s tournament.

The Branson School placed seventh at 341, as Jack Hilleboe shot an 82, followed by Carl Smith (83), Jonah Sher (86) and Drew Kalafatas (90).

San Rafael’s Kai Payne shot an 81, while San Marin’s Max Figueroa came around at 87, with Archie Williams High’s Calvin Gundee at 94, Novato’s Gianni Zucconi at 95 and Terra Linda’s Matty Nelson at 105.