JJ Says: Brownlie makes history at the Petaluma Golf and Country Club

We often get so wrapped up in high school and youth sports that we neglect the other end of the spectrum.

Petaluma does have a sizable contingent of outstanding adult athletes. Just because you are not playing for a prep or collegiate team doesn’t mean you aren’t a good athlete.

One of the best in our area is golfer Alan Brownlie. Brownlie is all about golf. He coaches the Petaluma High boys team, is a strong advocate for youth golf and he also plays — oh, how he plays.

This year, Brownlie made history by winning his eighth Petaluma Golf and Country Club championship. His final round win over Larry Riis in the match play tournament gave him one more club championship than was won by the late Don O’Mohundro.

Beating O’Mohundro’s record has long been a Brownlie goal. The two were friends, but also very competitive.

O’Mohundro’s competitiveness is legendary, not only at the local club, but throughout the area. He hated to lose at anything — especially golf.

Brownlie’s competitiveness isn’t as gruffly apparent as was O’Mohundro’s, but he is just as determined to win.

His longtime goal was to break O’Mohundro’s record of seven club championships. It took a strong effort against another former club champion, Larry Riis, in the final match to accomplish the goal, but the mission has been accomplished.

The championship competitors completed the morning 18 holes tied. In the afternoon, Riis built a 2-up advantage, but Brownlie showed his skill and competitive nature with a string of birdies, including one on the 36th hole that clinched the historic club championship.

For Brownlie, golf isn’t a personal thing, it is something to be shared, especially with Petaluma’s young people. He coaches the Petaluma High boys team, but he has also worked to set up a fall program that is available to all young golfers in the community.

His hope is to not only get more young players interested in the game, but also committed to the game.

They certainly have a role model for how to play the game right and how to compete. There has never been a golfer who has won more Petaluma Golf and Country Club championships than Alan Brownlie — not even Don O’Mohundro.

Getting there not enough

Every coach will say that his team is just happy to get into the North Coast Section playoffs. Some really mean it. But for all three girls teams beginning play this week in the NCS playoffs, getting there is not enough.

Casa Grande’s girls have been there, done that and they know how good it feels to win a NCS championship. They want more and will be disappointed if they aren’t again playing in the Division I championship game.

Petaluma’s girls are looking to prove themselves. The senior-dominated Lady Trojans had a nice 9-4-3 season, but they believe they could have done better, and the seniors really want to experience an NCS championship game.

St. Vincent’s girls, like Casa Grande’s, have been to the championship game. In the last three years, they have won once and lost the last two, all against Sonoma Academy,

People can talk all they want about playing one game at a time, but you had better believe that St. Vincent wants back into the Division III championship game. Guess who they want to play?

The Casa Grande boys also want badly to win, but they have already made a strong statement about the progress of the Gaucho program just by making the playoffs.

Any way you view them, the NCS playoffs are a fun time of the year, and a just reward for a season well played.

(Contact John Jackson at acsports@arguscourier.com)