Pasadena’s Blake Meek, CV High’s Cody Renfro advance out of Oakmont

Pasadena resident Blake Meek and Crescenta Valley High’s Cody Renfro enjoyed strong outings Tuesday afternoon at Oakmont Country Club.

The duo finished first and second, respectively, at the Trusted Choice Big “I” Junior Golf

Regional Championships and earned a berth to an upcoming state tournament.

Meek, a graduate of Loyola High, shot a seven-over-par 78 in windy conditions to win the title and just outlast Renfro.

The 16-year-old Renfro carded a 79 in taking the silver.

“It definitely wasn’t expected. My big thing was not setting any expectations going into the tournament because then you set yourself up for failure,” Renfro said. “So, this was cool.”

Both Meek and Renfro earned a berth to the Big “I” Junior Classic California State Tournament, which is slated for July 11-12 at De Laveaga Golf Course in Santa Cruz.

The ultimate goal for both golfers would be to quality out of the state tournament and advance to the National Championships, held at the Country Club of North Carolina at Pinehurst, from Aug. 5-8.

Renfro admitted to having no idea where he was on the leader board.

“I didn’t see how I was doing until after, which is probably a good thing,” Renfro said. “I knew I had to finish in the top two, but I wasn’t sure how everyone else was doing.”

While Renfro said not knowing helped ease pressure, the fact that he wasn’t sure about how close he was to advancing almost led to his downfall, as well, as the Falcon bogeyed holes 11 through 16.

“I almost threw in the towel, man. I was on the bogey train and I couldn’t get off,” Renfro said. “I just remembered what I was taught, to keep grinding and I finished with a par on 17 and a birdie on 18.”

La Crescenta resident David Holeman was third with an 84, while La Cañada resident Sean Davitt carded a fourth-place 86.

Tuesday’s tournament was put together by the insurance brokers and agents of Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena.and agents of Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena.