STOCKTON — Matthew Ubick came up just short of a NorCal berth on Tuesday, but he didn’t leave the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Tournament disappointed.

The Ripon Christian junior led a contingent of area golfers on a warm and uncharacteristically windless day at The Reserve at Spanos Park, shooting his personal best on the course at 4-under 68.

A lip-out on hole 3 at the end of his round prevented him from snatching up one of the four individual spots for the California Interscholastic Federation Northern Regional Championships. With tri-medalist Zac Barragan Reidt of Oakmont securing a bid with a 67, Ubick ended up in a five-way playoff for the final three.

“It was probably my best round I’ve ever had there, including a couple practice rounds,” Ubick said. “Just getting to do that in front of my coaches in an important event feels great. It stinks (to not make the NorCal tourney), but I have another year, and I’m really happy with how I played. It was just a great experience, and I had a lot of fun. I’m just thankful.”

Three teams and four individuals not on the qualifying teams advance. Jesuit is the Masters champion with an impressive 1-under 359, and the Marauders will be joined by Vista del Lago (370) and Rio Americano (371) at the NorCal tournament.

As SJS Division V champion, Ripon Christian got to send its team to Masters. The Knights placed seventh out of 13 with a 395.

Ubick started on hole 4 and made the turn at even par. He caught fire on the back nine after burying an eagle putt on the par-5 11th.

With three holes remaining, he birdied hole 1 to put himself at 5-under and in prime position to make NorCal. Ubick had no hiccups all round until he got to the third tee box.

“I was pretty confident off the tee, and then I duck hooked my tee shot and it only went like 200 yards,” Ubick said. “From there, I had about 180 to the green, and I was right behind a tree — there was nothing I can do.”

His awkward approach shot left him wide left of the green with a near-impossible up-and-down. He still managed to give himself a good look at par after running his chip off the rough and about 10-15 feet past the hole.

“The nerves took over, and I stressed over a couple of those shots,” Ubick said. “Even though I had a bad shot, I almost made par and lipped it out. My hands were shaking during some big putts all around, and I made a couple that probably should not have gone in. I putted pretty well.”

Ubick’s putting kept him in the running through two holes — 9 and 10 — during the five-man playoff. He remained even after they played the 18th hole, leaving him and Oakdale’s Estuardo Duque as the odd men out. Dylan Johnson (Davis Sr.), Johnny Thut (Western Sierra) and Kheean Nathoo (Pleasant Grove) advanced.

“The playoff was a ton of pressure,” Ubick said. “I was pretty nervous over my tee shot on the first hole, and I had an 85-footer that I lagged to about a foot or two away to keep me in it.

“The competition was super good. I bogeyed the last hole to get me to 4-under, so it’s a little frustrating that I didn’t qualify, but the people who qualified really deserved it. I’ve got next year, and I’m thankful for my team and coaches — they were super encouraging. I couldn’t do any of this without them.”

Ripon Christian teammate Hudson Schenk finished with an even 72 and was one of five area golfers at the tournament to finish at par or better. Freshman Thomas Graham had a solid 78 in his Masters debut. Carter Van Groningen and Jeremy Molloy capped the Knights’ score with an 85 and 92, respectively.

Trans Valley League champion Ripon had three individuals — all sophomores — at Masters, and two of them were in the running for NorCal berths.

Sophomore Cru Sullivan was part of a three-way tie for ninth place with a 3-under 69. He and Schenk were co-medalists at the SJS Division V Tournament two weeks ago. A double bogey on hole 8 marred a hot streak at the end of the front nine in which Sullivan birdied 6, 7 and 9.

Andrew Bogetti carded a 70, and Alan Bunchien an 85.

Christian Dell’Osso made school history as River Islands’ first representative at the Masters tournament and set a high standard in doing so. The junior joined Sullivan in that ninth-place tie with a steady 69 that included just one bogey. He made a late push for NorCal qualification by dropping birdies on three of his last eight holes.

“It was an awesome experience,” the two-time Central California Athletic Alliance champion said. “After grinding hard for the last five to six months, it meant a lot to shoot the score I did, especially after being even through my first 10 holes. I tried my best, just fell a tad bit short.

“It’s not so disappointing. I hit a lot of great drives and some good wedge shots, but I left a few putts out there and ended up two strokes away from tying for first. Playing better competition pushes me to shoot better scores, and I can never be mad with a 3-under. It wasn’t good enough today, but 3-under is never bad score.

Manteca Unified had two golfers in Lathrop’s Brayden Beckmann and Jorrden Llamas Mojarro of Sierra. Beckmann made his third Masters appearance, finishing his best effort at the tournament at 1-over 73. Llamas Mojarro turned in a 78.

Beckmann, the three-time reigning Western Athletic Conference MVP, once again made a significant improvement from his previous Masters showing — he shot an 86 there as a freshman, and 78 last year. His latest effort ended up one stroke shy of a school record at Masters. In 2018, alumnus Christian Guzman had an even 72 at the end of regulation and emerged from a playoff to become Lathrop’s first NorCal qualifier.

“Just being there twice already, I knew what kind of score I had to have,” Beckmann said. “I was already expecting low numbers to make it to NorCals, but I wasn’t worrying about what anybody else was doing. I just wanted to play my game and have the confidence to know I can hang with these guys.

“It’s very cool to see how long I’ve come and how much my game has progressed over the years. All the work I’ve put in from my freshman year to now is paying off, and I’m showing that I can hang with those guys.”

The NorCal tournament is next Tuesday, May 26 at Poppy Ridge Golf Course in Livermore. The top teams and individuals out of the regional tournaments move onto the CIF State Championships set for June 3 at San Gabriel Country Club.