Hong comes through again for Crescenta Valley High golf

BURBANK — Apparently there’s a nice comfort level that exists for Jong Hyuk Hong when he’s playing a round at De Bell Golf Club.

Hong, a junior on the Crescenta Valley High boys’ golf team, said he’s had no trouble navigating his way around the short course.

“I’ve practiced a lot here, so I know a lot about the course,” Hong said after he carded a three-over-par 74 on Thursday to finish third in the fifth Pacific League match of the season. “It’s a course that I like a lot.”

Hong recorded a 75 to earn medalist honors in a league match March 13 at De Bell. On Thursday, he helped Crescenta Valley finish tied for first with a 385 with Arcadia. However, Arcadia was declared the winner by virtue of having a sixth scorer, while Crescenta Valley fielded just five players. Crescenta Valley Coach Lee Pope declined to reveal why the Falcons didn’t have a sixth player. The Apaches also wrapped up the league championship.

Arcadia’s Andrew Baek and Jonathan Flores shared medalist accolades with a 73.

“I thought my putting was pretty good and I used my irons in the tee box,” Hong said. “I left a lot of my shots in the fairways and that helped me out a lot.”

Crescenta Valley received a 76 from Paul Park, a reigning All-Area honoree, a 77 from Cody Renfro, 77 from David Holeman and 81 from AJ Roa.

Burroughs finished third with a 409, followed by Burbank (458) and Glendale (459).

Dylan McNeely paced Burroughs with a 75.

McNeely said he had some struggles lately competing at De Bell.

“I haven’t done well here of late,” McNeely said. “It’s just nice to finally be able to play and putt well here.

“The conditions were tough, but I was able to hit the ball straight. I adjusted my posture, including keeping my feet straight on my shots.”

Louis D’Aquila finished with an 81 for the Indians, who got 84s from Tnick Trivimol and Daniel Kesicbasian and an 85 from Patrick Colbert.

Burbank got a 77 from John Grasse, providing him a confidence boost entering the home stretch of the regular season.

“It’s funny because I practiced a lot last week and then I had a couple of bad rounds,” Grasse said. “I didn’t touch a club [Wednesday] and then I come out of it with a good round.

“I’m feeling good about my game after this round.”

The Bulldogs got an 85 from Jason Apinchapong, 90 from Josh Provost, 92 from Joe Grasse and a 94 from Dylan Sherry.

As has been the case throughout the season, the Nitros were led by Russell Caletena.

Despite encountering some trouble lately with his swing pattern, Caletena fired a 78 on Thursday.

“In my last few matches, I’ve been slicing the ball a little too much,” Caletena said. “I had to get back to just keeping the ball in play and not worry about what the other players were doing.

“I’m starting to feel a little more comfortable and I’ve got the weekend ahead to practice.”

The Nitros received 90s from Kent Asano and Dong Yoo.

The last league match will begin at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday at Brookside Golf Course No. 2 in Pasadena. The league’s individual final will begin at 1 p.m. Wednesday at Brookside Golf Course No. 1. The top 16 from Tuesday’s round will compete Wednesday. The top seven finishers from Wednesday will advance to the CIF Southern Section Individual Tournament.

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Follow Charles Rich on Twitter: @TCNCharlesRich .