Boys’ golf: Perez joins Woods as Southern Section champion

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If Santa Barbara’s Andrew Perez ever decides to go pro, he will already have his foot in the door. So to speak.

Perez, a senior, won the Southern Section-Toyota boys’ golf individual title Monday at Mission Lakes Country Club in Desert Hot Springs. He is the first player from Santa Barbara to win the title since Tom Flanigan in 1972. Who else has won the title? How about Eldrick Woods of Western, better known to most of you as Tiger.

‘My name is now next to Tiger Woods’ name. It’s way down there, but I’m still happy,’ Perez excitedly said.

‘If you look at the names that are on the list there’s a lot of amazing names, a lot of great golfers that were champions,’ Santa Barbara Coach James Bedard said. ‘Andrew now has a chance to join those names. It’s something that will go down in the record books forever and no one can take that way from him.’

Here’s a short interview with Perez, who is ranked 77 in the nation by the AJGA.

-- Jaime Cardenas

-- Video by Jaime Cardenas