Westlake Wins Southern Section Golf Title; Bittick Shoots a 68

While Jason Bittick and Bob May were impressing the small galleries around La Cumbre Country Club Monday with birdies, 300-yard drives and a shot to the pin from the water, Westlake High School was methodically winning the Southern Section team title with a 36-over-par 386.

Bittick, a senior from Anaheim Esperanza, was the only player to finish under par with a two-under 68. The tight fairways and right-to-left draw of La Cumbre proved troublesome for most players, including defending SCGA-Southern California champion O.D. Vincent of Palm Springs, who shot an 85.

Westlake, the top qualifier in the North team regional, got low rounds from its second, third, and fourth players. Sophomore Chris Zambri, Westlake’s No. 3 player, shot a 74, while No. 2 Jimmy Chang put together a 76 and No. 4 Brodie Munro a 77. USC-bound James Kim, Westlake’s top player, shot 78.

“The guys that really make it happen are the number four, five and six guys,” Westlake Coach Lorin Maygren said. “They’re the guys that win it for you.”

May, the junior from Hacienda Heights Los Altos who qualified for the L.A. Open at age 15, is the Southern Section individual champion and will try to qualify for the U.S. Open today at Industry Hills. His 72 was enough to help Los Altos (397) into the SCGA-Southern California championships June 9 at Lakeside along with Westlake, Esperanza (395), and Long Beach Wilson (398).

May is confident yet carefree on the golf course, and maybe that’s why he was able to pull a ball out of an inch of water and to within 10 feet of the pin on 13. Wearing his club towel as an apron, May brought the ball over a high embankment but missed the 10-foot putt for par.