Southern California Prep Golf Championships : San Diego’s Zerman Takes Boys’ Title

Appropriately, after an up-and-down day on an up-and-down course, Manuel Zerman had but one thing to do on the final hole to take the California Interscholastic Federation-Southern California Golf Assn. title. Get up and down.

And after managing par from bunkers, cart paths and heavy roughs Monday at La Jolla Country Club, the University of San Diego High School senior made his most important save of the day, preserving par on hole No. 9, his last in the 36-hole, 1-day tournament.

It gave Zerman an even-par 144 to win the boys’ title by one stroke over Corona del Mar’s Tony DuPre and La Jolla’s Harry Rudolph.

The team championship, determined after the 18-hole morning round, figured to go to a San Diego Section school, most likely La Jolla, playing on its 6,671-yard home course. The surprise winner was nearby Carlsbad, which finished with a five-player total of 405.

La Jolla was three strokes back, and Westlake, the defending champion, finished third at 413. Long Beach Millikan, the Southern Section champion, was fourth at 420, thanks mostly to Jeff Manson’s 75.

Bellflower sophomore Patti Sinn prevented a San Diego Section sweep by winning the girls’ title with a 3-over-par 74, a stroke better than Rialto Eisenhower’s Brandie Burton.

Sinn, sister of Arizona State star Pearl Sinn, went into No. 17 just one over, but bogeyed the final two holes. Finishing third was Bonita Vista’s Christy Erb, the 1986 SCGA champion.

Zerman, who had a two- or three-stroke edge through much of the second round, led by a stroke going into No. 9.

“As I got to 9, I started to realize that this is the most important hole of the game,” said Zerman, a South African native who has been in the United States for only 11 months.

It became more important when DuPre, trailing by a stroke, put his second-shot 3-iron at the front of the green on the 468-yard hole, while Zerman’s 3-iron caught the left bunker.

Watching was Rudolph, who had finished in one-over 145 on his home course.

And DuPre would come so close to forcing a tie. After a rather soft knock from the fringe, DuPre’s putt appeared short, but gained speed on its 30-foot trip to the hole and just missed, rounding the cup to the right.

“I knew (DuPre) wasn’t going to make five for me,” Zerman said. “I was going to have to make four to win.”

Which he did, pitching to within 7 feet of the hole and then nailing the subsequent putt.

Zerman, who will attend the University of Arizona in the fall, returns to South Africa for the summer having also defeated in this tournament his friend, teammate, SCGA defending champion and American Junior Golf Assn. player of the year, Phil Mickelson.

“It gives me a lot of satisfaction to defeat good players, especially Phil,” Zerman said of Mickelson, who trailed by just a stroke before a double bogey on No. 6 ended his chances.

Mickelson, the San Diego Section champion, finished the round on the hilly La Jolla course in 150, tied for fourth place.