LATE BUT GREAT : Valencia’s Tidland Almost Missed Starting Time but Didn’t Miss Many Greens

The day Chris Tidland made his greatest impact on the prep golf scene certainly didn’t begin on a positive note. He almost missed his big chance.

Tidland, a junior from Valencia High School, wanted to get up about 5:30 on the morning of May 15, but he slept until almost 6 a.m. Already 30 minutes behind schedule, he and his mother got lost on the way to Canyon Country Club in Palm Springs where the Southern Section finals were taking place.

Tidland got there about 10 minutes before his 7:30 a.m. tee time, put on his golf shoes, stepped to the first tee and hit. He didn’t get a chance to practice or even take a look at the course, which he had never seen before.

Things began to look better when Tidland got a birdie on the first hole. He was two-under par at one point, but had a pair of late bogeys and finished the round at par 72, tied with Kevin Claborn of Brea-Olinda.

They went back to the first tee for a playoff and Tidland got another birdie on the 390-yard par four to win the Southern Section title.

It was the second time the pair had matched up in a tournament championship. Tidland, The Times’ Orange County golfer of the year, also defeated Claborn, a senior, to win the Orange League title the week before. Tidland had started the three-day tournament with a 79 at Recreation Park in Long Beach and was eight shots behind Claborn.

He cut it to one stroke after a 71 in the second round at Skylinks Golf Course in Long Beach and shot 75 at Pacific Club in San Clemente to win by six shots.

Tidland tied for the league championship last season, but there was a major difference in him this season.

Tidland, 16, was 5-foot-2 as a sophomore and was known more for his accurate shots than his long drives. But he’s 5-9 now and hitting the ball farther.

“I never really worried about it,” he said about his size. “My brother is 6-2, so I always knew that I would grow.”

Tidland also has added distance to his shots, but more importantly, he has only lost a fraction of his accuracy.

Tidland’s scoring average was 73.6 this season and he averaged only 1.79 putts a hole. He had only three double bogeys all season.

He lives adjacent to the first fairway at Alta Vista Country Club, Valencia’s home course, and practices from 2:30 to dusk each week night. He plays nine holes most week days and usually plays 18 holes on Saturday and Sunday.

“He’s the kind of player that never seems to be under a tree or out of the fairway,” Valencia Coach John Winek said. “He never seems to three-putt either. He plays a different kind of golf than the rest of us.”

1989 ALL-COUNTY GOLF TEAM

FIRST TEAM

Chris Tidland Jr. Valencia Joon Lee Sr. Sunny Hills Ken Calvert Jr. Estancia Austin Maki Jr. Estancia Mike Bestor Sr. Dana Hills Kevin Claborn Sr. Brea-Olinda

SECOND TEAM

Mike Homes Sr. Ocean View Paul Henkle Fr. Estancia Greg Reynolds Sr. El Toro Byuing Park Sr. University Scott Richardson Fr. Dana Hills Dan Dalton Sr. Marina