Area Golfers Compete for Regional Title

A handful of Valley-area golfers open play at 7:30 a.m Monday in the Southern California High School Championship. And each hopes to be playing until it is nearly dusk.

Two teams and several individuals from the area will be competing in the final high school tournament of the season at Bakersfield Country Club. The 10 low individuals from the morning round will play another 18 holes in the afternoon to determine the Southern California champion. The team competition, which includes Taft and Newbury Park, will be decided in the 18-hole morning round.

Newbury Park finished second in the Southern Section team tournament at Wood Ranch Country Club in Simi Valley. Taft, which won its eighth City Section title at Griffith Park, features six underclassmen.

Players competing for the individual title at Bakersfield include teammates Charlie Wi and Jerry Chang of Westlake, who both qualified by shooting one-over-par 73s in the Southern Section individual tournament at Canyon Country Club in Palm Springs.

City individuals--who qualified in an 18-hole shoot-out at Bel-Air Country Club on May 22--include Tony Bordwell of El Camino Real, who led all qualifiers in the 16-player field at Bel-Air with an eight-over-par 78.

Other City qualifiers are Josh Oring of Granada Hills (82 at Bel-Air), Lance Oriti of Grant (85), Scott Appel of Birmingham (90) and Jonas Knudsen of Granada Hills (90).

Newbury Park, with a five-man score of 401, finished one shot behind Estancia of Costa Mesa in the Southern Section championship. Brian Lamb led the Panthers--who advance to the Southern California tournament for the first time--with a four-over 76.

Taft, champion of the City 5-A League, is led by freshman Ryan White, who had a team-best 36-hole total of 162 at Griffith Park. Taft won the team title with a two-day score of 835.