HIGH SCHOOL GOLF : Smock Takes Charge, Rallies to Get Victory in CIF Tournament : Tournament: Coronado senior picks up a two-stroke win over Madison’s Chris Riley.

When Brian Smock quit playing baseball to take up golf five years ago, no doubt many of his junior-high buddies were snickering and saying to each other, “There’s no way Smock will last in that sport. He’ll be back in a year.”

Smock, a senior at Coronado High, was so aggressive he said he sometimes punched out his teammates when they didn’t play well. Patience was not one of his greatest virtues.

Smock plays golf with that same high-strung attitude, and Wednesday he attacked the back nine at Singing Hills’ Willow Glen course to win the CIF San Diego Section individual tournament by two strokes. Smock, a senior, shot a one-under-par 71 and made up four strokes in the last nine holes to overtake defending champion Chris Riley of Madison.

Smock finished at 141 for the two-day tournament. Riley was second at 143.

“Golf is individual,” said Smock, who acknowledges he had a reputation as a hot-headed catcher. “I used to get too mad at teammates. I’d beat up on people because I was doing my best, then someone would blow the game.”

Smock said he became a golfer so he wouldn’t have anybody else to blame if he didn’t win. Appropriately, he took matters into his own hands after falling behind Wednesday, and decided to go for the pin on every shot.

Smock birdied 11 to cut the lead to one. Riley bogeyed 12 to fall into a tie. Then Riley cracked, bogeying on 16 and 18, while Smock crushed a 270-yard tee shot and birdied the par-5, 547-yard 17th hole.

“I’ve only hit one shot better, and that was a hole-in-one last year,” Smock said. “I didn’t want to not be aggressive. I wanted to keep the pressure on. This is like my dream. This is what I’ve been looking forward to this whole year of high school.”

Smock and Riley came in trailing Fallbrook’s Jason Davis, who opened with a 69 Tuesday but fell to a fourth-place tie (147) with Patrick Henry’s Mike Ruiz after a final-round 78. Daniel Wen of Torrey Pines was third at 146. Smock shot a 70 to trail by one stroke in the first round. Riley came in two stokes off at 71.

Davis opened the final round bogeying two of the first three holes and went on to bogey three more on the back nine. Smock bogeyed five and six. Riley, a junior, birdied three and four and took a two-stroke lead to the 10th hole. That’s when Riley lost his edge, he said.

“I don’t think I was concentrating quite enough,” he said. “I was just thinking pars all the way. But if I shoot even par and someone beats me, they deserve it. Even par is pretty good golf.”

“I’m not as mad as I used to be,” said Smock, who will go to Texas El Paso on a golf scholarship next year. “But I still throw clubs and break one now and then. I broke my favorite club--my ‘L’ wedge--a couple weeks ago. I got it back today.”