SOUTHERN SECTION GOLF : Palm Desert Team, Unshaken by Aftershock, Wins Title

The earth shook at the Southern Section team golf tournament Monday in Palm Springs. Talk about a hometown advantage.

Monday’s aftershock of the earthquake that hit Desert Hot Springs in late April measured 4.8 on the Richter scale, but it apparently was not strong enough to shake up the team from nearby Palm Desert, which won its first sectional championship in any sport.

“It wasn’t a real shock,” Palm Desert Coach Tim Kabeary said of the quake. “We’ve had enough of them in the past. It didn’t seem to bother any of our kids.”

Palm Desert’s Jeff Fortson was bending over to get his ball after making a birdie putt to go two under par after three holes when the quake hit.

“After that I knew (we would win),” Fortson said. Fortson finished with a three-over 75. Jeremy Whiting had the low round of 74 for Palm Desert, the only team with five players shooting in the 70s.

Huntington Beach, which finished second, had three players in the 70s, one of them Scott Gibson, who shot a one-under 71 and was the only player under par in the tournament. The Oilers shot 382, three strokes behind Palm Desert.

Rancho Santa Magarita was third at 385 and Mission Viejo Trabuco Hills was fourth with386. Palm Springs, which plays many of its home matches at Canyon Country Club, was fifth with 390.

The teams finishing in the first four places advance to the CIF Southern Regional tournament June 8 at the San Diego Country Club in Chula Vista.

Three-time defending champion Costa Mesa Estancia had no player with better than an 81 and finished 14th with a 419.