CIF-SCGA GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS : Trabuco Hills Wins Title

Trabuco Hills’ Mark Christensen was playing a decent round of golf Monday at the CIF-Southern California Golf Assn. championships until a hole in one got him going.

It wasn’t his hole in one, mind you. But the eagle by Johnny Choi of Van Nuys Grant on a 188-yard par-3 at San Diego Country Club got Christensen pumped.

Christensen was so thrilled with Choi’s shot, he said, that he didn’t think much about the 15-foot birdie attempt awaiting him.

“I was more excited than he was,” Christensen said. “I was jumping around, howling. Then I rolled it in. I hadn’t made a putt all day. It probably helped me that he made the hole in one. It got me going. I even got to write it on the card.”

Christensen followed his birdie with another on the next hole, the final hole of his round, and his two-over 74 helped propel Trabuco Hills to the team title. Monday’s competition matched the top teams and individuals from the Southern, Los Angeles City, Central and San Diego sections.

Kellee Booth, a 16-year-old Santa Margarita sophomore, won the individual girls’ title. Booth and Laguna Hills junior Eunice Choi each shot four-over 78, but Booth won the fifth hole of a sudden-death playoff.

Chris Riley of San Diego Patrick Henry ran away with the boys’ individual competition, shooting a six-under 138 over 36 holes. Dana Hills senior Scott Richardson was seven shots behind in second.

Trabuco Hills’ top five players totaled 391 strokes, beating Poway by two strokes. Third-place Palm Desert, the Southern Section champion, had 394 and fourth-place Santa Margarita had 396. Huntington Beach (414) was seventh.

Trabuco Hills won despite playing without one of its top players who was recently suspended from school. Sophomore Kevin Rodgers, who had only played a few varsity matches this season, moved into the lineup and shot 85, which was one of the Mustangs’ top five scores. Zachary Allen and Mark Mignone each shot 77 and Justin Grandy shot 78.

Estancia’s Paul Hinkle finished eighth in the individual competition with a 148, despite being penalized two strokes during his morning round. SCGA officials also penalized El Toro’s Ben Garner two strokes after Hinkle asked for and Garner provided a distance-to-the-green estimate.