Berganio Falters Down the Stretch : Golf: He is unable to keep pace with Demsey over the final 16 holes and loses, 5-and-4, in the final of the California Amateur championship at Pebble Beach.

In appearance and personality, the differences between Dave Berganio Jr. and Todd Demsey are as vast as the Pacific Ocean that they strolled alongside for six hours Friday.

Berganio is a 23-year-old who looks older than that--a stubbly, dark beard around a pair of dark, piercing eyes, a street kid raised amid all sorts of horrors in Pacoima and Sylmar. His personality on a golf course is a subtle blend of a wounded lion and Roberto Duran.

Demsey is a 20-year-old who could pass for 16 with a baby face and a California golfer’s blond hair, an avenue-kid raised amid all sorts of hors d’oeuvres in Del Mar. The personality is that of a lamb.

In the final of the 81st California Amateur golf championship, the lamb dismembered the lion.

Demsey, a sophomore at Arizona State, buried Berganio under an avalanche of brilliant golf late in their 36-hole match to emerge with a thumping 5-and-4 victory over Berganio, the reigning U.S. Public Links and Pacific Coast Amateur champion.

After playing even for 20 holes, Demsey began his onslaught by winning hole No. 3 at Pebble Beach by taking advantage of a Berganio bogey. Demsey then rattled off three consecutive birdies with putts of eight, 14 and four feet on Nos. 4, 5 and 6 to surge to 4-up, virtually ending the match in a 35-minute blitz of straight iron shots and terrific putting.

Berganio got one hole back at No. 9 with a slick, seven-foot, downhill birdie putt, but it was his last attack. Demsey knocked down a four-foot birdie putt on the 11th hole and took a five-hole advantage with a solid par on the tough par-three No. 12.

A demoralized Berganio brought the match to an end when he missed an 18-inch putt for par on the 14th hole.

“I started the week not hitting the ball well at all,” said Demsey, who had a 36-hole score of 150, seven strokes behind leader Harry Rudolph, during the two-day qualifying round for match play.

“But each round I started playing better, and this afternoon it all clicked. I thought it would be close all day, but I turned it around right away in the afternoon round. I got everything going my way.”

Demsey was the No. 2 player on the Arizona State team that finished second to Arizona in this year’s NCAA championship.

Berganio, now a senior, was the No. 2 player on that Arizona team, a fact he could not help reminding Demsey of after the match.

“You get some little medal for winning this thing,” he said in jest. “I get a diamond ring for the NCAA title.”

Berganio putted poorly all week but survived each match with a tenacious effort, scratching and clawing his way to birdies and pars on the strength of his iron play and superb chipping game. He also used a sometimes loud, aggressive style on the course to intimidate opponents.

“But today, against a guy like Todd, I couldn’t do that,” Berganio said. “Todd’s a good enough player that you can’t play head games with him. He’ll ignore you and go out and shoot a 69 or 70.”

Berganio said he will try to defend his U.S. Public Links title and will also shoot for the U.S. Amateur championship in August.

“You can’t win everything, although I’d like to,” he said. “Sometimes you’ve got to bite the bullet. Today I lost to an All-American. There’s no shame in that.”

Demsey made second-team All-American this year. Berganio made the third team.

Demsey blasted through his early matches, beating Joey Ferrari 4-and-3, Steve Peterman 4-and-3 and veteran Pat Duncan by an even bigger margin, 5-and-4, in the quarterfinals. Only in the semifinals was he pressed, beating Mark Johnson of Barstow, 1-up.

Past winners of the prestigious event include Gene Littler, Ken Venturi, Johnny Miller and Mark O’Meara. “Just the list of former winners here makes this important,” Demsey said. “That list always made the California Amateur special to me.”