Wi Not a Washout in Winning SCGA Amateur

Charlie Wi of North Hills didn’t bother to bring an umbrella Sunday for the final round of the Southern California Golf Assn. Amateur championship at Santa Ana Country Club.

Wi, like many other competitors, wasn’t prepared for the rain that lasted about an hour. But Wi, who started the day with a two-shot lead, was more than prepared for the challenge from the rest of the field.

He made clutch birdies on the 16th and 17th holes on his way to a final-round 70 on the par-71 layout.

Wi, who won the Pacific 10 title during his final year at California earlier this spring, finished at 280.

“I just kept plugging away,” Wi said. “I wanted to stay aggressive all day.”

Jorge Corral (72) of Tijuana and James Lundstrom (70) of Mission Hills, who both played in the final group with Wi, tied for second at 284.

Lundstrom made a birdie on the par-five 15th to pull within a shot of Wi. But Wi extended his lead to two with a 12-foot twisting downhill putt for birdie on the par-four 16th.

“That one was a snake,” Wi said. “I just barely touched it to get it on line.”

Wi, 23, played a safe shot to the middle of the 192-yard par three 17th and made a 40-footer for birdie to put the tournament away.

“Charlie made some great putts,” Lundstrom said. “I wasn’t surprised. He’s been in situations like this lots of times.”

Corral, 18, gained instant recognition Saturday when he set the tournament-play course record with a 63.

He was the talk of the gallery Sunday as many wondered aloud how well he would do with the added pressure of playing in the final group.

He had two bogeys and a birdie on the front nine and was two shots down to Wi at the turn.

Wi and Corral birdied the par-five 10th and Corral rolled in an eight-foot birdie putt on the par-four 13th to get within one.

But the 14th long will be a hole he remembers. He hit his approach shot on the front fringe of the 360-yard par four.

The pin was on the back plateau of green and Corral took a long time deciding between putting and chipping. He elected to putt and knocked the ball off the back of the green up against the edge of the rough, 15 feet past the hole.

His second putt was about seven feet short and he needed two more from there.

“I really think that was the turning point,” Corral said. “It was the wrong decision. I should have chipped.”

Tournament Notes

Jason Gore of Valencia shot 68 Sunday and was fourth at 289. Don DuBois of Coto de Caza shot 80 and finished at 297. Rick Talt (77) of Laguna Beach finished at 300; Rich Sims (73) of Placentia was at 301; Rick Herrera (78) of Orange finished at 305 and Boyd Martin (84) of Santa Ana ended up at 314.