Parker Boldly Leads the North All-Stars

NEWPORT BEACH — Mater Dei’s Bret Parker was beyond confident going into Tuesday’s Orange County All-Star golf match.

Parker, who finished third at an American Junior Golf Assn. tournament in Phoenix last week, is on his game and not reluctant to tell people about it.

“I said at the beginning,” Parker said, “whoever plays with me is going to drum whoever we play.”

Parker and partner Adam Ainbinder of Servite routed their opponents, Nicholas Fritz of Santa Margarita and Kevin Osborn of Dana Hills, and led the North to a 14-10 victory at Newport Beach Country Club.

It was the first time in the nine-year history of the event that the North has won the Southern California PGA-sponsored competition, which splits Orange County’s top seniors into two eight-player teams.

Parker and Ainbinder put the pressure on early with birdies on four of the first five holes. Fritz and Osborn never recovered, with Parker beating Fritz, 6 and 4, Ainbinder beating Osborn, 5 and 4, and the Parker-Ainbinder team winning, 7 and 5.

The North’s next twosome--Huntington Beach’s Anthony Mendoza and Esperanza’s Pete Hergert--also swept three matches, beating Villa Park’s Geoff Cohn and Adam Hambarian. Mendoza made birdies on the second, third and fourth holes and made a 45-foot putt on the fifth.

“He hasn’t missed a putt all day,” said Cohn while walking up the 15th fairway after being closed out, 6 and 5, on the 13th hole.

Hergert won, 3 and 2, and the Hergert-Mendoza team won, 6 and 5, helping the North take a 12-0 lead.

The South could have salvaged a tie by sweeping the final six matches, but won only four and tied two. El Toro’s John Chappell beat Tustin’s Matt Ching and Mission Viejo’s Bob Sauer won the final hole to tie Servite’s Ed Garabedian. Chappell-Sauer won, 1-up.

In the final group, Estancia’s Jeff Perry won the final three holes to beat Brea Olinda’s Emerson Oh, 1-up, and Newport Harbor’s Justin Shapiro tied Brea’s Steve Bendt. The Perry-Shapiro team won, 1-up.