For Calabasas Twosome, Course Is Like Driveway

Ohye, Ohye.

Golf is now in session.

And at Calabasas High that means beware of brothers Jon and Justin Ohye.

Jon, 17, and Justin, 15, have had a long-standing sibling rivalry that has spilled on to the golf course and driven each other to perform at a high level.

Over the last two years that drive has produced results good enough to make them recognized nationally among the best junior golfers in their age groups.

It’s also brought the two--who as youngsters grew up fighting over toys, television time and food--closer together.

“We used to fight over every single thing there was to fight about,” said Jon, a senior. “But with golf we help each other. We’re always interested in the other one getting better.”

Because they have gotten better, Calabasas is poised to join the elite among high school golf teams in the region--putting itself on par with traditional powerhouses Hart and Westlake.

The Coyotes, six-time defending Frontier League champions, also have sophomore Aaron Levine, runner-up to Jon Ohye in the Frontier League tournament last season, and four-year starter Travis Corby. Junior Scott Braun is another returning starter and freshman Matt Levy will make an immediate impact.

And then there are the Ohye brothers.

Jon has been a force in local junior golf for the past three years.

The reigning Frontier League champion and most valuable player was fourth in the race for 1997 SCPGA junior player of the year. He won the SCPGA Tournament of Champions in December and was third in the American Junior Golf Assn. Music City tournament in Nashville, Tenn., last summer.

Justin, a sophomore, might be better.

He won the 14-15 year-old age group at two prominent national tournaments over the summer. He won a PGA Junior series event in New Mexico by 10 strokes, and an AJGA event in Colorado by eight strokes. He was second in the SCPGA player of the year race in his age group and finished a stroke behind his brother in the SCPGA Tournament of Champions.

An all-league selection last year, Justin finished third in the league tournament and had the team’s best score, 79, in the Southern Section tournament.

Don’t ask who’s a better golfer--you won’t get an answer. They prefer not to compare golf games, at least not when anyone else is around.

“When we’re by ourselves, that’s when we fight about golf,” Jon said.

“Plus that’s when all the trash-talking starts,” Justin interrupted. “We love talking trash to each other.”

They play skins and putt for money at any opportunity. They are about even over their careers going head to head, but when it comes to teaming up on unsuspecting competitors, they are well ahead.

Take for example the time last month at Braemar Country Club when they met up with two teaching pros from Porter Valley Country Club.

After playing the first hole, Jon proposed a skins game.

“They didn’t seem too worried at first,” Justin said.

The Ohyes proceeded to win all 17 skins.

“One guy was cool about it,” Jon said. “But the other guy you could tell he wanted to beat us on at least one hole.”

Opposing high school teams in the region might have a similar reaction.

Other teams to watch:

* Westlake--Deep and talented despite the loss of two key starters from last season. Junior J.T. Kohut, runner-up in the Southern Section individual tournament as a sophomore and Marmonte League MVP, leads four returning starters. Brad Burke, who has signed with Michigan State, is also back. Transfers Drew Cornell from San Marino and Chad Wensel from Texas plus three talented freshmen should help ease the losses of Andy Sirivicha, who is at Cal State Northridge, and Marmonte League runner-up Jason Park, who moved to Korea.

* Hart--Everybody is back for the Indians, who have won eight consecutive Foothill League titles. Juniors Brandon Wallace, 1997 Foothill League MVP, and Ryan Wyman, who shot 58 at Vista Valencia last season, lead the way. Charlie Smith will be a force when he returns from a knuckle injury. Three sophomores are vying for spots on a team so loaded that Adrian Tan, No. 4 last year, is 10th on the depth chart.

* Alemany--Two-time champion in the competitive Mission League returns league runner-up Brian Woolf among four seniors. Gone is league champion Chuck Ruiz, now at Cal State Northridge, but Anthony Harju, Mike Scott and Robbie Clemente, who is playing better than Woolf right now, make the Indians tough. Krystal Shearer, a sophomore, is among the best girl players in the region.

* Nordhoff--Five of six players return for the Rangers, who finished seventh in the Southern Sectional regional, best in school history. Senior Jeff Coburn, junior Shawn Andrews and sophomore Tommy Hajduk made the All-Frontier League team for the defending champions of the DeBell tournament.

* Flintridge Prep--Led by 1997 Times player of the year Russell Surber, who was third in the 1997 CIF-SCGA Championships, and Andy Brisbois, who averaged 38.3 last season, the Rebels should reach the Southern Section championships again. Surber, who signed with Texas, and Brisbois, who signed with San Diego, give Flintridge two Division I golfers for the first time in school history.

* Oxnard--Coming off its first appearance in the Southern Section regional since the 1977 team that included Corey Pavin, the Yellowjackets should be just as good. Drew Weilbacher, James Baratone and Chris Holden return from a team that finished second to Southern Section champion San Marcos in the Channel League.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

AT A GLANCE

* THE PROVEN: Russell Surber of Flintridge Prep and Westlake junior J.T. Kohut are the top two players in the region for the second consecutive season. Surber is ranked 17th in the nation among amateur boys, Kohut was a quarterfinalist in the 1997 California Amateur. Calabasas senior Jon Ohye won the 1997 Frontier League title. Alemany senior Brian Woolf lost the Mission League title in a playoff. Hart junior Ryan Wyman tied for medalist honors at the 1997 Southern Section team championships, teammate Brandon Wallace won the Foothill League and another Hart player, left-handed senior Charlie Smith, won the DeBell tournament. St. Francis senior Riley Marshall has the ability to play with the best.

* THE PROMISING: Transfer Drew Cornell, from San Marino, shot four-under-par 30 in tryouts for Westlake. Jeff Honaker and Mark Modglin of Simi Valley could lead the 1997 Marmonte League runner-up Pioneers into unchartered territory--the Southern Section finals. Flintridge Prep freshman Jeff Osborn is junior champion at Chevy Chase Country Club. Hart sophomores Josh Edwards, Nick Langer and David Sullivan could crack the top six. Westlake freshmen Wes Rundle, Lee Kieger and Brian O’Flaherty are consistent par shooters.

* FAST FACT: Westlake’s Wes Rundle is the brother of Brooke Rundle, The Times’ girls’ volleyball player of the year. He shot a 76 to win medalist honors in a three-way match against Southern Section champion San Marcos and Mission League power Notre Dame earlier this week.