At Less Than Best, Westlake, Hart Fail to Determine Best

There’s nothing wrong with a little friendly rivalry, but golf teams from Hart and Westlake highs are taking it just a bit too far.

At least they did Thursday, when the powerhouses played to a 326-326 tie at Vista Valencia Golf Course.

And both were happy with the result.

“We’ll take it,” Westlake Coach Dave Costley said.

Said Hart Coach Dennis Ford: “The way we’ve been playing, I expected to lose.”

Both had reasons for feeling they escaped.

Westlake played with four freshmen, at Hart’s home course and with No. 1 player J.T. Kohut playing his first competitive round in three weeks because of a pinched nerve in his back.

Hart didn’t play Foothill League champion Brandon Wallace, who had surgery to repair ingrown toenails on both feet two weeks ago, and Adrian Tan, the Indians’ No. 3 golfer a year ago who has yet to reach that form again.

“Brandon is sick,” Ford said. “Adrian’s game is sick.”

Valencia High, which also played in the match, shot an impressive 335, but was overshadowed in what has become the best high school golf rivalry in the region--no matter how friendly it is.

“It’s just always fun to play against these guys,” said Hart’s UCLA-bound left-hander Charlie Smith, who shot one-over-par 62 to take medalist honors.

“It’s good to get this kind of competition.”

In a match that featured at least 10 players capable of shooting under par, the fact that medalist honors was awarded at one-over-par shows neither team played particularly well.

Brad Burke, a Westlake senior headed for Michigan State, led the Warriors with a 63.

Kohut, who shot one-under-par 30 on the front nine, ended up with a 64, tying for third with Hart’s Ryan Wyman--who shot 56 against Westlake at Vista Valencia last year--and Jesse Honea.

“I haven’t played in a long time so my concentration was off,” Kohut said, adding that he was pain-free.

In case any explanation is needed about how close the match was, consider this: Kohut, Burke and Smith, playing in different groups, all double-bogeyed the par-four 16th hole and all bogeyed the par-three 17th.

Hart and Westlake, which split two matches last season and have not had a tie in as long as either veteran coach could remember, will play again on April 13 at North Ranch Country Club.

Until then, all bragging rights remain on hold.

“This makes the next match a little more interesting,” Kohut said.