Los Alamitos, Fountain Valley Reach Finals

Steady rains and blustery winds Tuesday at Green River Golf Course in Corona nearly washed out the Southern Section Southern Regional, but Sunset League rivals Los Alamitos and Fountain Valley still managed to take a soggy road to the section team finals.

Los Alamitos finished first at 11 over par for the shotgun tournament, which was scored only for each team’s first nine holes because the severe conditions forced stoppage of play. Fountain Valley finished second at 13 over.

The top four teams qualify for Thursday’s team finals at Canyon Country Club in Palm Springs.

For the third consecutive season, Brea Olinda missed qualifying for the finals by one stroke, finishing at 17 over. Sunny Hills ended at 18 over.

Three Moore League teams--Lakewood, Long Beach Wilson and Long Beach Poly--finished tied for third at 16 over, but Poly lost the coin flip and will miss the finals after enduring the rain.

Tuesday’s weather turned the tournament into a survival test.

“I saw some kids just walk off the course,” Brea Olinda Coach Ken Lutz said. “But my kids hung in there. One of my players, Eric Park, had his umbrella blow into the [Santa Ana] river. That’s kind of how our day went.”

“One of my players, Eric Hird, said he had one putt that lipped out,” Fountain Valley Coach Don Terranove said. “Then he told me, ‘Coach, I should have waited for the current to take it into the cup.’ ”

Some players still scored well. Los Alamitos’ Brett Dolch and Fountain Valley’s Jeff Greenfield shot one under. Los Alamitos’ Ed Chu made three birdies and finished at par with Fountain Valley’s Ryan Robertson.