Competition Is Wide Open

The defending champion is not entered and many of the favorites have not played a competitive round in nearly six months, so picking a winner in the CIF-SCGA girls’ golf tournament today at the SCGA Members Club in Murrieta is a nearly impossible task.

Girls’ golf is a fall sport in the Southern Section and players from the section qualified for today’s tournament in November. The list includes Times’ all-county selections Angela Won of University, Courtney Goebel of Marina, Channing Lovejoy of Woodbridge and Shelly Raworth of Villa Park.

“It’s a little weird,” Lovejoy said. “It’s hard to get it in my head that this is a continuation of what I did in the fall.”

It’s also a slight disadvantage against players from the San Diego, Central and L.A. City sections, who played a spring season.

Next fall, the WSCGA will take over the tournament and it will be played in the fall.

Lovejoy, who shot 77 and tied for 10th in the November tournament, doesn’t know what to expect today.

Defending champion Candie Kung of Fountain Valley and Angela Rho of Sonora are among the top players not entered in today’s tournament because they skipped the section final to play an American Junior Golf Assn. tournament in Florida that same week.

Kung, who shot two-over-par in the U.S. Women’s Open last week, set tournament and course records in the CIF-SCGA finals last year, when she shot 65.