San Marcos Wins Golf Title Amid Much Grumbling

You might say that the Southern Section team golf finals were a test of which teams could play best in the wind, but then again, not all of them had to.

And some said it just wasn’t fair.

Santa Barbara San Marcos, benefiting from early tee times and calm conditions for the first half of its round, shot a five-player score of 387 Thursday at La Purisima Golf Course in Lompoc and won the title.

Newhall Hart (391), Westlake (392) and Anaheim Servite (397) finished second, third and fourth and also advanced to the CIF-SCGA championships June 8 at the SCGA Member’s Club in Murrieta.

Thursday’s tournament, however, may be remembered not for the teams that played well, but for those who didn’t.

“I’m very surprised about the teams that made it,” Servite Coach Tim Meagher said. “I’m shocked. Playing early was definitely an advantage.”

Seven teams--Santa Margarita, Irvine University, Long Beach Wilson, Palos Verdes Peninsula, San Luis Obispo, Cerritos and Apple Valley--each won regional titles, averaging 373.

Their reward? Playing in the last five groups Thursday with tee times between 8:58 and 9:30 a.m., and having to battle winds that started as a modest breeze at about 10 and became a whipping, three-club frenzy about an hour later.

Those seven schools averaged 407 Thursday, each shooting over 400 for the first time this year.

“They should have known that the wind comes up here every day, it’s like clockwork,” University junior Brian Sinay said. “They should have accounted for that and made it a shotgun tournament.”

San Marcos had tee times between 7:30 and 8:02, which helped them escape the high winds for at least nine holes.

Southern Section Commissioner Dean Crowley acknowledged the advantages to playing an early round, but said La Purisima officials would not allow a shotgun start, as was used last year.

“It was definitely a little advantage playing early,” said San Marcos senior Justin Willett, who shot one-under-par 71 to tie Nico Bollini of Servite as tournament medalist.

Westlake, Hart and Servite each finished second in their regions and had tee times between 8:18 and 8:50.