Boys’ Golf

* The Proven: Nico Bollini of Servite, who has signed with USC, is defending Southern Section champion; Jay Choe, an Esperanza junior, finished in the top five at the CIF-SCGA and Southern Section championships last year; Junior Mike Rim of Sunny Hills was Southern Section runner-up a year ago; Santa Margarita junior Taylor Wood is the next leader for the county’s most decorated program; Andy Anderson of Huntington Beach won two tournaments last season for solid Oilers squad; Justin Ritchie of Pacifica was medalist at the South Coast Divisional, Matt Schrieber of Aliso Niguel is gunning for fourth consecutive all-Sea View League selection.

* The Promising: Daniel Kush of Newport Harbor won an AJGA tournament over the summer; UCLA-bound Breene Murphy of Los Alamitos had runner-up finishes in two national tournaments over the summer; University will look for Neno Boon-Yaplanun to fill the spot vacated when Brian Sinay graduated last year; Danny Min of El Dorado was second in the Empire League finals last year; Look for Edison’s Daniel Lee to make a name for himself. Villa Park’s Todd Saukkola has signed with Long Beach State.

* Preseason Top 10: 1. Servite--Everyone back and looking for redemption; 2. Santa Margarita--CIF-SCGA champs have reloaded; 3. Huntington Beach--Four of top six return for Sunset champs; 4. San Clemente--Casey Strohsahl leads deep team that returns four starters; 5. Aliso Niguel--The Wolverine boys are poised to match deep playoff run of girls’ team last fall; 6. Irvine--Vaqueros will be tough in competitive Sea View League; 7. Brea Olinda--Defending Orange League champ Ryan Sader leads young, talented squad; 8. Sunny Hills--The secret is out on freelance team that nobody knew about last year; 9. Villa Park--Five starters return for seven-time Century League champs; 10. Orange Lutheran--could be the surprise of the county.

* Key Dates: May 2, Freelance qualifying tournament, Rio Hondo CC; May 7, Team Divisional championships, South Coast at El Prado GC, Southern at Los Serranos GC; May 10, Southern Section team championships, PGA of Southern California GC; May 14, Individual Regional tournaments, Southern at Green River GC; May 21, Southern Section individual championship, Canyon CC; June 5, CIF-SCGA Championship, SCGA Members Club.

* League Favorites: Century--Villa Park; Empire--El Dorado; Garden Grove--Pacifica; Golden West--Tustin; Olympic--Orange Lutheran; Orange--Brea Olinda; Pacific Coast--Corona del Mar; Sea View--Aliso Niguel; Serra--Servite; South Coast--San Clemente; Sunset--Huntington Beach.

* Fast Fact: Servite, which won the Serra League title last year, has won seven consecutive league titles: six in the Golden West League and one in the Serra. Villa Park, which has seven consecutive Century League titles, is tied with Servite for the longest streak in the county.