Power Trio Still Rocking Course

A triumvirate has seized control of boys’ golf in Southern California, rising to power in the mid-1990’s and showing no signs of relinquishing its power.

Santa Barbara San Marcos, Santa Margarita and Palm Desert have combined to win every Southern Section team title since 1996 and have won the last five CIF-Southern California Golf Assn. team titles.

They have combined for eight of the last 10 section titles and seven of the last nine CIF-SCGA titles.

And this year, expect more of the same.

San Marcos, which won the Southern Section and CIF-SCGA titles last year, has four returning starters. Palm Desert, runner-up to San Marcos in the section final, has three returning starters. Santa Margarita, which finished third in the section and CIF, has five players returning with significant varsity experience.

It’s the kind of run that wears on opposing teams, but never gets old for those in power.

“Not as long as we’re one of them, anyway,” Palm Desert Coach Tim Kabeary said.

Selecting a clear favorite among the three is difficult, though San Marcos is the top pick based on its tournament-record, five-player score of 359 in the section finals last year.

USC-bound senior Tyler Ley, medalist in that tournament with a 67, and junior Kevin Larsen, who shot 70 to lead the Lions in the CIF-SCGA finals last year, are the top two returners for San Marcos.

Derek Uyesaka, a junior, and senior David Siordia, both of whom had solid postseasons last year, also return.

Santa Margarita has USC-bound senior Taylor Wood, a four-year varsity starter, and senior twins Steve and Jeff Bullock back from last year’s team.

Sean Heath, Steve Harward and Mike Tran also had significant varsity experience last year and give the Eagles a deep lineup.

Palm Desert is counting on senior Sean Meier, the leading scorer for the Aztecs in the section and CIF-SCGA finals last year, and Aaron Davis, a sophomore who was second on the team in both events.

Kyle Forbes, a sophomore, is also back, though he broke his pelvis in a car accident and will miss at least half of the season.

“There are just certain areas that have schools that are good in certain sports,” San Marcos Coach Aaron Solis said.

“Some schools are volleyball schools, some are football schools, we just happen to be golf schools.

“And once your program is successful, good players see that and want to be a part of it.”

The odds are against a team outside of the big three winning a major title this year, but Kabeary sees other teams closing the gap every year.

“Everyone is getting so much better,” he said. “It’s getting so hard to tell the difference between the good teams anymore.”

Riverside Poly and Long Beach Wilson appear to have the firepower to contend, for a title this year, but any edge in talent can be erased immediately when an opposing player arrives on the tee carrying a San Marcos, Santa Margarita or Palm Desert golf bag.

“It can be intimidating,” Kabeary said. “You hear about how good a player is or a team is and it throws you off.

“It’s not until you play a round with them that you realize you have the talent to play with them.”

And in high school, where trophies are handed out at the end of one-round events, by then it’s too late.