San Marcos Is Showing Why It’s the No. 1 Team

Everybody figured that top-ranked Santa Barbara San Marcos would be good this year, but nobody could have guessed it would be this good.

The Lions, defending champions in both the Southern Section and CIF-Southern California Golf Assn. Championships, have averaged 368 in their first four matches. That includes a round of four-under-par 351 at Glen Annie Golf Club.

That’s right, a team score of four-under. It wasn’t long ago that shooting under par as a team was unheard of, but San Marcos did it last year in winning the section title and Santa Margarita did it in winning the 2000 CIF-SCGA title.

Coach Aaron Solis downplayed the accomplishment, but added that it could have been even better.

“Glen Annie isn’t that tough of a course,” Solis said. “We had our chances to be in the 340s.”

San Marcos showcased its depth in that match as Jake Clemens, playing the No. 6 spot that day, was medalist with a two-under 69. Tyler Ley, Kevin Larsen and David Siordia each shot 70 and the Lions threw out a 78.

The worst score for San Marcos so far is a 383 at Sandpiper Golf Course, but Ley didn’t play that day and the wind was gusting at about 35 miles an hour, Solis said.

“So far, so good,” Solis said about his team’s start. “But it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.”

San Marcos gets a tough test Thursday when it meets No. 2 Santa Margarita at La Purisima.

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Goleta Dos Pueblos was a tough-luck victim of that 351 by San Marcos. Dos Pueblos shot a school-record 362 that day.

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Pansing Singhaseni is eligible to play for Beverly Hills this year after sitting out last year because of transfer ineligibility.

Singhaseni, a senior, attended the David Ledbetter Academy in Florida for the first semester of his junior year and transferred back to Beverly Hills for his second semester, but could not play high school golf because it’s a fall sport in Florida.

“He would have been playing two seasons in one school year,” Beverly Hills Coach Jason Newman said.

Singhaseni, among the top-ranked junior players in the nation, finished tied for second in the Southern Section individual championships as a sophomore.

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City Section teams have changed scoring formats and will count four out of seven scores rather than five out of six. The change was made so the number of scoring players would be equal with girls’ teams from the fall.

The season-ending CIF-SCGA tournament, which includes teams from the San Diego, Southern, Central and City sections, will also count four of six scores. The Southern Section finals will count five out of six.

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Peter Yoon