Locals unable to advance

PASADENA — For somebody who just won a second straight individual Pacific League championship, Justin Yu wasn’t overly thrilled.

The senior Crescenta Valley High boys’ golfer didn’t turn in the type of performance he believed should merit elite status despite winning by a whopping 12 strokes.

Yu carded a seven-over-par 77 on Wednesday afternoon to capture the league title at Brookside Golf Course No. 2 in Pasadena.

“Seven-over-par isn’t a good round for me,” said Yu, who recorded a three-round score of 213 to topple Arcadia’s Erik Stratton (225). “For me to have a good round, it can be no worse than two or three over.

“I went out there trying to do my best. Winning it is an honor. I’m glad I won, but I’m just not happy with my score.”

Yu was one of three Falcons to move on to the CIF Southern Section Northern Boys’ Individual Regional, which will be held at 7:30 a.m. May 12 at Sterling Hills Country Club in Camarillo. Yu will be joined by teammates Kory Barkley and Michael McKinley and Stratton. Barkley had a 79 on Wednesday for a two-round score of 228 to finish third, and McKinley notched a 76 (233) to grab the fourth and final spot.

Tammy Panich, a Glendale junior, fired an 81 for a two-round score of 235 to finish tied for fifth with Yin.

Josh Ward and Kevin Barkley of Crescenta Valley finished in four-way tie for sixth (239) with Kevin Shim of Hoover and Stefen Aizumi of Arcadia. Crescenta Valley’s Michael Timpson had a two-round score of 242 to place seventh followed by Burbank’s Matt Kurihara (243).

Allen Cho of Hoover placed 10th with a two-round score of 250. Burroughs’ top finisher was Robert Symons, who tied for 14th with Glendale’s Matthew Zari with a two-round score of 259.

Burroughs’ other finishers were Brandon Frates (263) and Taylor Contreras (267). Burbank’s Jin Park shot a 257, Valen Russo had a 262 and Daniel Chang had a 264.

As a team, Burbank placed third in league but will not be going to the playoffs because only the top two squads advance.