Chia has eyes set on State
After winning her first Pacific League individual championship, Jocelyn Chia doesn’t plan to change her approach on the golf course.
There’s no reason to now as Chia, a sophomore on the Crescenta Valley High girls’ golf team, will look to move a step closer in her attempt to reach the state championship.
“I just have to keep playing consistent and have everything working with my all-around game,” said Chia, who will participate in the CIF Southern Section Individual Final Championships at 7:30 a.m. Monday at Talega Golf Club in San Clemente. “It’s just about going out there and having fun and not worry about anything else.
“I’m used to the competition.”
The top 28 from Monday’s round will advance to the CIF Individual Final and Women’s Southern California Golf Assn. Qualifying Tournament, which will be conducted at The Golf Club at Rancho California in Murrieta on Thursday. The state championship will take place Nov. 15 at Poppy Hills Golf Course in Pebble Beach.
Chia advanced to Monday’s round after she recorded a two-over-par-74 to tie for 23rd at Monday’s CIF Southern Section Northern Individual Regionals on the Vineyard Course of the River Ridge Golf Club in Oxnard. At last season’s individual final at La Purisima Golf Course in Lompoc, Chia found herself in a three-player playoff for the last two qualifying spots with Michelle Folan of Marymount and Renae McAvoy of El Toro. Chia and Folan each three-putted for bogey on the par-4 18th hole to advance.
Though Chia struggled with her tee shots in Oxnard, Crescenta Valley second-year Coach Lee Pope said Chia is in position to rebound and extend her season with a solid 18-hole round Monday.
“She hooked some shots [Monday],” said Pope, who led Crescenta Valley to a second-place finish in league and a sixth-place finish in the CIF Southern Section Central Team Divisional at Jurupa Hills Country Club in Riverside County. “It’s been all about her short game and the way she gets better with it by grinding out pars.
“She’s been able to chip her shots close to the holes and then make pars. Her tenacity has been amazing all year long.”
Chia will make her first appearance at Talega, making it crucial for her to begin her round on the right note.
“It’s good and bad having not played the course,” said Chia, the reigning All-Area Girls’ Golfer of the Year. “It’s good because it makes me more aware of my surroundings and it can be tough because there could be something tricky with a fairway or the greens.”
Burroughs sophomore Joany Gao will be the first alternate. Gao fired a 78 at the Northern Individual Regional.
