Crescenta Valley’s Jocelyn Chia lone local to advance in CIF
SAN CLEMENTE — It had been a couple of years since the one and only time Jocelyn Chia had played on Talega Golf Course in San Clemente, but the Crescenta Valley High senior golfer was on familiar ground, nonetheless.
Appearing in the CIF Southern Section Individual Final and Women’s Southern California Golf Assn. Qualifying Tournament for the third straight year, Chia advanced past that stage for the third time on Thursday, easily landing within the top-28 cutoff at eighth (tied with four others) with an even-par 71.
“My goal is to make it to state,” said Chia, who qualified for the CIF/WSCGA Southern Regional Girls’ Individual and Team Golf Championships to be played Nov. 14 at The Golf Club at Rancho California in Murrieta, where she will shoot for a spot in the state championships Nov. 20 at Quail Lodge in Carmel.“It’s been three years and senior year I really want to make it.”
Chia was one of 11 golfers to shoot par or better and the cutoff score for advancement was 75.
Mission Viejo’s Brittany Farrell led all golfers with a 66.
Chia birdied the fourth, 10th and 11th holes and shot par on 11 others.
“It’s a really nice course actually,” Chia said. “My ball striking was really good; I actually struck a lot of shots. My putting was decent, but I couldn’t really make those shorter putts. It worked out, I guess.”
Also representing the Pacific League were Burbank junior Irene Maemura and Burroughs senior Joany Gao. Maemura missed the cut by a single stroke and Gao was four off.
“I definitely knew it could have been a lot better, but I’m not that disappointed in myself,” Gao said. “I was thinking if I did make it on that would be cool, but if I didn’t, whatever.”
Burbank Coach Branko Sevic said one penalty stroke that Maemura was docked for hitting a ball out of bounds was all that came between her and advancement.
She parred 12 holes and birdied the sixth.
“She never shows any emotion,” Sevic said of Maemura. “She’s real quiet, so you don’t know if she’s winning or losing, but she had a great season. She’s building toward it and hopefully next year we will get to the next round again.”
Gao’s hopes were dashed largely on the par-3 seventh hole, where a water hazard led to a triple bogey. Other than that, Gao was solid with 11 pars on the day.
“She had that really rough hole where she went in the water and she ended up triple-bogeying that hole,” Burroughs coach Greg Everhart said. “Take three strokes off and it’s still not quite making it, but this was definitely the best she’s played and it’s nice her senior year to go out at this top level of play.”