Like father, like son?
When it comes to golf, Wilson High sophomore Hunter Epson looks to be on that path after winning his first Moore League golf championship in dominating fashion Thursday at Recreation Park Golf Course.
Epson, whose father, Joe, won three Moore League championships for Millikan High in the ’80s, shot a 2-over 74 to finish at 286, seven strokes ahead of Wilson senior Austin Orkin and five more strokes better than his brother, Ryder, a senior who shot a 73 to finish at 298.
Defending champion Harold Calubid of Wilson and Poly’s Evan Sytkowski tied for fourth at 300. Lakewood High’s Justin Collins shot a 305 to earn the sixth and final qualifying spot for the CIF Individual Section Southern Championship, which is Monday at Skylinks.
“That’s the goal,” Epson said with a smile when told he could still equal his dad’s record. “I was hoping to win all four, but last year Harold just played fantastic.”
“Thank goodness he didn’t win last year,” a smiling Joe Epson joked. “No, really, it’s great to see Hunter get this championship and play so well. It’s good to see both boys play well.”
Epson was second a year ago but left no doubt who the best golfer in Moore League was this time around. He fired a 5-under 67 to start the tournament on Monday at Rec Park, then shot a 75 (in brutal wind) at Skylinks and a 70 Wednesday at El Dorado to take a nine-stroke leading into the final round.
Orkin, a senior who started the day in third place, 11 strokes back, made a run at Epson on the front nine, firing a 3-under par. Combined with a sluggish start on the front nine by Epson, he got as close as six strokes.
But any chance at a suspenseful finish ended on the par-4 13th hole, where Orkin shot a double bogey and Epson sank a critical 15-foot birdie putt to get his lead back to nine strokes. Orkin still finished with the day’s low round, a 2-under 70.
“I didn’t feel like I had it won going into the final round,” Epson said. “I knew if I played bad and somebody shot a good round, it could still be close.
“The 13th was big. It got the lead back up to where I started the day and took the pressure off.”
Epson’s dad could relate.
“It’s not easy to take that kind of lead into the final round,” he said. “I remember one year I had an eight-stroke lead and I shot a 40 on the front nine before I settled down. It’s not easy to win a Moore League championship.”
At the same time, it wouldn’t surprise Wilson coach Jeff Evans if his No. 1 golfer this year wins another title or two before he heads on to major college golf somewhere.
“Hunter is a very consistent player,” Evans said. “He might play a bad round every now and then, but he rarely has two in a row. That makes him tough to beat over four rounds.”
With a smile, Orkin said he gave it his all in his final round of Moore League golf. He shot 72-77-74-70 for his best league finish.
“It’s a good way to finish,” he said. “I always start out thinking I can win. I wanted to make a run at Hunter, and I did, I birdied 8 and 9 to set up a chance at a run, but that was it.
“I’m glad Hunter won. He’s a great golfer and a good guy.”
Epson grabbed the lead with his sizzling first round, then never buckled under the pressure of being the front-runner everybody was gunning for.
“That first round was good for me. It gave me confidence,” he said. “I try to keep from shooting too many high scores (on any given hole). I think I did that pretty well the last four days.“
Contact the writer: jimthomas@lbregister.com
