CHINO HILLS – There was a quiet confidence about Kethan Reddy heading into the final round of the Century League Finals on Thursday even though the Villa Park senior was in second place and teeing off on the South Course, which is not his favorite place to play at Los Serranos Country Club.
His expectations are much higher than they were at this time last year. He’s the defending CIF-SS Southern Section champion, and playing well for him now he said “isn’t just a fluke anymore,” even under pressure.
So he said that the one-shot lead that Brea Olinda senior Michael Choe held at the start of the day was “nothing.”
And just two holes into the final round, Reddy began to turn the leaderboard around. He started birdie-birdie and was in first place, two strokes clear of the field, by time he made the turn. He went on to become the fourth consecutive Villa Park player to win the Century League Finals. Alex Bungert (2009) and Ryan Tetrault (2010, ’11) were the championship-winning Spartans in Villa Parks’ streak.
Reddy was the only one in the 21-player field to post a sub-par final round, and his 2-under 72 gave him an even-par 146 for the 36-hole tournament. Choe fired a 2-over 76, and the one-stroke advantage he held at the start of the final round turned into a three-shot deficit as he finished the tournament with a 3-over 149.
“Winning always feels good. I accomplished my goal. I have higher expectations now (after winning the Southern Section championship),” said Reddy, who finished third in the Century League Finals last year. “I am pretty satisfied with the way I played. My ball striking has been good, and I putted a lot better than I did yesterday.”
He has his dad to thank for that. He noticed that Reddy was letting his left elbow stick out too much, which caused him to open the putter face up on impact and shove the ball to the right.
“Today I was able to keep the ball on line. And I don’t know how, but it (the adjustment) seemed to help my speed too,” Reddy said. “I am looking forward to the following (CIF) events. They are going to be fun.”
The top nine players from the tournament advanced to the CIF-SS Southern Individual Regional at Skylinks in Long Beach on May 14. Austin Amaya (El Dorado), Kyle DeSilva (Villa Park), Matt Lines (El Dorado), Barrett Taylor (Esperanza), Steven Frigo (Villa Park), Patrick Horve (Foothill) and Matt Lutz (El Dorado) also made the cut.
That was quite an accomplishment for Lutz, considering he was playing with a broken right collarbone. He injured it while skateboarding and missed five of the Golden Hawks’ matches.
RESULTS
At Los Serranos Country Club, North Course par 72; South Course par 74
1. Kethan Reddy Villa Park 146; 2. Michael Choe (Brea Olinda) 149; 3. Austin Amaya (El Dorado) 150; 4. Kyle DeSilva (Villa Park) 150; 5. Matt Lines (El Dorado) 152; 6. Barrett Taylor (Esperanza) 152; 7. Steven Frigo (Villa Park) 157; 8. Patrick Horve (Foothill) 158; 9. Matt Lutz (El Dorado) 158; 10. Brant DeBoer (Foothill) 159; 10. Tyler Chavous (Canyon) 159
12t. Trevor Polverini (Brea Olinda) 160; 12t. Jeff Martinez (Esperanza) 160; 12t. Alex Takada (Canyon) 160; 15t. Zach Chavous (Canyon) 162; 15t. Johnny Cardenas (Brea Olinda) 162; 15t. John Viscounty (Foothill) 162; 18t. Jeremy Verone (Brea Olinda) 163; 18t. Taran Suvarnasuddhi (Brea Olinda) 163; 20. Justin Phi (Villa Park) 166; 21. Daniel Kim (Esperanza) 168
