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Damian Dottore. Sports. HS Reporter.

// MORE INFORMATION: Associate Mug Shot taken August 24, 2010 : by KATE LUCAS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
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TUSTIN – If Yorba Linda boys golf coach Dennis Riggs let the Mustangs have their way, practice would likely become a battle for bragging rights, seeing who could muscle the longest drive down the range.

But Riggs knows how important the short game is to shaving strokes off a score, so he likes the players to spend about 70 percent of their practice time on chipping and putting. He forces to the Mustangs to work on that before they can touch a driver or bucket of balls.

This focus on what happens around the green clearly has an effect on the Mustangs’ score cards.

Playing on a course they see only twice each season, Yorba Linda edged Foothill by four strokes, winning the nonleague match, 197-201, on Wednesday at Tustin Ranch Golf Club.

“Now they are better at judging how far they can chip and putt balls,” Riggs said. “They are starting to do better. I told my guys that we are going to win the majority of matches if we break 200.”

Three of the Mustangs’ five scoring players finished in the 30s. Joshua Hu carded the low score for Yorba Linda (7-6), earning medalist honors with a 1-over-par 37, while James Welham and Charlie Good added a 38 and 39 respectively.

Jack Sullivan posted a 38 to lead the Knights (6-6).

The match ended in the fading daylight, which Riggs said made it hard to determine the slope of the greens and the distance of each putt toward the end of the round.

“The last two weeks we have played really well,” Riggs said. “Coming out here to play an away match at a hard course and shooting 197 is good for us. We are coming along.”