LONG BEACH It seems whenever Dana Hills coach Phil Wilburton shows up at El Niguel Country Club, he sees Clay Feagler at the course.
Even in the fall when it’s the girls’ season to play for the Dolphins, Feagler is there on the putting green or driving range, getting ready for when it’s his chance to tee off for Dana Hills in the spring.
“He is the hardest working kid I have seen in a long time,” Wilburton said. “It is all work ethic. This kid works. He plays golf 24/7.”
And it shows.
On Monday, 104 players teed off at Skylinks Golf Course, but the Dana Hills sophomore was the only one to finish under par, holing five birdies to shoot a 2-under 70 to win the CIF-SS Southern Individual regional by two strokes on a windy day in Long Beach.
Servite’s Matt Wilson and Long Beach Wilson’s Hunter Epson tied for second with a 72, but Wilson, the reigning Trinity League champion, won a card-off using the back-nine scores to claim second place.
“This feels pretty good. Hard work pays off I guess. It puts the icing on the cake,” Feagler said. “This gives me a lot more confidence. I can trust my swing now.”
About a week ago, Feagler had to change his swing because he was falling back, causing him to pop the ball up. He focused on getting the club more outside to square it up a bit more. It turned out to be a very timely adjustment.
Late in the afternoon, the Sana Anas began to gust in earnest, creating a two-club wind, Feagler said. And it swirled around Skylinks, making club selection a challenge.
“Hitting the ball higher would have been bad in this wind,” Feagler said.
To get ready for Monday’s tournament, he paid some extra attention to his chipping and putting as well. It helped him go 5 for 8 when it came to getting up and down, and he needed just 25 putts to complete his round.
“I saved strokes, and that is why I only made three bogeys out there, he said.
With three holes to go, though, this was Epson’s tournament to win. He was 4 under par when he stood over his 6-foot par putt on the 156-yard, par-3 No. 16. It rolled past the cup and he took a three-putt bogey. After that, he went double-bogey, bogey.
Wilson, too, struggled down the stretch. He bogeyed the 529-yard, par-5 No. 15 after his tee shot nestled against a tree root and his third shot landed in a green-side bunker. Then, he bogeyed No. 17 after he left his flop shot short of the green.
“It is kind of like a coulda, woulda, shoulda. It is all over now. I am happy with the result, especially with how windy it was,” he said. “I knew anything could happen in this wind. I was very unpredictable.
