SAN CLEMENTE – After all of the scores had been totaled, the debate began among the South Coast League boys golf coaches. The topic was league finals history, and whether or not a record had been set on Thursday at San Clemente Municipal Golf Course.
One name from the past that kept coming up was Cameron Tringale, who has earned more than $3 million on the PGA Tour. But no one could remember if the former Mission Viejo golfer posted a better round during the league championships than Jack Ireland did on Thursday.
While it is still not know for sure if Ireland did indeed make history, he left little doubt as to who was the best player during the 36-hole tournament. The Tesoro sophomore posted a 7-under 65 on Thursday to finish with a 7-under 137 and win the South Coast League championship by five strokes.
Roman Aragon (Capistrano Valley), who fired a 4-under 68 in the final round, placed second with a 2-under 142.
Ireland is now 12 under par through his last 72 holes of high school golf.
“Winning feels pretty good,” Ireland said. “I felt like I have been playing well. All I needed to do was start putting well.”
That, he said, happened once he backed off a bit on his grip pressure. But he has also been striking the ball well, too, and on Thursday he didn’t leave himself with many long putts. His approach on the 358-yard par 4 No. 17, for instance, landed 6 feet from the pin. He drained the birdie putt, his eighth during the final round.
Dana Hills freshman Clay Feagler also broke 70 on Thursday, shooting a 3-under 69 – a 10 shot improvement from the first round – and finished fourth with a 148, two shots behind third-place Gordon Neale (Tesoro), who shot a 1-under 71 on Thursday.
