RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA – Santa Margarita coach Chuck Morales, looked down at the scorecard, got out of his golf cart and conceded the match to his Trinity League boys golf rival even though the last three players were still lining up their putts on the ninth green here at Tijeras Creek Golf Club.
At first Mater Dei coach Ollie Martin didn’t want to shake Morales’ hand for fear of jinxing his Monarchs, but in the end No. 3 Mater Dei beat the No. 3 Eagles on their home course, 185-191, to remain undefeated through four Trinity League matches.
Mater Dei senior Andrew Namkoong posted a 2-under 34 to win medalist honors and drop his nine-hole scoring average to 36.
“We are doing what we need to do right now, and we are playing smarter than we were earlier in the season,” Martin said. “They are really, really focused in both practices and matches. They are grinding too, not giving up even if it’s going bad.”
Marcus De La Rosa is proof of that. He was at 2-over when he walked onto the ninth tee, but the freshman dropped his approach within 3 feet of the pin and drained his birdie putt to finish with a 1-over 37.
“They are hanging in there and that is important,” Martin said. “I am really, really proud of what they are doing. I am really happy with where we are right now.”
Heading into this match, all eight players on Mater Dei’s roster had a scoring average under 40. Their highest-scoring player shoots 38.8, Martin said.
Martin said the school’s new on-campus practice facility and workout program which includes weightlifting, running, and yoga-like stretching, has helped the Monarchs “put everything it takes” to win into perspective.
On Friday, Martin said the Monarchs will run between 1 and 2 miles before heading off to do some aerobics. After that, they’ll work on their short game.
“They are working hard. They know they the only way we are going to win this thing is if we go out there and earn it,” Martin said. “No one in this league is going to give it away. You are going to have to shoot some low numbers, and we are getting the results of that hard work right now.”
The Eagles (8-2, 3-1) were missing Beau Hossler, the No. 5 amateur in the nation in Golfweek’s Sagarin latest rankings.
The junior who qualified for the U.S. Open last summer injured his left wrist while hitting balls off a mat on the range, Morales said. Morales said he expects Hossler to miss about a week.
