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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

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO – It happened a few weeks ago during spring break, the moment when Hale Furey said everything with his golf game seemed to click.

Several personal records soon followed for the Corona del Mar senior, who said he is playing probably better than he ever has during his career.

Through the first 28 holes of the Pacific Coast League championship, he was bogey free and 8-under-par at San Juan Hills Golf Club.

Furey ended up giving a few of those strokes back on Wednesday, but he still cruised into the clubhouse with a five stroke lead, posting a 3-under-par 139 to win his first league championship.

University junior Ari Gulugian finished second with an even-par 144 followed by Beckman’s Brett Robinson. He posted the low-round of the day on Wednesday, an even-par 71, to card a 4-over 145 for the tournament.

“I lost my swing there for a bit on three holes, but it’s a good learning experience. It’s always fun to win a tournament,” Furey said. “I am looking forward to (going to) Skylinks (Golf Course) on Monday.”

That’s where Furey along with the top seven finishers from the PCL finals will get to play for the CIF-SS South Regional Individual championship.

Everton Hawkins (Beckman), Lawrence Tu (Northwood), Hide Yoshihara (Woodbridge) and Nick Kumamoto (Woodbridge) will also get a tee time in the Southern Section tournament in Long Beach.

Furey opened with a 5-under-par 66 on Tuesday and took a four-stroke lead over Hawkins and Gulugian into the final round. He had a chance to go to 6 under on the 180-yard, par-3 18th, but he left his putt a bit short. What made the particularly frustrating was the ball was tracking to roll right in the middle of the cup.

“I felt like every part of my game was good (on Tuesday). I was driving it straight. I was making putts,” said Furey, who finished the tournament with eight birdies. “I wasn’t too focused on the number. I was just trying to shoot the lowest score possible. This (winning the PCL championship) is an honor. It’s very exciting. It feels like a lot of hard work is starting to pay off.”

And the result has Furey feeling especially excited about his U.S. Open local qualifier on Wednesday at Newport Beach Country Club, which also doubles as the Sea Kings’ home course during the season.

“It is always a great opportunity to try and get the chance to play in our country’s national championship,” Furey said. “I played in it two (the qualifier) years ago, and it was a good learning experience. No matter what happens (next week), I just want to learn something and try to get better.”