PASADENA – No one can say Mater Dei boys golf coach Ollie Martin isn’t going out in style.
His final tournament as the Monarchs’ coach before he heads into retirement will be the CIF State Championship, which the school has never played in.
On Monday at Brookside Golf Club, the Monarchs finished with a 13-over-par 373, placing them third in the SCGA Southern California Regionals and securing the third and final berth into Wednesday’s state finals at San Gabriel Country Club.
The top three teams were separated by three strokes. Westlake of Westlake Village finished first with a 371 despite having one of its best players – USC-bound Sean Crocker – disqualified for using a a range finder. Rancho Bernardo of San Diego placed second with a 372.
“These guys are stepping up to all of the competition,” Martin said. “Now we are in the state championship, and if we put it all together, we are good enough to win.”
Jacob Biss led the Monarchs by shooting a 1-under 71.
The Monarchs have played in three postseason tournaments this season, and in each one a different player has posted their low score. Issei Tanabe and Marcus De La Rosa led Mater Dei at the CIF-SS Western Team Regional and the SCGA qualifier, respectively.
“We are very deep. Our Nos. 1-5 players can all go out there and shoot under par,” Biss said. “If we play our game, we can all shoot a good number.”
Tanabe fired an even-par 72 and De La Rosa added a 77, and all five players who figured into Mater Dei’s final score finished in the 70s.
“My chipping and putting was really good,” Tanabe said.
He showed off his short game on his final hole, the 408-yard, par-4 No. 7, landing his pitch shot a foot from the pin.
“If my iron shots were accurate,” Tanabe said, “I could have shot 4-under easily.”
Ten Orange County players qualified for the SCGA So Cal Championships as individuals and none of them made the cut for the CIF State Championship. Sunny Hills’ Dario Hamada fared the best of the county individuals, posting a 2-over 74, which put him in a tie for 21st. Dana Hills sophomore Clay Feagler, Hide Yoshihara of Woodbridge, Morgan Deneen of Foothill and Brett Robinson of Beckman each carded a 75 to tie for 29th.
“I am happy that I made it this far, but it would have been cool if I made it to state,” Feagler said.
Contact the writer: ddottore@ocregister.com
