SAN CLEMENTE – Matt Wagaman isn’t the prototypical junior golfer. The Aliso Niguel sophomore doesn’t play in AJGA tournaments and hasn’t been groomed on pristine country club greens.
He tees it up instead at places such as El Prado, an old public golf course built around, a dairy farm, shooting range and a men’s state prison in Chino.
But he works hard and picks up things fast, Aliso Niguel coach Wayne Westling said, giving hope to the “regular kids,” who haven’t been swing a club with eye on a college scholarship since they were in grade school.
Those kids can top the leaderboard, too. Wagaman proved that Wednesday.
He followed the 2-under-par 70 he posted in the first round of the Sea View League championship with a 78 to post a 148 and edge Mission Viejo’s Jonathan Ku by a stroke at San Clemente Municipal Golf Course and win the first tournament of his career.
He is the third Aliso Niguel boys golfer two win a league championship tournament, joining Kevin Irwin and Matt Schriver.
“It feels pretty good (to be a champion), and I am happy I did well. I have never finished first in anything. Yeah, it’s true,” said Wagaman, a three-time medalist for the Wolverines with a 39.24 stroke average. “The 70 really helped me because I could have some extra room today to play the way I wanted to.”
The 70 he posted Monday was his lowest round ever, eclipsing the 73 that he posted at El Prado.
Although he held a four-stroke lead after the first round, Wagaman said he didn’t already have an eye on the trophy. All he wanted to do Wednesday was be careful so he could place in the top three and get one of the five guaranteed spots in the CIF-SS Southern Individual Regional in May at Skylinks.
Wagaman, Ko, Jake Newman (Mission Viejo), Jake Paine (Trabuco Hills) and Max Hooties Meursing (San Juan Hills) advanced to the Southern Section tournament in Long Beach.
Newman and Paine both posted a 152 but Newman was awarded third place on a card-off. Muersing placed fifth with a 153.
Wagaman made the cut in the Sea View League championship as a freshman last year, but narrowly missed making it to the individual regional, so this will be his first trip to the CIF postseason.
“I am interested to find out what it is like. I am confident going in,” said Wagaman, who started playing golf five years ago. “But there are a lot of good players there so we will see how that works out. I am not sure that I really fit in.”
