Santa Margarita beats Servite, moves into tie for first
CHINO HILLS – He walked out of the clubhouse with his hands tucked into the pockets of his khakis, his hat pushed back and on sideways, looking like a frustrated golfer who had just turned in one of those forgettable rounds.
Preston Valder came into Wednesday’s match against Trinity League rival Santa Margarita as Servite’s No. 1 player, averaging right around par, which is 35 at Western Hills Country Club.
He finished eight shots higher than normal against the Eagles while Beau Hossler shot a 3-under-par 32 on the front nine to help Santa Margarita post a 7-over 182 and beat Servite and move into a tie for first in the Trinity League with the Friars.
“Golf is like that. It’s my one bad match for the season,” Valder said.
The last time these two teams met Servite shot 1-under as a team at the Eagles’ home course, Tijeras Creek Golf Club. On Wednesday they failed to break 190 for the first time this season, their 192 making them 17-over-par.
In seven of their 13 matches this season, the defending CIF-SS champion Friars have posted a 185, and twice they have been in the 170s. They carded a 3-under-par 177 on Tuesday to beat JSerra. Valder had a 2-under 34 in that match.
“We all just played horribly. This is a blow to their ego, no doubt about it. But in the grand scheme of things this doesn’t mean anything,” Servite coach Dan Jako said. “We will be at the (CIF-SS regional) at Tijeras Creek and try to advance to go to the championship. But they were the better team today.”
The Eagles have been on quite a run here lately. Last week they shot 12-under par as a team in an 18-hole match, a school record, and on Saturday they won the prestigious Champions Invitational, a 54-hole tournament played at the Golf Club at Terra Lago, which used to play host to the Skins Game.
And now on Wednesday they beat Servite, a team which is 56-5 dating to the start of the 2009 season.
“This is huge for us. We were just devastated when they beat us at Tijeras. We knew that they always seem to come in at 185, so we wanted to shoot a 183,” Santa Margarita coach Chuck Morales said. “We are really loose right now, but there is no need to tighten any screws. They are playing really well right now.”
Hossler’s shot on the 374-yard, par-4 No. 9 is proof of that. He landed his approach 3-feet above the hole, and it spun back to pin high. He holed his 10-foot birdie putt, one of the four that were on his card on Wednesday. It was the third time in the last five matches that he has medaled for the Eagles.
“What happened last weekend (at the Champions Invitational) from an emotional standpoint, it helps,” Morales said. “It gives you that extra added boost.”
