Corona del Mar poised to make history

The picture sits there in Mike Starkweather’s room at Corona del Mar, the one that reminds his boys golf team just how long it has been since the Sea Kings last won a CIF-SS team championship.

It has been a really, really long time, 44 years to be exact. Two players from the championship 1967 team, who still live in the area, gave it to Starkweather, and 

now every time the Sea Kings walk into to talk to their coach, they catch of glimpse of what it must feel like to finish first.

“They know the history of it. It’s not like something that’s hidden,” Starkweather said. “Absoluetly, they know how long it has been.”

Today at Mission Lakes Country Club, the Sea Kings have a pretty good chance of making some headlines of their own. They won 21 of the 22 matches they played this season, the first time according to Starkweather that a boys golf team at the school had a 20-win season.

And by finishing second in the CIF-SS South Coast Regional championship on Tuesday at Talega Golf Club, Corona del Mar earned a tee time at the Southern Section tournament in Desert Hot Springs.

And even though they were the runners-up, coming in two strokes behind first-placce San Juan Hills in their regional, they are definitely among the favorites.

Scoring low is the key to winning in golf, but in the team championship, the team that has the medalist isn’t always the one that wins. Take Santa Margarita for example. Beau Hossler carded a 4-under-par 68, which made him the medalist at Tijeras Creek on Monday, but the Eagles lost the Southern Regional to Trinity League rival Mater Dei, by one shot.

Consistency is the key in these tournaments. Mater Dei prevailed because the five players that figure into their final score all finished with scores that ranged from 70-74. And even though Santa Margarita had Hossler’s 68, it still had to take a 76, and that is what likely cost the Eagles in the end.

Corona del Mar is a lot like Mater Dei. On Tuesday, the Sea Kings were the only program in the19-team field to have every player break 80. Mike Moorhead led the way with an even-par 72, the third lowest score posted at the South Coast regional.

The Sea Kings are built to win a championship, really. They didn’t get those 21 victories because of one guy, just about everyone on the roster this season pitched in as all six of the players on Corona del Mar’s postseason roster – Moorhead, Brian Mull, John Davenport, Chase Wheatley, Karick Brown and Ryan Grable - medaled at one time or another during the season.

The Sea Kings, though, are going to have to bring their scores down a bit to finish first on Thursday. They finished with a 19-over 379 at Talega on Tuesday. The top three finishers at the Southern regional – Mater Dei, Santa Margarita and Servite – all had scores in the 360. Mater Dei won with a 2-over 362.

Moorhead’s family has a home in the desert near Mission Lakes, Starkweather said, and they went there on Wednesday to try and get a practice round in before Thursday’s tournament.

“The competition gets a lot stronger, and we will be doing the best that we can,” Starkweather said. “The kids play the desert a lot so hopefully we will do alright. I think we are a very balanced team, and I am happy for that, but I would still like to knock a couple of strokes off.”