San Marcos Wins Section Golf Title

Santa Barbara San Marcos High, which did not qualify for the Southern Section golf championship a year ago, shot a 15-over par 375 to win this year’s title Monday at Saticoy Country Club in Somis.

The Royals, who have not shot higher than 79 in their five-player team score and were favorites entering the tournament, edged out Anaheim Servite (382), Santa Margarita (385) and Irvine University (389).

All four teams advance to the CIF/SCGA championships June 3 at Temecula to compete against the top teams from the Central, San Diego and City sections.

San Marcos senior Michael Chavez, who will attend USC next season, led the Royals with a one-under par 71--tied with Ryan Wyman of Newhall Hart and Ron Won of University for the day’s best score.

“Last year we talked more than we played,” said Chavez, one of the top-ranked junior players in the country. “This year we just talked with our sticks.”

The scores of the top four teams are impressive considering that up until two years ago no high school team had broken 400 at Saticoy. In Monday’s tournament, eight of the 24 teams came in under 400 but team scores were up an average of 17 strokes over last week’s regional scores.

“It’s a real tough course,” Chavez said. “It makes you think and it makes you play.”

Santa Margarita, the 1996 Southern Section champion, was led by Pepperdine-bound Kelly Craig and Tom Osseck, who each shot 75.