Palm Desert boys' golf advances in CIF postseason
On a day when the Palm Desert Aztecs only had to finish in the top 10 of a CIF-Southern Section boys' golf regional, the Aztecs were, well, good enough.
Considered one of the top teams in the state and a contender for the title in the CIF-SS Division 1 regional at Cross Creek Golf Club in Temecula, Palm Desert fought off slow starts from some of its players and tricky greens to finish seventh in the 20-team regional.
While Palm Desert’s 19-over 374 score finished 14 shots behind division winner Sunny Hills High School of Fullerton, the seventh-place finish was good enough to advance the Aztecs to a CIF-SCGA team qualifier Thursday in Oxnard. The top 10 teams from Division 1 were guaranteed a spot in the next round.
More: Palm Desert holds edge over other desert teams as CIF-SS boys' golf playoff begins
While the Aztecs remained alive on the road to a possible state tournament berth, the players and head coach Curt Breitfuss were disappointed with the day.
“There has been some good individual play lately,” Breitfuss said of his team. “But today it wasn’t in full gear.”
Part of that, Breitfuss said, was the par-71 Cross Creek layout that featured hills, trees and sloping greens.
“It’s our unfamiliarity with the course,” Breitfuss said. “It seemed to be the same holes that everyone was struggling on. Maybe it's just second guessing themselves.”
High scoring early
The Aztecs were led by freshman Luke Ringkamp with a 1-over 72 that included two birdies late in his round. Sophomore Max Margolis shot 74, sophomore Caden Breisch shot 75, junior Ivan Tran shot 76 and freshman Cash Tompoles and sophomore Landon Breisch each shot 77.
Caden Breisch was an example of the slow start by Palm Desert, making double bogey on his first hole but finishing with a 4-over round.
“You just had to keep the ball in the fairway off the tee,” Breisch said. “The greens were slow, bumpy. My putting struggled. I had like three 3-putts. I couldn’t make a putt to save my life.”
Ringkamp, who was 3-over through eight holes, echoed Breisch’s comments on the greens.
“It’s not a bad course at all,” Ringkamp said. “It’s tight, it’s a challenge, but the greens are just really bad. Just being honest, they are just really bumpy. They are not rolled out.”
The Aztecs will play in the CIF-SCGA qualifier Thursday at River Ridge Golf Club, where 14 teams will play for four spots in the CIF-SCGA tournament May 24. River Ridge will also be the site Thursday of the CIF-SS individual championship, where four Aztecs – Margolis, Tran, Caden Breisch and Landon Breisch – will play for the individual title while also playing for the team competition.
Sunny Hills won the Division 1 title with a 360 score, one shot better than Anaheim Discovery. Loyola was third at 362.
In other regional action Monday, Xavier Prep, which shared the Desert Empire League title with Palm Desert, finished second in Division 3 in Camarillo. Xavier Prep shot 23-over 383, nine shots behind Agoura. Neither of those teams is guaranteed a berth in Thursday’s CIF-SCGA qualifier.
In Division 5 in Chino Hills, Yucca Valley, the champions of the Desert Valley League, finished 19th out of 20 teams, while Coachella Valley finished sixth in the Division 7 regional in Chino Hills.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Palm Desert boys' golf advances in CIF postseason
