Torrey Pines High School’s boys golf team found itself in an unusual position Thursday at the SoCal Championship. After graduating three seniors, the reigning state champion Falcons were underdogs.
But the Falcons pulled off an upset at Los Serranos Golf Club’s South Course in Chino Hills, finishing second to Whittier La Serna. La Serna won the team title at 8-under par. Torrey Pines finished second at 5-under. The top three teams advance to next week’s State Championship at Poppy Hills in Pebble Beach.
“I’m speechless,” said Torrey Pines coach Chris Drake, who has won four state championships in 17 seasons as the Falcons’ boys coach. “There’s so, so much talent in this tournament. I thought we were a good team this year, and these guys showed us we’re great. They played their butts off.”
Sophomore Evan Liu, who won the San Diego Section individual championship last week, shot 4-under 70, as did teammate Roman Dammkoehler. Ethan Elleraas fired a 3-under 71.
Liu and Elleraas played in the Team TaylorMade Invitational in Bowling Green, Fla., on Wednesday. Charlie Woods, Tiger’s son, won the tournament. Liu finished tied for 10th and Elleraas tied for 17th in Florida.
They flew cross country Wednesday, touching down in Van Nuys at 8 p.m.
“I was pretty gassed the entire day, honestly,” said Liu.
Asked how he got by, Liu said: “You just cruise around this golf course. I played it last year, so I knew where to go. It’s less mentally taxing than some more challenging courses.”
Rounding out Torrey’s top five scorers were Prat Maneerat (74) and freshman Alex Renda (80).
Ventura Buena’s Brady McHenry won the tournament at 7-under, besting La Serna’s Hill Wang in a one-hole playoff.
In addition to the top three teams advancing to the State Championship, the next nine individuals not on those three teams also move. The only San Diego Section individual to advance was Cathedral Catholic’s Michael Riebe, who tied for fourth at 5-under.
Cathedral, which beat Torrey Pines by 32 strokes last week at the section finals, tied for sixth at 1-over.
