Golf / Rich Tosches : College Teaches Berganio a Lot About Winning

If Dave Berganio gets any hotter, Smokey the Bear will walk onto a golf course and throw dirt on him and then beat him with a shovel.

Berganio, a former Alemany High golfer and now a member of the Mission College golf team, has played in five tournaments this year.

On Sunday, he won his fifth.

The 20-year-old from Sylmar continued his streak by capturing the 72nd Los Angeles City amateur championship, riding two rounds of 66 to a 72-hole score of 281, 7-under par. He shot a 74 in the second round and struggled to a closing-round 75, but his performance was good enough for a three-shot victory over Tim Todd of Yorba Linda.

Earlier this year, Berganio scored wins in the San Diego Golf Academy junior college invitational tournament, the Taft Invitational in Bakersfield, the Southern California junior college championships at Singing Hills in San Diego and, three weeks ago, the Pasadena city championship.

“This was the first time I had entered the L. A. City Amateur, and it was also the first time I had entered the Pasadena city championship,” Berganio said.

Berganio, who is shopping around for a four-year college, makes no attempt to conceal the reason for post-high school studies.

“This is why I went to a JC . . . to learn how to play in big tournaments,” he said. “That’s what college is all about for me, learning to play big events, learning to play 36 holes a day.”

He said that he has spoken to golf coaches at Nevada Las Vegas and Nevada Reno but would prefer to stay closer to home. UCLA was his first choice, he said, but he was not UCLA’s first choice.

“At UCLA it was a grade situation,” he said. “I’ve got to find a place with leaner academic standards. I got my grade-point average up to a 2.8 last semester, which is good for me considering the time I spend playing golf. I just want the chance to play golf at a major school.

“I’m thinking about the PGA Tour. That’s all. Honest.”

Later this summer, Berganio will take his high hopes to a higher plateau when he seeks to qualify for both the U. S. Amateur and the U. S. Public Links championships.

“Those will be the real tests,” he said. “I’m looking forward to those.”

He will do his studying for those exams at El Cariso Country Club in Sylmar, his regular course.

Changing places: Jerry Chang of Westlake High is carrying on the golfing tradition started by his brother Jimmy. Jerry, in his first attempt at the CIF-Southern California Golf Assn. Invitational, turned in a strong showing with a ninth-place finish.

The sophomore opened with a round of 74 at the tough Bakersfield Country Club on Monday but withered in the heat during the second round--which was also played Monday. His second-round 82 left him 12 strokes behind the winner, Joe Acosta of Redwood.

“I was satisfied with the tournament,” said Chang, whose brother plays for USC. “I wanted to do better after I qualified with the 74, but during that second round I really got tired. It got hot and my concentration wasn’t there anymore.

“I think it was only the third time I ever played 36 holes in one day, and I really felt it.”

Chang said that his brother, who was the No. 1 golfer last year for Westlake High, has made it impossible for him to sneak up on people during a tournament.

“Jimmy has made the name Chang well known on golf courses around L. A.,” he said. “Almost everyone at our level has heard the name before. They tend to expect a lot from me because of that, but it doesn’t really make any difference to me. I just play my game.”

Stephanie Martin of Camarillo, a senior at Rio Mesa, won the 18-hole girls’ division of the tournament. She shot a 78 to earn a tie with Susan Pankau of Poway, then beat Pankau with a par on the first playoff hole.

U.S. Open: Steve Pate and Duffy Waldorf, both of Simi Valley, are among the 144 golfers entered in the U. S. Open, which begins Thursday at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y. Also earning a spot in the Open was Jon Fiedler of Camarillo.

Pate, an established PGA Tour player who has won several tournaments, including the Tournament of Champions at La Costa, will play the first round with Jose Maria Olazabal of Spain and John Mahaffey of Texas.

Waldorf, who has played mostly on the Asian and European tours, will play the first round with Chris Perry of Ohio and Tommy Armour III of Texas.