Edison claims state golf title

A journey through a long season took the Edison High boys’ golf team to new heights on June 6 when the Chargers won the California State Boys’ Golf Championship at Poppy Hills Golf Course in Pebble Beach.

Edison finished with a team score of 395 on the par 72 course during a windy day of competition for the six team state finalists.

Royal High finished in second-place with a team score of 400.

It was the first state title in boys’ golf for Edison.

The top finalist in the individual category was Edison junior Austen Dailey who shot 72.

“His 72 really was the difference,” Edison Coach Brendan Patch said. “There were 20-mile-an-hour winds that day and I had no idea that our score would hold up. But it did.

“It’s incredible to win a state championship. I knew that we had a lot of talent going into the year, and to finish the season this way is great.”

Edison finished in second-place behind Los Alamitos in the Sunset League race. At the CIF Central Team Divisional tournament at Lakewood Golf Course on May 7, the Chargers (378 points) finished in second-place to Sunny Hills (363). That finish allowed them to advance to the CIF Team Final Championships at Mission Lakes Country Club in Desert Hot Springs the following week, where the top two teams in the eight CIF-Southern Section team divisions competed.

At the all-divisions team final, Edison (373 points) finished fourth, behind champion Sunny Hills (363), Santa Barbara (366) and Royal (369). That finish earned the Chargers a spot in the CIF state semifinals tournament, a 10-team event featuring the top four finishers in the Southern Section and top two finishing teams in the San Diego, Los Angeles and San Diego sections. The top six finishers moved on to Poppy Hills for a shot at the state title.

“We lost league matches to Los Alamitos and Newport Harbor, and I think that those losses served as a wake-up call to the kids,” Patch said. “Down the stretch in league and in the playoffs, everyone came through.”

Earlier in the season, at the Sunset League individual finals, Edison golfers took the top three spots, led by senior Tom Moore who shot 8 under on 36 holes and set a new league scoring record, Patch said. Junior Matt Parkovich, who Patch said was “hands down” the top player on the team during the course of the season, finished in second-place and Dailey was third.

Dailey continued his outstanding play Monday by tying for third place at a United States Golf Assn. U.S. Junior Amateur sectional tournament at Canyon Crest County Club in Riverside.

In addition to Moore, Parkovich and Dailey, the Edison boys’ golfers are senior Joe Doody, senior Joel Gillin and junior Tyler Paul.