No cigar for Sailors

NEWPORT BEACH — Lauren Draganza’s still got another two years to master the sixth hole at Big Canyon Country Club, as much as it can be mastered, anyway.

It’s a par-five hole, and the top handicap on the course.

As a sophomore, Newport Harbor High’s No. 1 golfer represents the future cement for the Sailors (13-4, 7-3 in league), as they continue to go after the top spot in the Sunset League.

Newport Harbor finished the regular season as the No. 2 team in the Sunset League after losing to Marina, 221-226, Thursday at Big Canyon in the league finale.

Marina now holds the league title.

“They’re a premier team and we didn’t play our best today, and we came up a little short,” Sailors Coach Scott Tarnow said. “Mostly, it was the three-putts. That was the difference today, our putting. They were two-putting the holes and we were three-putting. In a match, where you’ve got 220 strokes, five strokes, that’s one three-putt per girl, and I saw several from each girl. The match swings pretty quickly. That’s not a horrible score by us, but I was expecting a little better.”

Senior Kendall Horn has watched the team fall short of the top two years running and, this time, it was only by five maddening little strokes.

Last season, Newport Harbor went 11-5 to finish second in league to Los Alamitos.

Unlike Draganza, senior team captain Kendall Horn walked into the Sailors’ top spot as a sophomore unsure if she was ready to handle it.

Horn took over a team that had lost its most talented players to graduation, and in 2005, the Sailors didn’t win a single match. The next season, they finished second to Los Alamitos.

Not being able to come out on top, especially by such a small margin, smarted a little for Horn, but not too much.

“At the same time, I’m still so proud of the team,” she said. “Losing to Los Al and then Marina, they’re top teams. I’m OK losing to them because they’re worthy. They’re definitely worthy competitors. They practice so hard, and they deserve it just as much. So, I know that the girls are going to be great next year, and I look forward to seeing what they’re going to do.”

So Horn leaves the team in less of a state of renovation for Draganza than it was when she inherited it.

Draganza, whose best score of the season was a one-over-par 37, shot eight-over 44, and Tiffany Kim finished with 44 as well. Lindsey Hanna shot 45, followed by Morgan Moody (46), and Horn (47). Now, the Sailors will focus on the league individual championship and the CIF team divisionals. The individual championship is held at El Prado Golf Course in Chino Tuesday and Wednesday. The league’s top 36 girls tee off at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, and the top 12 advance to the next day.

“It’ll be tough next year losing Kendall,” Draganza said. “But I think we can still do it because we still have some really good freshmen, and there are sophomores this year. It’s still a couple more years, but that’s a goal we should have, be No. 1 in our league. That would be really nice.”

SORAYA NADIA McDONALD may be reached at (714) 966-4613 or at soraya.mcdonald@latimes.com.