TEMECULA – A marathon is 26.2 miles and that’s what this first week in April must’ve felt like for the Linfield Christian golf team.
Monday and Tuesday of last week saw the Lions participate in Long Beach Wilson’s prestigious Champions Invitational in Palm Springs, which gives participants a taste of college golf with its five play, four count scoring format. Linfield Christian finished 34th out of 45 teams in the event.
Regular high school golf in California, for those unfamiliar, is played in teams of six with five scores counting towards the team total.
“We set a goal to shoot 310 each day, thinking that would give us a chance to finish mid pack. So, to not achieve that objective was disappointing,” Lions coach Mark Moore said. “I have a group of kids that love to play golf and I know they’ll be working on their games over the break after taking some well-earned time off.”
Then on Wednesday and Thursday, the Lions returned to Ambassador League play with home matches against Woodcrest Christian and a much-anticipated matchup against defending league champion Arrowhead Christian at Temecula’s Cross Creek Golf Club.
After Thursday’s 200-205 victory over Arrowhead Christian, the Lions will take their spring break at 9-0 overall and 4-0 in Ambassador League play. They hold a one-match lead over the Eagles with a return match at Redlands Country Club scheduled for April 18.
“Both sides really took advantage of some excellent scoring conditions,” Moore added. “We’re really excited to play the return match at Redlands Country Club, which is another excellent venue, against a quality program.”
Arrowhead Christian’s (6-1, 3-1) Sebastian Carrillo earned medalist honors with a one over par round of 37 while Daniel Guerra and Luke Bohmer also posted sub 40 scores with a pair of 38s to lead Linfield Christian.
Bohmer was steady in his round of 38 with seven pars and a pair of bogeys but had a save at the par three eighth hole that might make some touring professionals jealous. His tee shot to the 200-yard par three found the water and after taking a drop under penalty of one stroke, his wedge shot came to rest about 15 feet from the hole. It was a putt the junior rolled right in the center of the hole and in a match like this one can be a difference maker.
Meanwhile, Kim’s 40 was an eventful one as he started out double bogey and bogey at one and two (three putting from less than three feet). He then strung together birdies at three, six and seven with an impressive display of ball striking before struggling on the way in.
Linfield Christian is in pursuit of the program’s first Ambassador League title since 2018 and as a team currently averages a 204.8 in nine-hole dual matches.
At Cross Creek Golf Club (Par 36):
Linfield Christian Scores
Luke Bohmer – 38, Daniel Guerra – 38, Ben Kim – 40, Alfredo Guerra – 41, Charlie Li – 43, *Abby Bi – 51
Arrowhead Christian Scores
Sebastian Carrillo – 37, Drew Young – 41, Diego Carrillo – 42, Scott Woo – 42, Reuben Coke – 43, *Caden Rossi – 50
*Not counted towards team score
Derryl Trujillo can be reached at socaltrekkie@gmail.com.
