Former Santa Barbara High star Andrew Perez won medalist honors to lead College of the Desert to the team championship at the Southern Cal Men’s Golf Regional on Monday at Bermuda Dunes CC.
Perez fired rounds of 68 and 76 for an even-par 144, beating Matt Sobczak of Hancock (36-36) by two shots.
Desert won the 10-team compettion with 756 strokes, 36 over par. The other qualifers for the State Finals were Glendale, Long Beach and Santiago Canyon.
Dodge Ward of SBCC carded an 11-over-par 155 to tie for 26th. The freshman from San Marcos High shot 76 and 79 on a windy day in the desert.
“The winds were pretty stiff, gale force at times,” said SBCC coach Chuck Melendez. “Some putts didn’t drop for him. He played pretty well for the conditions.”
Ward was competing as an individual in the one-day, 36-hole event at Bermuda Dunes, a course of nearly 7,000 yards that’s one of the venues for the Bob Hope Classic on the PGA Tour. The top four teams and top six individuals not on qualifying teams advanced to the State Championships on May 16 at Kings CC in Hanford.
