Inland boys golfers will be competing in league finals in the coming days to determine the qualifiers for the CIF Southern Section regional tournaments.
Leagues are guaranteed a minimum of four entries and can earn more based on how many golfers land inside the top 360 of the iWannamaker rankings as of 9 a.m. Friday. League assignments to regional qualifiers and number of bids will be announced Monday at noon on the Southern Section’s website.
Here are some of the top Inland league finals to watch this week.
AMBASSADOR LEAGUE
Site: Morongo Golf Club at Tukwet Canyon (Champions Course), Beaumont
Dates: Tuesday and Thursday
IE Varsity info: Linfield Christian’s Luke Bohmer, who finished T-20 in the Champions Invitational hosted by Long Beach Wilson over spring break, is back to defend his title. The Lions are expected to take a majority of this league’s individual postseason bids as undefeated team champions. United Christian Academy’s Derek Okubo, a qualifier from last year, should also be in the fight for a bid this season.
BASELINE LEAGUE
Site: Jurupa Hills Country Club, Riverside
Dates: Monday and Tuesday
IE Varsity info: Etiwanda, Los Osos and Chino Hills have clearly separated themselves as the top three teams in regular-season play. They also have 13 of the top 15 nine-hole scoring averages as of April 23 and are expected to take most, if not all of the league’s individual bids. The league will have a new champion as Andy Yu (Los Osos) graduated and is playing collegiately at Carnegie-Mellon. Angel Oliva (Etiwanda), Keshav Joshi (Chino Hills) and Jonathan Nolasco (Los Osos) are top contenders. Damien’s Jimmy Walsh and Jason Verkler Jr., and Rancho Cucamonga’s Shane Chin should be in the fight for qualifying spots as well.
BIG VIII LEAGUE
Site: Los Serranos County Club, Chino Hills
Dates: Tuesday (North Course) and Thursday (South Course)
IE Varsity info: Norco’s Baron Ngyuen, a UCLA commit, was the area’s only league champion to finish under par last year and will be back to defend his title. Santiago, King, and Roosevelt are separated by a match in the team standings as of April 23 and should take a majority of the available bids to CIF-SS qualifying. Fourteen players have nine-hole scoring averages of 41 or lower which should lead to quite the battle for those other spots. Centennial’s Matthew Chen has put up the lowest scores from outside of those teams and should also be in the fight to move onto regionals.
IVY LEAGUE
Site: Hemet Golf Club
Dates: Monday and Wednesday
IE Varsity info: Riverside Poly won the outright team championship and finished the regular season with an 18-0 record. When it comes to title contenders, a pair of freshmen should be in the title fight: Grady Emerson (Poly) and Archwin Sangsurasak (Hillcrest). Poly’s Sam Bonzoumet will be looking for his third tournament title of the year, while teammate Jack Wasserman is also one to keep an eye on in that title chase. Three of the top-10 nine-hole scoring averages as of April 23 belong to freshmen, with Ethan Magana (Poly) rounding out that trio. Arlington’s Tyler Cole, Paloma Valley’s Brody Wilkerson, and Liberty’s Chase Juliano complete the top 10 in scoring average and should be in contention for qualifying spots.
SOUTHWESTERN LEAGUE
Site: Temecula Creek Inn (Oaks/Creek Composite Couse)
Dates: Wednesday and Thursday
IE Varsity info: Chaparral senior Troy Song will be back to defend his title of a year ago when he shot a final round 74 to defeat Murrieta Valley’s Brayden Gilpin by two shots. Three freshmen are also in the league’s top 10 for nine-hole scoring average — Dominic Wilson and Kyle Yoda of Great Oak and Oscar Sauber of Chaparral — and could be title contenders. Seven of last year’s 11 qualifiers graduated so most of those advancing to the individual postseason will be new to the event.
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