CHINO HILLS — There are putts a golfer needs to make to keep a great round going.
Linfield Christian senior Luke Bohmer did just that at Monday’s CIF Southern Section Central Region qualifier at Los Serranos Golf Club’s South Course.
Bohmer got off to a great start with four birdies across his first six holes, and then he made four crucial par saves en route to a bogey-free 7-under-par 67. That earned Bohmer medalist medalist honors by three shots over Apple Valley’s Brandy Fonville.
Bohmer leads a group of five Inland area golfers who advanced and earned tee times for the CIF Southern Section individual championships Thursday, May 22, at Temecula Creek Inn’s Stonehouse/Oaks composite course.
“I feel like I struck the ball really well today, but it was just one of those days where the putter got hot and I just ran with it,” Bohmer said. “Playing CrossCreek, in the hills of Temecula where the wind can certainly get up in the afternoon, definitely prepared me for the stretch run today.”
After five holes, Bohmer was 1-under par with a lone birdie at the downhill, 205-yard, par-3 17th hole. He caught fire with three straight birdies, including a near hole-out from 140 yards at No. 4, to reach 4-under par and take the lead from Chaparral’s Troy Song.
Bohmer then scrambled for four pars in a six-hole stretch, including a save from 80 yards at No. 5 after punching out from the right trees, to stay atop the leaderboard.
Fonville made three straight birdies of his own to match Bohmer at 4-under-par. However, he played his final four holes at even par to earn runner-up honors.
When the wind was its strongest, Bohmer saved his best for last, sticking a 7-wood from 195 yards at No. 13 to 6 feet and then draining his lone eagle of Monday’s round to get to 6 under par. Then at the 402-yard, par-4 14th hole, Bohmer stuck a wedge shot from 50 yards to 3 feet and made the putt, capping off a personal-best round for the Drake University signee.
“I really enjoy playing in the wind, so that second shot at No. 13 was right up my alley,” Bohmer added. “We were playing from a college distance and to be able to do what I did today against a great field is definitely a boost for me moving forward.”
Song had the early lead after getting up and down at No. 1 from a greenside bunker to reach 3-under par. However, three bogeys and a double-bogey in the middle of his round knocked last year’s Southwestern League champion and regional finalist back to 1 over par. He also got up and down for birdie at the last hole to post 74 and advance.
Big VIII League champion Baron Ngyuen of Norco played his last five holes in 2 under par, including three birdies in a four-hole stretch, to shoot a 74 and also advance.
Other golfers advancing with 74s and finishing tied for sixth were Dominic Wilson (Great Oak), and Gavin Carpenter (Santiago). Wilson was 2 over par after eight holes before responding with back-to-back birdies at Nos. 7 and 8 to return to even par.
Twenty golfers shot 75 or better to advance into next week’s section finals. Linfield Christian’s Alfredo Guerra and King’s Chase Slavin missed by a shot. Slavin was under par at one point and in position to advance but late back-to-back double bogeys doomed his cause. Guerra started out 3 over par after six holes and played his last 12 holes in 1 over par but just missed a possible playoff.
Six others, including Ivy League champion Sam Bonzoumet (Riverside Poly) shot rounds of 3-over-par 77 and missed by two shots.
Inland Leaderboard
1. Luke Bohmer (Linfield Christian) 67
T6. Gavin Carpenter (Santiago), Troy Song (Chaparral), Baron Nguyen (Norco) and Dominic Wilson (Great Oak) 74
T21. Alfredo Guerra (Linfield Christian) and Chase Slavin (King) 76
T26. Seth Looy (Yucaipa), Sam Bonzoumet (Poly), Tyler Cole (Arlington), Keshav Joshi (Chino Hills) and Koa Baur (Great Oak) 77
T32. Lucas Nering (Perris), Grady Emerson (Poly), Harlan Yapa (King), Jack Wasserman (Poly), and Archwin Sangsurasak (Hillcrest) 78
T41. Jackson Wills (Linfield Christian), Jonathan Nolasco (Los Osos), Matteo Neri (Etiwanda) 79
T51. Jiayuan “Jasper” Ai (Mesa Grande Academy), Oscar Sauber (Chaparral), Ashton Spaulding (Roosevelt) and Jacob Abel (Redlands) 80
T59. Harrison Budz (Great Oak), Rohan Mehtani (Santiago), Thomas Little (Santa Rosa Academy), Brady Gless (Poly) 81
T68. Jacob Vickery (Temecula Valley) and Michael Viene (Poly) 82
T71. Anderson Sterba (Temecula Valley) and Kyle Yoda (Great Oak) 83
T75. Jeffrey Thornton (Temecula Valley), Ethan Castillo (Loma Linda Academy), Christian Granger (Rim) and David Perez (Rancho Verde) 84
T83. Cash Schoo (Temescal Canyon), Reese Pulsipher (West Valley), JC Casaclang (Redlands Adventist Academy) 85
T90. Zachary Thomas (Orange Vista), and Kaden Allen (Cajon) 86
