As Cameron Gadd walked across the outdoor seating area at Valencia Country Club, he was followed by a chant from nearly every single Foothill League golfer.
“LA City champ,” the group repeated, getting louder with each repetition.
Gadd responded with a sheepish smile, but his play this season has been nearly lion-like as he followed up his LA City Junior Golf Tournament crown with medalist honors in Foothill League meet No. 3 on Tuesday.
“I was really happy,” Gadd said. “I mean, what I’ve been working on is really going well. So I think just keep doing that, keep playing good.”
MORE: Gunnar Murray leads West Ranch boys golf to win in Foothill League meet No. 1
Gadd carded a 1-over 73 to earn medalist for the first time in his varsity golf career and pace all Hart golfers on the afternoon.
West Ranch’s Ben Valdez followed at 2-over and fellow Wildcat Gunnar Murray finished 3-over.
It was the hottest league meet of the season, with temperatures rising to 93 degrees. Gadd said he felt fatigued from the heat, but was able to pull through when it counted.
“(My) putting was phenomenal, I was hitting my approach shots pretty good and driving was pretty good too,” he said.
Although the Indians took home top individual recognition, West Ranch won its third league meet of the season with a team score of 384. Six strokes behind the Cats was Hart at 390 and in third was Saugus at 417.
In terms of overall standings, the Wildcats hold a healthy lead over the Indians. West Ranch is seated first in league at 747, while Hart checks in at 766.
“We can definitely play a lot better,” Gadd said. “We just need to practice more. We need to play more. We need to just focus on the course and get things done.”
Foothill League meet No. 4 is set for Tuesday, April 17 at noon at Sand Canyon Country Club. While Hart is eager for a team win, Gadd is poised to keep improving.
“I’m just very, very proud of how hard he works and I’m also very proud of what a positive influence he is on the rest of the team,” said Hart coach Steve Lindberg.
“…(He was) feeling some validation for all of his hard work and realizing that he belongs. He belongs at the top level of league play.”