After securing the Foothill League crown in the final week of the season, two Valencia High School golfers have qualified for the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section Individuals Finals.
Golfers Kara An and Eliana Saga of Valencia tied for 17th place in the CIF-SS Individuals regionals on Tuesday and carded 74 (+2) to secure their place in the next round.
“Definitely happy for them both,” Valencia coach Robert Waters said. “Considering how the round went, relieved may be a better word.”
The tournament was played on Monday and Tuesday and the top 24 players from each of the three individual regional events will advance to the CIF-SS Individual Finals scheduled to be held on Nov. 6.
Heading into the competition, Saga was not even in the country, as she was in Bahrain and competed in the Asia Youth Games.
Saga flew in early Monday morning and was on the team van at 5:50 a.m. as the team headed out to River Ridge golf course in Oxnard.
Waters said she was exhausted but that her determination led to a “gutsy performance” as Saga was +4 with only three holes left to play.
Saga finished with birdie-par-birdie and qualified inside the cut line.
“Eliana is just so tough. She was absolutely exhausted and clearly not herself,” Waters said. “For her to buckle down and have a finish like that is so impressive and is a great example of her determination and will to overcome how she was feeling. So proud of her.”
As for An, she fell into trouble on the 18th hole, a par 5. She sat +1 through 17 holes and hit a tee shot that landed in the fairway bunker.
It took An two shots to get the ball back into play, then she shot a bogey-saving 8-foot slider to make the cut.
“Kara played great golf all day and caught a bad break on that final hole,” Waters said. “The amount of pressure on that final putt was immense. To witness the ball drop in that moment was quite a relief. She did so well relying on her pre-shot routine and trusting herself.”
Moving forward, Waters is excited to have two golfers compete in the finals, but the competition presents a unique challenge as Valencia, as a team, is still scheduled to compete in the CIF-SS Division Team Championships next week.
“The girls were able to get in a practice round this past week, so we’ll be familiar with the course. We are excited to compete in Division 1 and are ready to give our best effort,” he said.
As for other Foothill League competitors, West Ranch received an at-large bid into Division 1 and will also compete in the Team Championships alongside Valencia, which earned the automatic bid as the Vikings were league champions.
Both West Ranch and Valencia girls’ golf tee off next week in the team championship at The Los Serranos golf course in Chino Hills on Monday and Tuesday.
