Nueva’s Yen holds on for WBAL girls’ golf title

Yen’s win gives Nueva its first-ever girls’ golf title, significant considering the school does not have a girls’ golf team. But players from Nueva are eligible to play in the WBAL individual tournament. And with the win, Yen punches her ticket to the Central Coast Section tournament at Laguna Seca Golf Ranch in Monterey Tuesday.

“She’s made it to CCS the last couple years,” Nueva head coach Brian Schultze said. “She’s just won a couple (juniors tournaments) over the last couple of weekends. She was coming in hot to this (WBAL) tournament.”

While Nueva does not have a girls’ team, female golfers at the school are allowed to play on the boys’ team and can apply to play in the girls’ WBAL tournament. But that spring season is six months away and Schultze said he and Yen have spent plenty of time on the Baylands course in preparation for the WBAL round.

“Baylands has super tricky greens,” Schultze said.

Both Yen and Zhang were tied after 15 holes before the fireworks started. Nueva head coach Brian Schultze said Yen nearly drove the par-4, 335-yard 16th hole. She chipped on to the green and had a putt for birdie and both she and Zhong settled for par to stay tied.

At the par-3 17th, Schultze said Zhong reached the green, but her 40-foot birdie putt lipped out. Yen, meanwhile, stuck her drive to five feet, which she drained for a birdie and one-shot lead going to the final hole.

On the par-5, 395-yard 18th hole, both golfer were on the green in two shots, with both looking at eagle putts. Zhong’s 15 footer slid past the right edge, Schultze said, while Yen’s putt from the collar came up just short.

Both tapped in for birdie, with Yen taking the one-stroke win.

Hailey Li, a freshman from regular-season team champion Harker, and Notre Dame-San Jose freshman Erin Nguyen, both finished in a tie for third with rounds of even-par 72. Li was awarded third on a tiebreak, with Nguyen taking fourth.

Victoria Cui gave Crystal two, top-1o finishes as the sophomore was fifth with a 2-over 74. That was three shots better than Nueva’s Arisa Angspatt, a freshman, and Sacred Heart Prep senior Emily Hallum. Both finshed with 5-over 77s, with Angspatt taking sixth on a tiebreaker.

Hallum’s teammate, freshman Ariane Hartandi, finished ninth with an 81. She was sandwiched between a pair of King’s Academy golfers — senior Kristen Tang was eighth following a 79, while Audrey Wu, a freshman, rounded out the top 10 following a round of 82.

The team tournament title went to Crystal, which had a five-golfer total score of 424. That easily out-distanced runner-up King’s Academy, which posted a team score of 445 — one shot better than Notre Dame-San Jose, which finished third.

Correction

Burlingame Liu takes 10th at PAL championship

In a clarification on the scoring for the PAL tournament Tuesday, the Daily Journal got it wrong. Burlingame’s Liu, who was in the second-to-last group, finished with a round of 88 to tie M-A’s Savannah Lee.

But it was Liu who took 10th after a tiebreaker, comparing the last six holes between her and Lee.