Golf: RB High duo set for SoCal Regional

Rancho Bernardo High’s Harrison Mahon and Zihao Jin were the only two locals to survive the low-shooting field at the San Diego Section boys golf championships last week, as the duo qualified for Thursday’s SoCal Regional.

Mahon, a senior who transferred to Rancho Bernardo from Texas, finished the section tournament in a third-place tie after posting a two-round score of 6-under par (138) at Admiral Baker Golf Course. Jin carded a 4-under par to finish tied for eighth place.

Most years those scores would be good enough to take the title, but there were a whopping 17 golfers who finished under par, including first-place finisher Kaiwen Liu of Torrey Pines who fired a section-record 130 (14-under par). In comparison, Phil Mickelson shot a 135 in 1988 and Poway High graduate Charley Hoffman a 137 in 1994. Both now play professionally.

The Broncos as a team came up just short of the final SoCal Regional qualifying spot. Torrey Pines rolled to the section title by shooting 28-under and La Jolla edged Rancho Bernardo by seven strokes to snatch second place. Rancho Bernardo finished 3-over as a team.

Poway High’s Mason Schulze saw his outstanding prep career come to an end. The senior tied for the 12th and final qualifying spot with four others after shooting even par over the two days. But he was unable to pull out the playoff victory. The Broncos’ Steve Sugimoto also just missed out, finishing one-over par.

Mahon will be making his first appearance in his first try at the SoCal Regional, which is at Brookside Golf Club and slated to tee off at 7:30 a.m. Jin, a junior, is no stranger to the regional as he posted an even-par to help the Broncos advance to the state championships two years ago. A top 12-finish will qualify Mahon and Jin to the state championships, which are slated for June 1 at San Gabriel Golf Course in Pasadena.