High School Athlete of the Week: Moorhead one to watch for Sea Kings

Hail, half the size of golf balls, pelted the course. This isn’t how Mike Moorheard pictured to spend his Wednesday.

Playing golf isn’t the safest thing to do when there’s lightning.

Moorhead’s big day for a chance to qualify and compete with the state’s finest high school golfers next week, over after six holes. Moorhead took cover in the clubhouse at the Southern California Golf Assn. Members Golf Course in Murrieta.

For four hours, Moorhead waited inside, along with the rest of the field at the CIF SCGA Regional Championship. They went through their boxed lunches, eating turkey sandwiches, drinking water, hoping to return.

But the sky stayed dark. The greens stayed white.

“People from around here said they haven’t even seen rain in Murrieta in like five months,� Moorhead said. “It was abnormal.�

Moorhead’s first year at Corona del Mar High has turned out unusual as well. Not many freshmen reach this stage of the golf season, one strong round away from playing at Poppy Hills Golf Course at Pebble Beach.

Moorhead returned to Murrieta Thursday, only to fall short of advancing to the state finals. This time the weather didn’t stop him. His putting game did.

Moorhead shot two-over-par 74, missing the cut. The top six individuals, not part of the three qualifying teams, moved on.

“Nothing was going my way,� said Moorhead, who bogeyed four of his 12 holes Thursday and eagled one.

“There’s always next year.�

The next three years for Moorhead are state or bust.

How Moorhead performed late in the season in his first year with the Sea Kings, his chances of getting there are high.

Moorhead can’t drive a car, but he sure can tee off. This summer, he plans to get his driver’s license.

The road is already promising.

Already, CdM Coach Mike Starkweather has compared Moorhead to a teenage Tiger Woods. The high expectation is a tad much for a 15-year-old.

“I’ve had girls go this far,� Starkweather said, “but I never had a guy go this far.�

Moorhead became the first boys’ golfer in Starkweather’s 12 years with the Sea Kings to reach the CIF SCGA Regional. This is a major feat for Moorhead.

Starkweather had a good feeling his youngster might be on his way to achieving it before the season began.

The year before, Starkweather warned his players about Moorhead and three incoming freshmen.

“I knew these kids were coming up,� Starkweather said, who told last year’s players returning for this season “they needed to be prepared.

“Most of them were, and still the freshmen played extremely well.�

The Sea Kings went on to win the Pacific Coast League championship, going 10-0. They finished 18-2 overall.

On May 6, CdM boasted the league’s individual champion as well. Right after, Starkweather, over the phone, anointed the winner, Moorhead, as the next Tiger Woods.

Starkweather was adamant. Moorhead had just won the league individual title at Mile Square Golf Course in Fountain Valley, finishing with a two-day total of 11-under-par 133, his career best for a 32-hole event.

“Tiger never shot 11-under par for two days on a championship golf course while in high school,� Starkweather said. “He’s on his way.�

Moorhead continued his impressive late-season run to become CdM’s top golfer.

Moorhead shot a two-under-par 70 at a CIF Southern Section Individual Regional at Skylinks Golf Course in Long Beach on May 18. He tied for fourth place and qualified for the section individual final at Hacienda Golf Club in La Habra Heights.

Last week, Moorhead tied for sixth with a three-over-par 74, good enough to make it to the SCGA Regional, the precursor to state.

The road to Pebble Beach began to get clearer until Wednesday. Lightning and hail created a mess, a four-hour delay, and finally officials postponed the regional to Thursday.

Moorhead wasn’t prepared to swing at hail. After 18 holes, he wasn’t quite ready to become CdM’s first golfer to make it to state.

“He’s still got three years,� Starkweather said. “We’ll see.�