Danny Smith of HB sinks birdie in playoff to make cut to advance in CIF

LONG BEACH — The nerves started to build as play ended at the CIF Southern Section Southern Individual Regional at Skylinks Golf Course on Monday evening.

As scores trickled in, Huntington Beach High junior Danny Smith didn’t want his anxiety to intensify. He posted a one-over-par 73 that appeared on a big white board along with the other scores from 117 golfers.

But Smith couldn’t bear to watch. He worked on his putting and hit a few balls just to keep his mind off the scores. Little did he know he was actually practicing for a playoff.

The nerves came to an all-time high during the first playoff hole against six other golfers vying for five spots to advance to the CIF-SS Individual Championship and SCGA Qualifying Tournament. Smith got behind a 20-foot birdie putt and quelled those nerves by just thinking about his speed and getting a good roll.

“Luckily it just found the right line,” Smith said.

Smith’s putt dropped in and he advanced to play at Rancho San Marcos in Santa Barbara on May 18, along with 19 others from the Southern Regional. He was the only one out of 11 golfers from the Coastal cities schools to advance.

“Honestly I didn’t make a putt that long the entire day,” Smith said. “It was a good time for it.”

Smith accomplished quite the feat to be a first-team All-Sunset League player and advance to return to Skylinks. He can also be very proud to be among the 20 to advance to Rancho San Marcos. The low for the day was 68. A card-off was used to determine the top placings: 1. Tyler Schaefer (Long Beach Wilson), 2. Tom Hoyne (Palos Verdes), 3. Sam Choi (Anaheim Discovery Christian) and 4. Chris Chomyn (Irvine).

Newport Harbor sophomore Ethan Barnes, the Sunset League champion, missed the cut to compete in the playoff by one stroke for the second straight year, as he shot a 74. Last year, the cut was 74. Barnes shot a 68 in the first round of the Sunset League finals.

Smith said he missed three putts from about three or four feet out, as he bogeyed three holes and doubled one. He shot even on the front nine, which featured an eagle on the par-five, 513-yard No. 6 hole. He also birdied hole Nos. 3 (385-yard par four) and 8 (388-yard par 4). He shot one-over on the back nine.

Oilers coach Dean Yoshiyama said he was especially proud of Smith because he has been able to juggle his demanding academic schedule while preparing for the boys’ golf postseason events. Huntington Beach, which won the Sunset League, will compete in the CIF-SS Southern Team Championship Tournament at Mile Square on May 15.

Smith is an Advanced Placement student at Huntington Beach. He said he has an AP English test on Wednesday. Last week included an AP History exam and an AP Spanish test.

He was able to pass a challenging test of golf at Skylinks on Monday.

Yoshiyama also pointed out that it was already a great feat for Smith to advance out of the Sunset League. He didn’t do that last year.

“There are a lot of good golfers in our league,” Yoshiyama said. “Every school in our league had a player in this tournament.”

Newport Harbor had two: Barnes and senior Noah Mayne, who shot 77.

Sophomore Peter Di Bernardo, the Oilers’ top golfer all season, struggled at the league finals with scores of 79 and 78 and did not advance. Di Bernardo was the league’s top point-getter, meaning he was poised to be the league MVP, heading into the league finals.

But Barnes won the league title and MVP.

Fountain Valley’s Josh Vo (79), Marina’s Connor O’Brien (82), Edison’s Tiger Tahvidari (91) and Los Alamitos’ Devin Keith (77) and David Tillman (79) also represented the Sunset League.

Sage Hill junior Brandon Tse shot a 74.

Laguna Beach High junior Kyle Sharp, the Orange Coast League champion, shot 76. His teammates, Chase Gioffredi (87) and Dante Fornaro (89), also competed.

Brethren Christian senior Justin Hudgens carded an 87.

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Twitter: @SteveVirgen