Nothing Unlucky About “13”

Palisades Reclaims City Golf Crown at Griffith Park; Seelig Sixth Individually

Despite a slim seven-stroke lead heading into last Wednesday’s final round of the City Section Golf Championships, Palisades High players were confident they would win because that is what they had been accustomed to doing all season. “We haven’t lost all year so we’re not expecting to lose today,” Dolphins’ No. 3 player Jimmy Neesen said before teeing off. “If we play the way we are capable, no team out here can match us.” Sure enough, the Dolphins did play better on Griffith Park’s longer Wilson Course than they had Monday on Harding. Palisades’ final round 398 was more than low enough to secure the Dolphins’ 13th team title and first since 2002. Carding a two-day total of 789, Palisades was 23 strokes better than second-place San Pedro. El Camino Real was third with a score of 843 and Venice finished fourth at 845. Three Dolphins shot in the 70s on Wilson, including junior Ben Seelig, who was trying to become the first Pali golfer to win the individual tournament since Ed Turner in 1999. “It would be nice to go out and shoot the lowest score, but the team title is more important to me,” Seelig confessed. “I’m glad we won that.” Seelig was even par, two strokes off the lead heading into the final round. Andre Ok of Granada Hills and Mat Shin of Kennedy each shot a two-under 70 on Harding while Daniel Park of LACES was one-under. Seelig was five-over on the front nine Wednesday and finished sixth overall with a two-day score of 149. Park won the individual title with a final round 72. The grand prize, however, went to Palisades. “I figured if we could shoot around what we shot on Harding we’d be tough to catch today because this (Wilson) is a much tougher course,” Pali coach James Paleno said. “I think our consistency is what did it for us. No one shot lights out today, but no one carded a 90 either.” Senior Steven Chung shot a final-round 79 to finish at 154. Nissen carded a team-low 76 on Wednesday and also finished at 154. Contributing to the victory were sophomores Ashton Roberts (164) and Jason Weintraub (168) and junior Austin Curtis (88). The team total is determined by adding up the five lowest scores on each day. Upon returning to the clubhouse after his round Wednesday, Nissen glanced up at the board and smiled, realizing his team had already picked up valuable strokes from the first round. “I knew we were in good shape at that point,” he said. “I was the third guy to finish and Ben (Seelig) and Steven (Chung) already had lower scores than the San Pedro guys.” By virtue of winning their section, the Dolphins automatically qualified for the Southern California Regional Championships, to be held next Thursday, June 2, at the SCGA Members Club in Murrieta. Palisades won back-to-back regional tournaments in 1971-72 when it was a powerhouse. “Right now, we’re just going to enjoy this,” Paleno said. “We’ve come close the last two years but fallen short, so it’s good to win hands down, with no controversy. The kids played well enough to win.” In 2002, Palisades lost the City title when Chung signed an incorrect scorecard, only to be awarded the championship a week later when it was discovered Granada Hills had used an ineligible player. In 2003, the Dolphins finished second by two strokes to Granada Hills. Last year, Curtis was assessed a two-stroke penalty for removing a leaf in front of his ball and the infraction dropped Pali from second to third in the team standings. The top three teams at the Regionals will advance to the state championships June 8 at Poppy Hills Golf Course in Pebble Beach.