Brady McHenry of Buena holds off Hill Wang in playoff to win CIF/SCGA regional boys golf crown, but La Serna still earns first team title

Brady McHenry will always remember his birdie putt on the par-4 10th hole to win a playoff Thursday against Hill Wang of La Serna High at the CIF/Southern California Golf Association regional final, but it was another birdie on the final hole of his regulation round that might have been even more significant for the Buena High senior.

McHenry and Wang both shot 7-under 67 on the 7,225-yard layout at the Los Serranos South Course in Chino Hills to tie for medalist honors and force a sudden-death playoff to determine the champion.

Both golfers needed to produce birdies on their last holes to earn a share of the top spot in a field where 42 athletes shot under par in the qualifier for the CIF State Championships, scheduled for Tuesday at Poppy Hills Golf Course in Pebble Beach.

The cutoff for the nine individuals to advance to the state final was 70.

Wang, a sophomore, produced a birdie on the par-5 eighth hole, with the Texas Tech-bound McHenry achieving birdie on the par-5 16th hole to create the playoff on the 10th hole.

McHenry had eight birdies in his round, including four in a row on holes Nos. 1-4, and added another with his short putt in the playoff.

Brady McHenry became the first Buena boys golfer to capture the CIF/SCGA title, prevailing in a playoff against Hill Wang from La Serna after both athletes shot 7-under 67 | Photo courtesy of Buena

Wang recorded an eagle on the par-5 first hole, in addition to seven birdies in regulation, contributing to La Serna capturing its first CIF/SCGA team title in program history with an 8-under 362.

The Lancers won the CIF-Southern Section Division 1 crown May 19 at El Dorado Park Golf Course in Long Beach, then took third May 22 at the CIF/SCGA regional qualifier at Temecula Creek Golf Course, before adding another victory Thursday reigning state team champion Torrey Pines.

Tyler Yao shot 73 to support Wang, with La Serna receiving 74s from Joseph Gutierrez, Jacob Palomares and Andrew Rodriguez, in addition to an 88 by Jacob Torres.

Torrey Pines, last year’s regional winner, placed second by shooting 365 and Santa Margarita posted a 367, as both schools also advanced to the state final.

Evan Liu and Roman Dammkoehler both carded 70s, Ethan Elleraas achieved a 71, Praat Maneerat posted a 74, with Alex Renda firing an 80 and Santiago Bosch shooting 81 for the Falcons.

Santa Margarita returned to the state championship for the first time since 2012, edging Palm Desert and Sunny Hills – both lineups shooting 369 – for the final berth.

Ronin Banerjee led the Eagles with a 70, Hudson Vedder had a 72, Anthony Wu shot 73, Landon Frank carded a 75, Daniel He posted a 77 and Carson Hagmier produced a 78.

Matthew Hull of Corona del Mar took third at 68, with five golfers carding 69s and St. Francis freshman Jaden Soong producing a 70 to secure the individual qualifying berths to advance to the state championship.

Aadhavan Prasad from Beckman, Shawn Nawata of Irvine, Michael Riebe from Cathedral Catholic, Troy Song of Chaparral and Teddy Vigna from Dos Pueblos were the competitors that all shot 69.

Riebe opened his round with an eagle on the par-5 13th hole and reached 8-under through 13 holes, before posting three bogeys over his final five holes to fall out of championship contention.

Hull produced a birdie on the par-5 16th to conclude his round, but despite seven birdies overall, the UCLA-bound junior missed joining McHenry and Wang in the playoff by one stroke.