Golf

The Glendale City Council on Tuesday backed away from pledging any direct support for purchase of the Verdugo Hills Golf Course, but did vote to send a letter raising issues to be considered in an upcoming environmental impact report. Foothill residents have banded together to call on Glendale to join Los Angeles city, county and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy in an effort to buy the 58-acre property and maintain the course. Jim Dantana, a planning deputy for L.A. City Councilwoman Wendy Gruel, announced, ?

GLENDALE — Lee Pope never lost hope. Having spent the past 11 seasons coaching at all of the different levels of the Crescenta Valley High football program and the past two seasons as the junior varsity boys' golf squad, Pope wanted to see if his body of work could lead to a head coaching position at his alma mater. It did. Pope was named the Crescenta Valley girls' golf coach June 24. He succeeds Ken Johnson, who resigned in June after eight seasons so he can attend his daughter's soccer matches this fall at New Mexico Highlands University.

Audrey Chung, Sophomore, Crescenta Valley : Carded a sixth-place finish at the Pacific League individual tournament and provided a solid 1-2 punch with Jocelyn Chia to help Falcons win share of league title. Advanced to the CIF Southern Section Girls' Golf Individual Final for the first time. Joany Gao, Junior, Burroughs : Two-time All-Area pick finished seventh at the Pacific League individual final. Qualified for the CIF Southern Section Girls' Golf Individual Final. Melissa Leo, Junior, La Cañada : Took third at the Pacific League individual tournament and helped Spartans qualify for the postseason.

Re: "L.A. tries to save golf course," Feb. 17: Save the golf course? I'm confused. I can understand why the residents who reside near the Verdugo Hills Golf Course do not want an expansive housing development in their neighborhood. And L.A. Councilman Richard Alarcon is helping them out by his motion to get the Cultural Heritage Commission to designate the site a Historical-Cultural Monument. If the commission says it ought to be a Tuna Canyon Detention Station Site, does that mean they can “tear down” the golf course and erect something similar to the Manzanar National Historic Site?

Claudia Culling spoke for me and for so many living in Glendale, Sunland-Tujunga, La Crescenta, the unincorporated County and even Burbank ("Fate of golf course is a story to watch," Jan. 17). The Verdugo Hills Golf Course has been the local place to play golf, to learn golf, and to compete in and raise money through golf tournaments for decades. Plans to develop this wonderful property and destroy those magnificent old oak trees have led to a growing grassroots movement to save the golf course.

Verdugo Hills Golf Course, whose fate is uncertain, has the potential to become a regional park, a community activist told a receptive audience at the March meeting of the Crescenta Valley Community Assn. Richard ?Rich? Toyon, president of Glendale-Crescenta Volunteers Organized in Conserving the Environment (V.O.I.C.E.), addressed the association, giving an in-depth presentation of options that included saving the course and adding hiking trails, restored habitat and opportunities for additional active recreation, especially in areas that are currently under-utilized.

GLENDALE — For most of the season, St. Francis High golf Coach Jeff Durfee wondered if his young team could put together a complete 18-hole round. Durfee won’t have to wonder any longer. St. Francis capped its season Monday afternoon in fine form by finishing in a tie for third at the CIF Southern Section Western Team Divisional at Montebello Golf Course. Crescenta Valley, which finished first in the Pacific League for the fourth consecutive year, placed sixth at the 16-team event with a 385. “We’ll take it any time,” said Durfee, whose team finished fourth in the Mission League this season before tying league rival Loyola (383)

Christine Cho’s everyday life is anything but calm and serene. A junior majoring in economics at Harvard University, the 2008 Crescenta Valley High graduate's academic workload is exhaustive and her summers offer her little opportunity to recharge, as she just spent two months in Japan completing an internship. Fortunately for Cho, who has been one of the top members of the Crimson women's golf team since her freshman year, an escape from the daily grind is only as far as the next round.

After building up the Glendale Community College men's and women's teams and leading each to appearances in the California Community College Athletic Assn. Golf Championship, Greg Osbourne resigned his post as coach to become Cal State Bakersfield's director of golf. Osbourne recently accepted the position with Bakersfield and will replace the retiring Dave Barber, effective June 6. He will coach both programs at Bakersfield, which will be joining the Western Athletic Conference next season.

After recording a par on the first hole, Colin Morikawa encountered immediate difficulty. Participating in the CIF Southern Section Northern Individual Regional on Monday at River Ridge Golf Club's par-72 Vineyard Course, the La Cañada High boys' golfer found himself in an unusual situation. The reigning All-Area Boys' Golfer of the Year quadruple-bogeyed the par-four second hole, seriously reducing his chances of extending his splendid season. Morikawa shook off the tough situation and finished with a 73 to finish in a seven-way tie for fifth at the event.

After seeing their attempts to lead their respective boys' golf teams past the CIF Southern Section team divisionals fall short, six area athletes will strive to achieve individual success. The group will migrate north to Oxnard to participate in the 18-hole CIF Southern Section Northern Individual Regional, which will be held at 8 a.m. Monday at River Ridge Golf Club's Vineyard Course. Among those expected to participate will be Paul Park of Crescenta Valley High, Vince De Pinto and Mike Mozilo of St. Francis and La Cañada's Collin Morikawa, Robby Stehlin and Joshua Suh. The top 30 plus ties from the Northern and Southern regionals will advance to the CIF Southern Section Individual Championship Tournament, which will be held at 9 a.m. May 20 at La Purisima Golf Course in Lompoc.

Following a rainstorm in the heart of Ventura County, Paul Park heated up. The Crescenta Valley High junior boys' golfer put things together nicely and proceeded to put on one of his best performances of the season. Park shot a two-under-par 70 to finish second overall in the CIF Southern Section Northern Team Divisional at Soule Park Golf Course in Ojai. "Things worked out well for me on the course and I hit a lot of my shots on the greens," said Park, who finished behind Sean Croker of Westlake (67)

Jin Park certainly isn't a stranger to the playoff stage. He's soaked up some past experiences, including an appearance with the talented Glendale Community College men's golf team that advanced to the state tournament in 2011. Things will now be a bit different for Park, who will tee off at the Southern California Regionals on Monday at Costa Mesa Golf and Country Club. Park, a Burbank High graduate, will be the lone representative from Glendale college to participate in the 36-hole event and attempt to qualify for the California Community College Athletic Assn.

At first glance, it appeared as though the St. Francis and Crescenta Valley boys' golf teams would enter the season in a state of transition. The Golden Knights and Falcons changed their identity at the top by bringing in new coaches in Kyle Ostrom and Lee Pope, respectively, to revamp their teams. Looking to meet different expectations bestowed by Ostrom and Pope, St. Francis and Crescenta Valley struggled earlier on before seeing their fortunes change to put them in line for potential playoff contention.

BURBANK - While waiting for the official scores of the Pacific League's Individual Tournament to be tallied, Paul Park leaned forward in a chair Wednesday on the deck at De Bell Golf Club eagerly awaiting word as to whether his latest result would extend his season. The Crescenta Valley High boys' golfer figured the odds were with him despite playing in a 16-player field that was dominated mostly by powerful Arcadia. When Park received confirmation he qualified for the CIF Southern Section Individual Tournament, he immediately felt relief.

LOS ANGELES - Vince De Pinto had plenty of confidence entering the final round of the two-round Mission League Individual Tournament on Wednesday. One more solid 18-hole round would enable the St. Francis High senior golfer to be a part of the CIF Southern Section Individual Tournament for the first time in his career. De Pinto punched his ticket into the postseason, as he carded a three-over-par 75 to finish fifth in league at Griffith Park's Wilson Course. “It feels great to be able to move on,” said De Pinto, who entered Wednesday's action atop the leader board after opening with a three-under-par 69 on Tuesday at Lakewood Country Club before finishing with a two-round score of 144. “I knew what I needed to do. “I made a lot of putts for par. The plan coming into the last round was to be aggressive on the first nine holes and see where I matched up with my opponents.

A move that could block a residential development on the Verdugo Hills Golf Course hit a stumbling block last week when the Los Angeles Cultural Heritage Commission voted unanimously to recommend it not be made a Historic-Cultural Monument. More than a dozen speakers voiced support for the nomination - both Sunland-Tujunga locals and descendants of Japanese-Americans who had been interned at the Tuna Canyon Detention Station, which was located on the site during World War II. However, the commissioners ruled that because all historic buildings and structures were demolished in 1960, the site, which is a Crescenta Valley resource, didn't qualify.

PASADENA - Heading into the home stretch in the Pacific League, Paul Park is pleased with his overall play. Nonetheless, the way the Crescenta Valley High boys' junior golfer sees it, there's still room for improvement and Park's effort Thursday raised his confidence of doing that going forward. PHOTOS: Pacific League boys' golf “I'm doing a lot of things well right now, like striking the ball,” said Park, who shot a two-over-par 72 on Thursday in Pacific League match No. 4 at Brookside Golf Course No. 2. “That really helped me out today on some different holes.