Course Command

Anna Song Cards a 65 to Win Her Third City Golf Title and Leads Palisades to Its Fourth Straight Team Crown

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

Three holes into her round during last Thursday’s City Championships at Balboa Golf Course, Palisades High’s Anna Song found herself in an unusual position: trailing by three strokes. The swirling wind made it difficult to gauge what trajectory to aim for to keep the ball in the fairway. However, like all good players do, Song figured it out and once she did there was no looking back for the Stanford-bound senior, who turned in the most impressive finals performance ever and stated her case as perhaps the best girl ever to swing the stick in section history.

By the time she was through dissecting the par 72 course with near surgical precision Song was the sole  player in red numbers and 11 shots clear of her closest competitor. Her seven-under-par 65 set a new finals scoring record, bettering her six-under 67 that she achieved as a sophomore. She also became only the second player in section annals to win three individual titles, joining Van Nuys’ Tiffany Yau, who captured three straight from 2011-13.   

“I honestly didn’t know about the record,” said Song, who repeated as champion last fall with a five-under 68. “When you’re out there playing you’re not thinking about that.”

Song almost won as a freshman, shooting 1-under to finish second by one stroke to junior teammate Chloe Rahn. Her four-year total of 19 under par in finals play sets a high bar for the future and is a testament to the steely determination Palisades coach Dave Suarez has come to admire in his superstar, who last September played in Benahavis, Spain on Team USA’s Junior Solheim Cup squad, coached by 1974 Pali High graduate and LPGA Hall of Famer Amy Alcott.

“She doesn’t hit many poor shots but when she does she doesn’t let it affect her,” he said. “Her distance control is spot on and her concentration is incredible. It doesn’t hurt that she can out-drive the other girls by 30 or 40 yards, either.”

After parring the first hole, Song bogeyed the second and birdied the third to get back to even par, but Momoka Takahashi of Cleveland opened with three straiught birdies. However, Song had eight pars and seven birdies over the last 15 holes, including a run of five straight birdies from holes 8-12 that gave her an insurmountable lead. Showing she is human after all she did miss three birdie putts inside of three feet, but  on the back nine but with such a big cushion it hardly mattered. Following her sizzling start, Takahashi managed only one more birdie and finished third with a four-over-par 76. Song wound up winning by 10 shots over Mia Siegel of Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies, the second largest margin ever behind Yau’s 11-stroke gap in 2011.    

“It took me a couple holes to get used to the wind,” said Song, who shot -9 at Balboa in league last year. “Every shot I had to take into account what the wind will do and if I’m playing with or against it. I left a few putts out there today but overall I did pretty well. Patience is key and being able to stay focused. If you give yourself opportunities that’s all you can ask. It’s great to win but this one’s sort of bittersweet because it’s my last.”

Today, Song will play for her first SoCal regional title at Los Serranos in Chino Hills, where she was eighth last fall. She would like to cap off her prep career by winning state next week. She finished second by three shots last fall in Pebble Beach.

Her sister Lauren is following in her footsteps. She seeks to set her own records and keep the Dolphins’ dynasty going next fall.              

“She’s ready,” Anna said. “There are no expectations. She’s her own person and she’s on her own path.” 

Song helped Palisades capture its fourth team title in a row, becoming onlyt the second school to win at least four consecutive titles. Granada Hills holds the record, having won six straight from 2001-06 and again from 2011-16. Since the turn of the century the Highlanders have won 14 team titles. Palisades is next with four and Van Nuys and Cleveland each have two.

“The scores reflect how tough the condtions were,” said Suarez, whose team beat runner-up Granada Hills by 63 shots with a score of 426.