OUR TEAM:            GRADE:

Bethany Wu              12  

Josephine Chang      11    

Kaitleen Shee            11  

Joan Park                   12   

Crystal Wang             9    

Rachel Chung            12   

The Diamond Bar High School girls golf team played to within 20 shots of four-time reigning CIF State champion Torrey Pines last year. The Brahmas played within seven strokes of the Falcons in a dual match earlier this year and they tied for top honors in the CIF State Southern California qualifier on Wednesday, November 13, 2014, at Arrowhead Country Club in San Bernardino.

“We’ve caught them, now we have to beat them,” Brahmas coach Tony McCabe said.

Torrey Pines won the 18-hole event by matching the sixth scorecard, Shiyang Fan’s 77 to Rachel Chung’s 84. But what mattered most was that both teams advance to Tuesday’s CIF State finals at Red Hill Country Club in Rancho Cucamonga.

“Three years in a row going to state and ending my senior year with the state championships is pretty fun,” said Diamond Bar’s Bethany Wu, who signed with UCLA on Wednesday. “We tied here and we have a chance to beat them. I’m very excited because I thought we got fourth.”

Wu had a 1-under-par 71 on the 6,289-yard layout.

La Mirada’s Danielle Lee had six birdies and finished with a 4-under-par 68 for a four-way tie for first place to advance to state for the second consecutive year.

“It feels good,” she said of her round. “It’s kind of hard to make it because they take only take nine people. So I’m happy I’m moving on.”

Team-wise, Walnut, which tied with Diamond Bar for second in state last year, finished fourth and missed advancing by two strokes.

Torrey Pines and Diamond Bar both scored a 372. Rancho Bernardo had a 378 and Walnut a 380. San Marino, in its first performance in the Southern California finals, which featured players from San Diego to Fresno, took fifth with a 395.

No. 1 Walnut golfer Patricia Wong pulled a shoulder muscle on Monday and shot a 5-over-par 77.

“I was scrambling through the whole course,” said Wong, who signed her letter of intent with Pepperdine on Wednesday. “I was just not consistent. When you’re just a little bit off it makes you spray everywhere. Everything was out of sequence.”

She bogeyed her final three holes, Nos. 15, 16 and 17; the 15th is a 138-yard par-3 over water. She makes par on any of those two holes and the Mustangs would have returned to the finals.

“Patricia was hurt and that was difficult because she went from a 72 to a 77 and we finish out of third by two strokes,” Walnut coach Cecil Woods said. “It’s a tough time to get hurt. Everything else went as expected.”

Katherine Muzi was Walnut’s low scorer with a 74.

Diamond Bar’s McCabe was unsure if his team would advance at first. After Wu’s 71, Josephine Chang had a 72.

“I had not seen Kaitleen (Shee) all day,” McCabe said. “She shoots a 73 and that got us in.”

“Honestly, I did not play as well as I should have,” Wu said. “I missed short putts. But the team did really well and Josephine shooting even and Kaitleen one over saved us.”

San Marino was happy to just advance. The Titans were led by Elizabeth Wang, who had 75.

“We made it really far,” said the Titans’ Bella Setio, who had a 77. “We never made it this far before. It’s really fun and exciting. We played well, but not good enough. Next year we’ll get them.”