The most difficult golf courses in the Coachella Valley
Desert Sun reporter Larry Bohannan talks about some of the most difficult golf courses in the Coachella Valley
Keira Cassady of Rancho Mirage High School knew the competition chasing her Thursday in the Desert Empire League girls’ golf individual finals was formidable.
“Joanna (Bushnell Crist) is a very talented golfer,” Cassady said of the La Quinta High School senior who had won two of the last three DEL individual titles. “It’s been a pleasure playing with her.”
Bushnell Crist chased and even caught Cassady at one point in the final round of the 36-hole league championship. But Cassady regained the lead on the back nine of the South Course at Terra Lago Golf Resort in Indio, then made a clutch birdie on the par-5 18th hole to hold on for a one-shot victory.
Cassady’s 6-over 78 Thursday, combined with a strong 75 in Tuesday’s first round, gave her a total of 9-over 153. Bushnell Crist, who uncharacteristically struggled to an 80 Tuesday, rallied with a 75 Thursday to finish at 154. Bushnell Crist had been the dominant players in the DEl this year, finishing her 10 matches with an aggregate score of 5-under par.
“The first day killed me,” an emotional Bushnell Crist said. “I couldn’t putt. I missed so many little putts. I think I was playing everything safe.”
Cassady and Bushnell Crist will lead eight golfers from the DEL, representing four schools, into CIF-SS individual preliminary play Monday at Bear Valley Country Club in Victorville. That will included Palm Desert sophomore Chelsea Weiss, who finished third in the event at 157.
The back nine Tuesday was a roller coaster between Cassady, Bushnell Crist — headed to Fresno State next fall — and Weiss, who finished with an 80 Thursday. Bushnell Crist had made up the five-shot deficit from the first day by the ninth hole Thursday by playing the front nine in even par. But when Bushnell Crist made a bogey on the 11th and then a triple bogey on the par-3 12th when she missed the green, failed to get out of a bunker and then three-putted, Cassady was ahead of Weiss by three and Bushnell Crist by four.
When Cassady double bogeyed the par-5 14th and Bushnell Crist made a birdie, Cassady’s lead was back down to one.
After that, Cassady and Bushnell Crist matched pars for three consecutive holes, while Weiss fell back with bogeys on the 16th and 17th holes. On the par-5 18th, Bushnell Crist used her superior length to put her second shot hole high just off the green. Cassady laid back on her second shot, but hit a great approach shot from 72 yards to just three feet. Bushnell Crist easily made her up-and-down for her birdie before Cassady calmly rolled in her birdie putt for the win.
“I was just trying to focus on saving pars,” said the 15-year-old Cassady. “So getting into the middle of the fairways, middle of the green, two-putting. Just trying to make as solid of a swing as I possibly could.
“I was very nervous,” Cassady added. “I know she was going to make a run for it with me. It was just so incredible.”
Cassady said she has been sharpening her games on Saturdays and Sundays recently with one-day tournaments on the SCPGA Players Tour, with hopes of qualifying for the Toyota Cup events run by the SCPGA.
Joining the top three in the CIF-SS event Monday in Victorville will be Mia Margolis (162), Sophia Waddell (163), Liya Kakar (168) and Micaela Hernandez (168), all of Palm Desert, and Maia Houston of Palm Springs (171). For Houston, it will be the second year in a row she had quailifed for CIF postseason play.
“When I came to the golf course, I wasn’t feeling confident I was going to make any birdies,” Houston said. “So I wasn’t very confident. But as aI watched the scoreboard, I started to get more confident.”
The top seven players make up the all-DEL first team, while Houston, Ryann Hernandez of Xavier Prep (174), Hannah Woods of Palm Desert (176), Ayla Choi of Palm Springs (189) and Amelia Candari of Palm Desert (190) are all-league second team.
