Warrior golfers miss CIF team qualifying by one stroke - Finish season 10-9

Fallbrook High School’s boys golf team had an overall season record of 10-9 for 2013 and missed qualifying for the CIF tournament as a team by a single stroke.

“We were kind of up and down,” said Fallbrook coach Steve Jorde.

The Warriors were 8-1 outside of Avocado West League competition but were 2-8 in league play. “It was a pretty strong league,” Jorde said. “It was a real competitive league.”

Four of the league’s teams – La Costa Canyon, Carlsbad, Rancho Buena Vista, and Vista – qualified for the CIF tournament as teams. The eight top seeded teams in each division receive byes into the CIF tournament while the ninth through 16th seeds have a play-in match for entry into the tournament as a team.

Fallbrook was seeded 14th in Division I, which gave the Warriors a play-in match against Mission Hills on the Grizzlies’ home course. The Warriors traveled to San Marcos for the May 15 match at the Twin Oaks course and lost by a 210-211 score. “That was disappointing,” Jorde said.

The league tournament was held May 7 at Twin Oaks and May 8 at Camp Pendleton, and the Warriors finished fourth among the league’s six teams in that competition. “They vastly improved as the year went on,” Jorde said of his players.

Fallbrook senior Braeden Koran shot rounds of 74 and 80 strokes during the league tournament. His score of 154 placed fourth among the league golfers.

Koran was the only Warrior golfer named to an all-league team and received first-team Avocado West League honors.

Koran was also the only Fallbrook golfer to compete in the CIF tournament as an individual. Play opened May 21 at the Admiral Baker Club in San Diego; three players shot 69-stroke rounds and Koran was one of five golfers to have a score of 70. “Played pretty well,” Jorde said.

Koran required 84 shots May 22 on the Admiral Baker course. “Didn’t have his normal Braeden round,” Jorde said.

Koran’s 36-hole score of 154 missed qualifying for the regional tournament by three strokes.

Koran, a four-year varsity starter, was one of four seniors on the team. The others were Jack Alperstein, Zack Handley, and Morgan Pilbin.

The Warriors played their home matches at the Pala Mesa course and also practiced at Pala Mesa. “For countless years they’ve been there. They’re always there for the kids,” Jorde said of Pala Mesa. “We just appreciate everything they do for us.”