Calabasas Sophomore Wins Marmonte League Golf Title

THOUSAND OAKS – Calabasas High sophomore Walker Huddy had a four-stroke lead heading into the Marmonte League boys golf final at Sunset Hills Golf Course on Thursday.

But before he knew it, his lead was gone and he was in a tie with Moorpark freshman Thomas Lim. The league title came down to a one-hole playoff on hole No. 1, a 465-yard, par 4, that Huddy bogeyed earlier in the day.

Huddy parred the hole the second time around, despite hitting a tree on his approach shot and coming up short of the green, and won the Marmonte League championship. He shot a 2-over par, 72, on the final day of the tournament and shot 279 over the four days of the tournament.

Lim shot a 2-under 68 on the final day of the tournament, making three birdies on the back nine. 

Huddy turned a bad approach shot into a near-perfect chip from the fringe on the playoff hole to secure the league title and MVP. His approach shot landed in a bit of tricky grass on the fringe and made for a difficult chip.

"I had a bad lie," Huddy said. "I just hit and hoped and it came up."

His chip settled within three feet of the hole, leaving him an easy tap-in for par.

Meanwhile, Lim had about a 100-yard pitch on his approach, but overshot his target and landed at the back of the green, leaving a challenging downhill putt for birdie. He misjudged his putt, sending the ball way past the hole and down the front of the green.

"It didn't feel like it was going to go that far," Lim said. "I thought I hit it the right speed."

Lim three-putted for bogey. Huddy won the hole and the tournament.

Both Huddy and Lim qualified for the CIF Individual Northern Regional at River Ridge Golf Course in Oxnard on May 17. The top-seven golfers in the league final qualified for the Northern Regional.

Calabasas finished third in the team portion of the league final. The top four teams in league qualified for the CIF Northern Division final at Soule Park in Ojai on Monday. Westlake won the league championship by 48 strokes. Thousand Oaks was second and Agoura was fourth.

"I'm excited," Calabasas coach Lance Novak said. "Hopefully we can play a little better than we did today. I'm excited for the program. I look forward to the opportunity to see if we can advance."

Huddy was the only golfer from Calabasas to qualify for the CIF Individual Northern Regional.

He had a rough start to the final day of the Marmonte League tournament. He bogeyed three of the first four holes and lost his four-stroke lead quickly.

Lim took advantage, making a birdie on the difficult 405-yard, par-4 second hole, and caught Huddy after four holes.

"I didn't think he was going to start off the way he did," Lim said. "My goal was to shoot under par."

Lim added three more birdies on the back nine and kept pace with Huddy throughout the round.

Huddy recovered from his slow start and birdied two holes on the back nine. He said his turnaround began on the ninth hole, a 171-yard, par 3. He hit a seven iron that landed eight feet from the pin and made his birdie putt. He added birdies on holes 15 and 18.

Novak said he was impressed with Huddy's short game, something the team has been working on all season.

"He's very dedicated to whatever he wants to accomplish," Novak said. "He didn't let up. It's nice to watch."