For a month leading up to the City Section Golf Championships, Joseph Wong spent two hours a day putting.
That practice paid off Wednesday on Griffith Park’s Harding Course, where the Granada Hills senior birdied the last three holes to capture the individual title by one shot over defending champion Luke Schultz of Palisades.
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“My driver’s the strong suit of my game but I was able to roll in a few putts at the end,” said Wong, who carded a five-under-par 67 a week after firing a 66 at league finals on the longer Wilson Course. “I shot what I did because my coach [Chris Ancheta] has been preparing me for this all year and I knew what I needed to work on.”
Wong was third with a 70 as a junior, fourth with a 74 as sophomore and tied for fourth with a 71 as a freshman. He is the fourth Granada Hills player to finish first since 2019, when his older brother David carded a 69 to beat Highlanders teammate Leo Cheng, who had won the previous year.
Playing in the first group, Wong birdied the second hole and made up for his lone mistake (a bogey on No. 3) with birdies at seven and 11 to maintain a slim lead. He pumped his fist after sinking a four-foot birdie putt on 16, but after hooking his drive on 17 into a stand of trees he chipped to within five feet. Another birdie and fist pump followed, moving him to four under.
On the par-five 18th Wong hit a perfect drive down the middle of the fairway and his approach landed 10 feet above the pin. His eagle putt missed by inches but he tapped in for his third straight red number.
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“I played it straight and it broke an inch left more than I thought it would,” added Wong, who is headed to Hofstra University on a full-ride scholarship and hones his skills playing 30-35 junior events per year. “My goal wasn’t to play Division 1 golf… I wanted to go to NYU for Business, but I’ve gotten much better the last two years. When I play individual tournaments it’s mostly for me but this means more because it’s for my school and I’ve come close three times before.”
Early this season the 18-year-old from Porter Ranch aced the eighth hole at Knollwood Country Club on his way to shooting four under over nine holes.
“I played baseball for eight years but I stopped during COVID,” he said. “I took up golf in seventh grade and I wasn’t too good at first.”
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He is now.
Schultz, playing in the fourth group, birdied the 15th and 17th and came to the last hole two behind the leader. He found himself in a similar situation 12 months ago when he eagled the 18th to force a playoff and eventually beat Van Nuys’ Isiah Kim on the sixth extra hole.
This time, he reached the green in two but needed to make a 40-footer to tie. His eagle attempt curled to within a few feet. Wong, who watched from the putting green where he had gone to hit balls to stay sharp in case of a playoff, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“I don’t look at the scoreboard much [during a round], but when I was two over through four and saw I was only three back I knew I had a chance,” Schultz said. “On the last hole I had a big breaking putt and I hit my line, it just happened to be low.”
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Palisades beat runner-up Granada Hills by 24 shots for its section-best 24th team crown, second in a row and fourth in five years. All six Dolphins placed in the top eight and each shot a 77 or lower. Venice was third by one stroke over Cleveland.
Palisades (eight) and Granada Hills (four) have combined to win the last 12 team titles. Both schools advanced to next Thursday’s regionals on the South Course at Los Serranos Golf Club.
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