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One of those days: Palm Desert boys golf falls short in quest for CIF state title berth

larry bohannan, palm springs desert sun
·4 min read
Luke Ringkamp of Palm Desert chips it in close on the 3rd hole at Mission Hills North during the DEL golf individual finals in Rancho Mirage, Calif., May 2, 2024.
Luke Ringkamp of Palm Desert chips it in close on the 3rd hole at Mission Hills North during the DEL golf individual finals in Rancho Mirage, Calif., May 2, 2024.

“I thought we could win state.”

With those words from sophomore Luke Ringkamp, the Palm Desert High School boys golf team saw its season end one step short of a berth in the CIF state championship. Needing to finish among the top three teams in the 10-team CIF-Southern California Golf Association tournament, the Aztecs couldn’t overcome a slow start Wednesday on the way to a fourth-place finish.

For Palm Desert, one of the top teams in the state throughout the year, the fourth-place finish at Los Serranos Country Club in Chino Hills ended a year that head coach Curt Breitfuss said was still a success.

“This does not take anything away from the season. This has been an absolutely fantastic season,” Breitfuss said. “It has been a blast for me. These kids have been fantastic. Every time, they have given everything.”

More: Mission accomplished: Confident Palm Desert golf team advances to state qualifier

Palm Desert finished the 18-hole tournament on the par-74 South Course at Los Serranos with a team score of 3-over 373. That was 10 shots behind Classical Christian Caimans of Escondido for the final state berth.

Torrey Pines of San Diego, a team Palm Desert beat in several tournaments this year, won the CIF-SCGA title at 17-under 353, with Oaks Christian of Westlake Village second at 359.

Wednesday’s tournament featured top teams from the Southern, Central, Los Angeles and San Diego sections of the CIF, with the top three finishers playing three teams from Northern California next Wednesday at San Gabriel Country Club for the state title.

The Aztecs may have been a favorite to advance out of the CIF-SCGA event, but the opening holes of the day doomed Palm Desert to chasing the leaders most of the day. That included the par-5 18th hole, played early in the rounds for the Palm Desert golfers in the shotgun start. The Aztecs were 4 over on that hole as a team.

Golf is hard

“It was just one of those days,” said junior Caden Breisch of Palm Desert. “The greens were tough. I had five three-putts.”

“My ball striking was good. I hit 16 of 18 greens,” said Ringkamp, whose 2-under 72 was the low score for Palm Desert. “But I couldn’t make anything on the greens.”

“I don’t like these courses,” Caden Breisch added. “I like desert courses.”

The uncharacteristic play by Palm Desert was illustrated by four of the Aztecs having strings of at least three consecutive holes of bogeys or worse during the day.

For Breitfuss, the failure to advance was surprising because his team had played well throughout the regular season, including wins in four of five rounds against Northern California powerhouse De La Salle and wins in each match against Torrey Pines until Wednesday.

“It’s not real disappointment. I just look at the energy level of what is happening. And it kind of happened last week (at the CIF-Southern Section qualifier),” Breitfuss said. “I think a lot of it has to do with the amount of golf these guys are playing. U.S. Open local qualifying, Toyota Cup, and high school tournaments. Maybe other teams are doing the same. I just think it is tough to juggle and to finish up finals.”

Ringkamp’s 72 led Palm Desert and tied for 19th in the individual division, two shots out of a playoff for an individual state berth. Caden Breisch fired a 74 including birdies on his last three holes. Max Margolis and Austin Woods each shot 75, while Landon Breisch and Mason Montgomery each shot 77 in the six-play, five-count format.

Caden Breisch, who plays for Palm Desert High School, hits an approach shot on the 9th hole at Andalusia during the U.S. Open local qualifier in La Quinta, Calif., May 7, 2024.
Caden Breisch, who plays for Palm Desert High School, hits an approach shot on the 9th hole at Andalusia during the U.S. Open local qualifier in La Quinta, Calif., May 7, 2024.

Cash Tompoles, playing in the tournament as an individual for Palm Desert, shot 76.

For Breitfuss, the one bright spot on the day was knowing that five of the six players in the team event and Tompoles as an individual are returning to Palm Desert next year.

“In sports you are not going to go undefeated. To advance you need to win when you have to win,” Breitfuss said. “It’s been progressing, year by year. If we are here next year and the same thing happens, it will be more disappointing.”

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Palm Desert misses out on CIF boys golf state championship berth