Max Margolis hangs on in closing holes to take Desert Empire League golf title

In the end, it was a round that was just good enough to earn Palm Desert High School’s Max Margolis the title in the Desert Empire League boys' individual championship.

Starting the final 18 holes with a four-shot lead, Margolis managed an even-par 72 at Mission Hills North Thursday, including a three-putt bogey on the last hole. But that was enough for Margolis to hold on for a one-shot win over two teammates from Palm Desert, junior Caden Breisch and senior Mason Montgomery.

“There was a big difference today,” said Margolis, who shot a bogey-free 67 in Tuesday’s first round. “I putted really bad today. But that’s not what I’m going to focus on. Overall, the game was steady. Just a little bit of scrambling here and there. But that’s part of the game of golf."

Margolis, a junior who had finished second and third in the league event the last two years, not only wins the DEL individual title, he leads 10 players from the DEL into the CIF-Southern Section Individual preliminaries next week. Seven of those players come from the powerful Palm Desert team, while two are from Xavier Prep and one is from La Quinta High School.

More: High school golfer breaks Jason Day's course record at Stone Eagle Golf Club

“It means a lot, because I started golf my sophomore year,” said senior Sinjin Armstong of La Quinta, who earned the 10 ^th spot into CIF play with a two-day total of 14-over 157, including a 79 Thursday. “I worked so hard because I was striving to at least go to CIF my final year of golf. So it really does mean a lot.”

Margolis finished 36 holes at Mission Hills North at 5-under 139, while Caden Breisch and Montgomery finished at 140, Breisch shooting 68 Thursday and Montgomery 69.

For Margolis, the league title caps a week that saw him set a new course record at Stone Eagle Golf Club in Palm Desert with an 8-under 63 last Sunday. But it is also a sign that he has recovered from missing time with the Aztecs because of a trip to Japan followed by food poisoning.

A tighter race

Margolis let the chasers get closer on Thursday when he played the front nine in 1-under 35 with a birdie on the par-4 ninth. Caden Breisch, who was runner-up in the tournament last year, played the front nine in 34, as did Montgomery. Xavier’s Benton Sullivan was 2 under through five holes but suffered a double bogey on the par-4 sixth.

When Margolis took his first bogey of the two-day tournament by missing the green on the par-3 12 ^th and failing to get up and down, the leaderboard grew even tighter. But a birdie from four feet on the par-4 14 ^th pushed Margolis’ lead back to three shots. Montgomery and Breisch each birdied the par-5 17 ^th hole to get to within two shots, but Margolis made pars at 15, 16 and 17 before the three-putt bogey on the 18 ^th left him with the one-shot margin of victory.

“His maturity level,” said Palm Desert coach Curt Breitfuss about Margolis’ strength as a player, “not only toward golf but the way he approaches everything, his commitment to school, how he is as a friend. He’s a good person, smart. That bodes well, because he’s got a good patience in his game.”

In addition to Margolis, Caden Breisch and Montgomery, the top 10 included Austin Woods of Palm Desert at 144, Sullivan of Xavier at 144, Landon Breisch of Palm Desert at 145, Luke Ringkamp of Palm Desert at 146, Trent Hamilton of Xavier at 153, Cash Tompoles of Palm Desert at 155 and Armstrong of La Quinta at 157. The top six finishers earn first-team all-DEL honors.

The 10 top golfers will play in a CIF-SS preliminary on Monday at Bear Valley Country Club in Victorville.

Desert Empire League golf final

Final scores from the two-day, 36-hole Desert Empire League boys golf individual finals at the par-72 Mission nHills Morth in Rancho Mirage:

• Max Margolis (PD) – 67-72-139
• Caden Breisch (PD) -- 72-68-140
• Mason Montgomery (PD) – 71-69-140
• Austin Woods (PD) 73-71-144
• Benton Sullivan (Xavier) – 71-73-144
• Landon Breisch (PD) – 75-70-145
• Luke Ringkamp (PD) -- 74-72-146
• Trent Hamilton (Xavier) – 82-71-153
• Cash Tompoles (PD) – 76-79-155
• Sinjin Armstrong (LQ) – 78-79-157
• Josh Householder (PD) – 81-77-158
• Ivan Tran (PD) – 80-78-158
• Tyler Garrison (LQ) -- 81-78—159
• Noah Rapkin (Xavier) – 77-84-161
• Hunter Hansen (LQ) – 86-76-162
• Tanner Truman (SH) – 86-79-165
• Sterling Conley (Xavier) – 85-84-169
• Jeremy Enders (LQ) – 86-88-174
• Leo Lanza (Xavier) – 86-88-174
• Bassette Cayasso (Xavier) – 86-89-175
• Jordan Duffy (LQ) – 83-93-176

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Max Margolis hangs on in closing holes to take Desert Empire League golf title