De La Salle boys finish second at CIF state golf as SoCal freshman wins individual title

De La Salle’s Josh Kim shot a 4-under 67 to tie for fourth at the California Interscholastic Federation state championships on Tuesday at Poppy Hills Golf Course in Pebble Beach.

The impressive round helped the Spartans tie Santa Margarita for second in the team standings, both finishing at 7-over 362.

Stevenson, playing in its backyard, won the team title at 2-under 353.

Palo Alto’s Brendan O’Keefe shot 1-under to tie for ninth on a day that St. Francis-La Canada freshman Jaden Soong shot a blistering 9-under 62 to win the individual championship by two strokes over Torrey Pines’ Evan Liu.

Kim’s highlights included an eagle at No. 8 – a par 4 that measures 327 yards – and birdies at Nos. 2, 7, 14, 15 and 18.

But Soong was simply too good.

His bogey-free round included an eagle on the 515-yard, par 5 No. 9 and birdies at Nos. 1, 3, 10, 11, 14, 17 and 18.

The Los Angeles Times called the 15-year-old a prodigy, noting that Soong nearly made the U.S. Open field when he was 13.

Palo Alto finished fifth as a team, coming in at 12-over 367.