Katz corrals golf title
By Thomas Gase tgase@theacorn.com

Utilizing his old swing and a putting game that was in high gear, Royal High junior Danny Katz won the CIF-Southern Section Individual Championships on Wednesday.

Katz shot a 7-under 65 to claim the tournament title, which was held at the PGA of Southern California Golf Club.

"At the start of the year, there are around 3,200 golfers at the high school level in California," Royal head coach Bob Misko said. "And now he's No. 1 out of all those players. That's kind of mind-boggling."

Katz is no stranger to success. He won the Marmonte League title for the lowest average score as a sophomore in 2006. Katz, however, tinkered with his swing at the beginning of this season and saw his scores go up.

As playoff time began, Misko said Katz decided to go back to his old way of swinging the clubs.

"He's got a mind's-eye sort of swing," Misko said. "He has a little open stance and comes over the top a little bit. He went back to that recently and it's helped."

Katz's putting led to seven birdies and an eagle Wednesday. Misko said the type of grass Katz was putting on helped.

"For some reason he putts very well on vent grass," Misko said.

"The Southern California Golf Club has it, and so does Tierra Rejada, where he shot a 65 on last year. He also picked up a flaw in his putting stroke. He wasn't keeping his head down for the whole swing. I give him one tip and he wins a championship."

Katz's teammate, Matt Hofenberg, finished in a tie for fourth by shooting a 69. They both advance to the Southern California Golf Association Regional Championships on May 31 in Murrieta.