Relatively speaking, Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and Diocese of Orange have not had a long history of competing for CIF and state championships in girls’ golf, in comparison with teams from others sports. But there have been several who emerged victorious at the highest levels of competition, individually and collectively.
During the 1990s, Kellee Booth of Santa Margarita posted three consecutive top two finishes in the Southern California Golf Association Individual Championships, tantamount to the state championships. A West Covina native and the daughter of amateur golf star Jane Bastanchury Booth, Kellee won her first SCGA title as a sophomore in a 1992 playoff at San Diego Country Club.
She followed that with a 1993 win (by two strokes) at Stockdale CC in Bakersfield, then was edged by Sunny Hills’ Jenny Lee in 1994 at Redlands CC. She then played on three NCAA championship teams at Arizona State and enjoyed a fine rookie season on the LPGA tour before injuries cut her professional career short.
Karen Lotta of Marymount is the only Catholic school golfer to win a CIF-Southern Section individual title, shooting a 70 at Mission Lakes CC in Desert Hot Springs to win the 2000 championship by three strokes. She later earned multiple All-Big East Conference honors at the University of Notre Dame.
In 2012, two Catholic schools broke through to win CIF team titles: Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks, the Northern Region at Soule Park Golf Course in Ojai, and Mater Dei, the Southern Region at Mile Square GC in Fountain Valley. Mater Dei repeated its win in 2013 at Costa Mesa CC, and Notre Dame captured another Northern Region title at Soule Park in 2014.
Post-season play in the 2017 girls high school golf season began Oct. 23, with the final championships matches scheduled Nov. 14.
