Panthers start strong in rain-delayed SoCal tourney

If Porterville’s golf team is to win the CIF Southern California Championships this year, they’ll have to do it piece by piece.

The SoCal regional state tournament was delayed due to hail and lightning storms. 

But if Wednesday is any indication, the Panthers are well on their way to qualifying for next Wednesday’s CIF State Championships at Poppy Hills.

Junior Nate Jessup, who played in the tournament as a freshman two years ago and finished 7-over-par, is on track to redeeming himself as he currently sits at 2-under.

Senior Kris Kennel is 1-under in his first trip to Murrieta and senior Barrett Schortman also started strong with a 1-under-par performance.

The jury is still out on juniors Mikey McGinn (1-over), DJ Stone (2-over) and Quinn Procter (3-over).

“Our boys are doing really good so far,” Porterville coach Lynn Enos said. “We had quite a thunderstorm; I couldn’t believe the hail — it came down in buckets.”

Play will resume today at 9 a.m.