Paul clears path for golf

Two years ago, when Tyler Paul graduated from Edison High he had respect from the old school, as he was a rarity.

Paul competed as a three-sport athlete, and never specialized in a sport. He wanted to see what it would be like to catch passes for the Chargers football team and he also drove to the hoop for Edison’s basketball squad. Those two sports might’ve taken away from what he could’ve accomplished in golf.

When he turned the tassel on his graduation cap in 2008, he started to think more about his golf game. He didn’t want to play around with three sports anymore. One would be good enough for him, and one would be all he concentrated on at Orange Coast College.

Lately, Paul has started to see the results of focusing on one sport.

Paul, as well as several with ties to OCC, will compete in today’s 37th annual Costa Mesa City Championship at Costa Mesa Country Club.

Paul figures to be in contention in the two-day, 36-hole tournament, as does Ryan Knapp, Josh Hurst, Kord Tagley, Joe Doody and Benny Santamaria. Paul was among the six who helped lead the Pirates to an Orange Empire Conference championship and a fifth-place finish in state.

Paul, who shuffled as the No. 2 and 3 player for OCC, is the top returner for the Pirates. They’ll tee it up today, just like old times on the course they played for practices and competitions.

When it’s over, they’ll go their separate ways. But Paul is coming back. He has the pressure as the Pirates’ top returner.

“I’m taking that on my back and looking forward to it,” Paul said Thursday. “The pressure, it’s part of golf. It’s what makes it fun.”

Paul had fun while in high school at Edison. The three sports kept him busy, but he also experienced a great memory in golf. As a junior, he was a member of the Chargers’ state championship team. For three years, two at Huntington Beach, he had played basketball and golf. As a senior he added football, playing wide receiver.

“I started getting serious about golf when I graduated from high school,” Paul said. “I just dropped all my sports. I have seen so much improvement in my game the past two years and I’m excited to see where it can take me.”

Paul’s improvement was seen in June at the Long Beach City Match Play Championship, where he reached the semifinals. Paul lost to Michael Drake, who went on to win the event.

“That gave me so much confidence,” said Paul, who noted Drake has recently turned pro. “I felt good. I felt I could’ve played better.”

Paul isn’t the only one from OCC finding success this summer. Ryan Indovina, a former Pirates golfer now at Cal State Dominguez Hills, qualified for the U.S. Amateur by winning the qualifier at Red Hill Country Club in Rancho Cucamonga last week. He also received NCAA Division II PING honorable mention All-American recognition.

Knapp, the Pirates’ top golfer last year, recently finished fifth at the San Diego City Championship.

“It’s going to be a strong field,” Paul said of the Costa Mesa City Championship, which also features former OCC golfer Marcus Sostak and Jeff Coburn, formerly of UC Irvine. “I’m going to have to bring my ‘A’ game in order to have a chance to stay on top.

“I feel extremely comfortable [playing at Costa Mesa Country Club]. But I went out there [Thursday]. There are a lot of tough pins. It plays completely different. It’s a test. It’s no walk in the park that’s for sure.”