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 which 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. Booth won in a playoff in 1992 as a sophomore at San Diego Country Club, and followed that with a repeat win (by two strokes) in 1993 at Stockdale CC. She was edged by Sunny Hills’ Jenny Lee in 1995 at Redlands CC.

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.

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.

The 2017 girls high school golf season begins Aug. 21. Post-season play begins Oct. 23, and the final championships matches are scheduled Nov. 14.