Turns out, it was just a case of the Mondays after all.

Righetti girls golf coach Tracy Davis said, “It was our worst score yet this season on Monday. I don't know if you could blame the conditions. They (players) were all bad. We just had an off day.”

Righetti senior star Amber Lee simply said, “It was a tough day.”

The rest of the crew agreed.

So, the PAC-7's elite undefeated team took to its own league-hosted tournament on Thursday hoping “to show improvement,” Davis stressed before the round-of-nine at Rancho Maria.

Then they went out and topped their all-time best round.

Righetti bounced back from a “disappointing win” over second-place challenger Arroyo Grande on Monday with a spectacular 198 team score, slipping past the Eagles by 30 strokes for the PAC-7 League Tournament win. That score bettered the school's previous record - set by the same group this season during a round of 199 against Dos Pueblos. Paso Robles took third (245), San Luis Obispo fourth (253), Nipomo fifth (266), Atascadero sixth (276) and Pioneer Valley seventh (317).

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In fact, a number of firsts were achieved for teams.

Arroyo Grande - which finished second (228) to nudge above Paso Robles in the overall standings for second place - shot its lowest round of the season.

Atascadero did the same.

And the whole clubhouse erupted into celebration upon hearing Eagles' Sydney Johnson struck a hole-in-one on No. 3.

But Righetti's performance was the headliner. Quite simply, this is Davis' “most talented group ever.”

Which usually means a bunch of talented seniors are leading the way - but in Davis' case, it's a bunch of sophomores and a freshman.

Lee is the sole senior, and a pretty good one at that.

Lee and sophomore Makayla Mier consistently fight for the top score at local tournaments.

“They've been one-two last year and this year,” Davis said. “They're really, really playing good golf.”

Lee has played since she was 6, and has been coached by Rancho Maria pro Mike O'Keefe for most of that time. She was the Coastal Valley Junior Golf Association (CVJGA) Player of the Year last year, routinely vies for league MVP and has gone to the CIF team playoffs all three years.

Stressful schedule, huh? “Amber doesn't do stress,” Davis said with a laugh. “She goes out and plays her game.”

Mier has her own busy schedule, more recently focusing on the Toyota World Junior Golf Cup, featuring top players from across Southern California. Her travels have even taken her to La Quinta Golf Course in Palm Springs, site of the well-known Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. She finished top 10 there.

Remarkably, just behind that talented two-some is Righetti's lone freshman - Mareon Smit. Smit is third in league, just behind her Warriors counterparts.

The third-place standing comes despite an untimely foot injury - Smit missed six weeks of summer training with a broken left foot.

“Coming into the season, I was just getting into playing,” Smit said. “I was rusty. But I'm getting into the hang of things.”

Smit shared medalist honors with Lee (36) Thursday.

And then there are three super-sophomores to join Mier: Dani O'Keefe, Alexis Rodenberger and Kelsey Nolan.

Davis contributes Righetti's youth movement to the strong juniors programs in the area.

“This club's (Rancho Maria) been wonderful with the Coastal Valley play, and what Mike (O'Keefe) and Doug do. They put on many clinics, as does the Santa Maria Country Club with Marion (General Hospital). Sunset Ridge (Golf Center) has the First Tee program. There are a lot of youth programs and the pros are very generous.”

One of those pros is Mike O'Keefe, Dani O'Keefe's father and Rodenberger's stepfather.

On Dani, “I taught Dani when she was really little, like 5 or 6. Then she didn't want anything to do with it,” Mike O'Keefe said. “Just last year, she said ‘I want to play golf.' She hadn't played for 5-to-6 years. By the end of the season, she made varsity.”

In fact, Dani dropped soccer from her sports lineup at Righetti to focus on golf.

“She came back from her mom's during the summer and said she hasn't missed a single day out there. Last week, she said ‘That's seven weeks straight dad!'” Mike O'Keefe said.

Mike O'Keefe helped out the entire Warriors program last year, but has stuck to just his daughters this season. Often, after practice, he'll play Rancho Maria with them, or scope out a course for his daughters.

“It's kind of neat, I get to hang out with my kids a lot more than I normally would ... They listen pretty much. Not all the time,” he said with a laugh. “But I'm not trying to teach algebra or how to drive a car. This is what I do.”

Dani O'Keefe shot a 46, and Rodenberger a 44 on Thursday, while Nolan swung a 45.

Despite the technical rivalry between Arroyo Grande and Righetti, Eagles' coach Claudia Souder said, “I look forward to seeing Righetti go extremely far in CIF, in teams and individual. My understanding is that they are quite a bit stronger than last year, and last year they were the ‘Awe team'.”

And how quickly they went from “Awe, shucks,” Monday, back to the “Awe team,” on Thursday.

LPL Tournament

Meredith Stewart led Santa Ynez to a win at a Los Padres League Tournament at Morro Bay Golf Course. Stewart shot a 40.

Santa Ynez posted a 226 team total. Teammates following Stewart were Maddison Shean and Kristin Henno (both 44), Blake Colvin (47) and Sarah Sanger (51).

Runner-up St. Joseph shot a 252. Medalist Danielle Gillaspy led the Knights with a 39. Teammates following were Christy Mahan (51), Kelsey Wong (53), Chloe Dunn(53) and Danika Cochiolo (56).

Cabrillo finished third with a 276. Following were Santa Maria (284), Morro Bay (306) and Lompoc (308). Team leaders included Morgan Salm (41) for Cabrillo, Jackie Teniente (47) for Santa Maria, Shanna Crawford (52) for Morro Bay and Kaleigh Goethe (51) for Lompoc.

Oct. 17, 2008