DESERT HOT SPRINGS — A year ago, after falling just short of advancing to the Southern California Golf Association Regional Championships, Rio Mesa High's Jordan Cuthbert vowed to use the experience to help prepare the next time he had a chance to advance to one of high school golf's biggest tournaments.

That chance came Monday at the CIF-Southern Section Individual Golf Championships at Mission Lakes Country Club in Desert Hot Springs. True to his word, Cuthbert was ready for the challenge.

The talented junior fired an even-par 71 to tie for fifth, becoming one of the 28 players who will advance to next week's SCGA Regional Championships in Murietta. Eight players from Ventura County were in the field on Monday, but Cuthbert was the only one to reach the regionals.

Royal senior Danny Katz and Westlake junior Brandon Hagy each shot 75s, putting them in an 11-player playoff for the final few spots in the regional, but neither was able to advance.

It was a good day for the Santa Barbara golf program as Andrew Perez defeated Hart's Johnny McArthur in a playoff to win the CIF title. Both players shot 68 during regulation. Santa Barbara's Shane Lebow finished third. Other local players scores were: Alex Kang, Beckman 77; Cameron Tennant, Calabasas 78; Kyle Holden, Royal 81; Jon Calupe, Oxnard 81; and Andrew Garcia, Rio Mesa 82.

Players battled temperatures in the triple digits along with howling winds. Despite the difficult conditions, Cuthbert said he was confident throughout the round.

"I was pretty relaxed out there," Cuthbert said. "I usually play well on courses that I have not played before. I don't know why that is. After last year, I knew what it was going to take to advance. I told myself I wanted to make it through to the SCGA this year and I was able to accomplish that."

Helping add to Cuthbert's confidence was a practice round he played at Saticoy Country Club last Wednesday with coach Tom Radford. Cuthbert was 1 under through nine holes, including plenty of success on Saticoy's extremely challenging greens.

With the greens at Mission Lakes running at almost 12 on the Stimp meter, Cuthbert said his time putting at Saticoy paid big dividends on Monday. He needed just 28 putts during the round, one-putting several greens while avoiding the dreaded three-putt.

"If you can putt well on those greens (Saticoy), you can pretty much putt on any greens," Cuthbert said. "The birdie putts were not falling, but I had a lot of tap-ins for pars."

Hagy and Katz were hoping to join Cuthbert in next week's regional after getting a second shot at advancing when they qualified for the playoff.

Things didn't go well for Katz right off the start, as he pulled his drive on the first playoff hole left, just out of bounds. The errant drive, along with a three-putt, led to a triple bogey and a quick exit for the defending CIF-SS champion.

Katz had rallied late in his round, making birdies on three of his last five holes to get to 75.

"It's disappointing," Katz said. "I had a double bogey on my second hole and I also had a triple, so I struggled with my putting all day. The greens were fast and there were some tough pins, but I just never got comfortable."

Hagy said he also struggled with the lightning-fast greens during his round, but he too rallied late, helped by making two birdie putts of more than 40 feet.

After advancing to the second playoff hole, Hagy was one of six golfers left to grab the final four spots. He hit a perfect tee shot on the par-4 11th and knocked his approach pin high, around 40 feet from the flag. But he ended up on a ridge on the green, causing his birdie putt to run past the cup by 5 feet. Needing the par to keep the playoff going, Hagy's putt just slid over the edge of the cup.

"Had I played better during my round, I would not have been in this position," Hagy said. "I hit it pretty solid all day, but I never got used to the greens."

Cuthbert's Rio Mesa teammate Garcia struggled, shooting an 82. Garcia, who is just a sophomore, said the extreme heat caused his body to give out during the round.

"It was a tough day, but I will use what I learned the next time I am here," said Garcia.