Living the dream

Anton Arboleda grabbed his driver, removing the head cover, a bear surrounded by blue and gold — the mascot, colors and insignia of the UCLA Bruins.

It's Arboleda's skill with a driver, and all the other clubs in his golf bag, which has helped him land a spot at his dream school, UCLA, on a partial golf scholarship. In the fall, he will begin classes in Westwood, only months after graduating from La Cañada High, where he made a name for himself in the sport.

The 17-year old Arboleda started honing his prowess with a club when he was just 3, going out to the driving range with his dad, Antonio. Over the past 14 years, the senior Arboleda hasn't played golf much himself, focusing instead on helping his son's game.

"My dad has pretty much been my coach throughout my whole career," Anton Arboleda said. "He has been there and helped me with anything."

Golf didn't become Arboleda's No. 1 sport until he won a junior practice tournament when he was 12. After that he was hooked, and hungry after getting his first taste of victory. After the tournament, his dad suggested he choose one sport to focus on in high school.

Arboleda chose golf because it offered something most other sports don't.

"Golf is such an individual sport," he said. "That is probably the best, and worst thing, about it. You're not dependent on anyone else winning or losing the game for you. In golf, you don't win as much as you do in basketball or baseball, but when you do it's a lot sweeter."

Many golfers don't experience the thrill of victory on a regular basis like Arboleda has. Perhaps he is the exception to his own rule.

This year, he has assembled an impressive list of achievements.

During his senior season with the Spartans, he had an 18-hole scoring average of 69 and went on to be named Rio Hondo's Most Valuable Golfer after capturing the league's individual championship. In addition, he won the Glendora High School Invitational championship and finished 17th out of 123 players in the CIF Southern California Golf Assn. High School Championship, missing the cut for the CIF State Championship by just two shots.

It is because of Arboleda's resume this past season that he has been named the 2010 All-Area Boys' Golfer of the Year by the sports editors and writers of the Burbank Leader, Glendale News-Press and La Cañada Valley Sun.

This isn't Arboleda's first All-Area honor, as he earned player-of-the-year honors as a freshman in 2007. In addition, he is a three-time All-Area recipient.

In his fourth season competing for the Spartans, Arboleda enjoyed his most productive year. He was a co-captain as a senior and he is only one of three Spartan golfers in the history of the program to go on to play in college.

His exploits weren't lost on longtime Spartans Coach Richard Tetu.

"Tee to green, he is the best golfer I've had in 10 years," Tetu said. "He is always going to be around par, and when he gets a hot putter, like many golfers, he can go low."

Arboleda said he has been able to improve as a player during his high school career. Along with learning to be more patient, he said he has learned the important lesson of how to manage a course.

"I learned a lot about my game the past four years," he said. "I learned to be smart and work around the course, so even when it's not my day and I'm not playing so well, I can still put up good scores."

The magic of his high school career was capped off with a near miracle on his last hole — and last shot of his La Cañada tenure.

Competing in the Southern California tournament, Arboleda found himself 120 yards from the pin on his final hole of the event. Although he couldn't see the flag, he knew he needed to put the ball in the hole to end on a high note. He swung a nine-iron and the ball somehow found its way into the cup, as he finished the 18th hole of the CIF Southern California Golf Assn. High School Championship with a dream shot.

He couldn't see what happened to his ball, but he heard a lot of commotion. The crowd erupted, but Arboleda didn't realize he had actually made the shot until he reached the green and still couldn't see the ball.