Tahvildari wins SoCal Regionals and will battle for individual state championship

BAKERSFIELD -- Orange Coast College men's golf standout, Tiger Tahvildari, tamed Bakersfield's Rio Bravo Country Club last week and he looks to head to the coast this week for a showdown with legendary Sandpiper Golf Club this week after winning the Southern California Regional Championships, earning a right to play in the upcoming 3C2A Men's Golf State Championships this Sunday and Monday.

Tahvildari, the 2024 Orange Empire Conference MVP, showed the rest of Southern California his talents this past weekend, shooting a combined 5-under-par, 139, two shots better than individual runner-up Bingcheng Zheng of Riverside, who carded a 70-71, 141 on the 7,000-yard, par-72 course.

"The key for me was to avoid making any big numbers on the scorecard and to keep the ball in play," Tahvildari said. "There's a lot of out of bounds on that course so I focused on avoiding that by taking less club off the tee and relying on my irons to score."

That formula for success sounds easy in theory, but according to OCC head coach, Sean Collins, it's that frame of mind that puts Tiger ahead of the rest of competition at this level.

"Tiger is tremendously long off of the tee, but he's a touch better because ALL of his clubs are scoring clubs," Collins said. "With most golfers, it's bomb it with a driver and hit a wedge, but with Tiger, he's not afraid to score low with all of his clubs. He can hit 6-, 7-, 8-irons with confidence and gain that advantage on par-3s. Most golfers, a par-3 means 'I hope I can get out of here with a par' but for Tiger, it's 'I want to fire right at it and make a birdie.'"

The 2024 season has been a historic one for Tahvildari as far as OCC golf goes. Through the 2024 regular season, Tahvildari played in eight events and shot par or better in six of them, finishing the season with an incredible 71.4 strokes-per-round average, tops among all Orange Empire Conference golfers by over a full shot over RCC's Zheng (72.5) and nearly two shots over third-place Bret Leonhardt, from Cuyamaca (73.1).

Tiger's mellow demeanor hides a competitive fire that compliments his hard work and talent perfectly.

"Tiger has been great to coach," Collins said. "He listens, we communicate well and he sees both sides of everything we are talking about. Coming up this weekend, it'll be a bit differently playing as an individual rather than on a team, so he can afford to be more aggressive in certain situations. He's a great kid. I've known him forever, but I only recently realized that he's a guitar player, so we've been playing music together now. Pretty cool guy.

This weekend's State Finals will be the last competition for Tahvildari for 2024 and this season has been a positive journey for him as well. "This has been an amazing year playing for the team," Tahvildari said. "I've grown close with my teammates and I'm so proud to call them my friends for a very long time. Coach Collins has been nothing less than excellent for this team as well. He's the ultimate definition of a leader. I've known coach since i was a kid, but this year, I really got to know him better and he's taught so much to me on and off of the golf course. He's somebody I look up to every day. All year, coach preached the importance of acting and playing like you're the best player out there. His ability to boost our confidence and self-belief was key to my success, and when there were bad days, he always reminded us that it's just golf and there are ups and downs in everything in life. Accepting both your wins and losses with a positive attitude is something I'll implement in my life forever."

So, what's the story on Sandpiper? The course, nestled right up against the Santa Barbara coast line will bring various elements of skill and danger, but it's a place that has been good to Tahvildari, who won the State Preview event back on March 18 after shooting a 1-under, 71.

"After Rio Bravo, the gears shift a bit at Sandpiper," Collins said. "Definitely opportunities to go for it and get rewarded for it and I think with Tiger playing as an individual, it frees him up a bit and it even might be more fun for him out there. A lot will depend on the weather and the wind and the rough is brutal so accuracy plays an important role. The Par-3s are tough but he loves those types of holes. He comes at those holes and takes dead aim at them, which gives him an advantage."

Added Tiger ... "Sandpiper is a treat of a golf course and I got to see if for the first time at state previews where I was the medalist as well. It's a long and difficult course that has so many risk-reward holes that makes that course so unbelievably rewarding if you play to your advantages. The wind there can pick up quite a bit, so committing to every shot will be key. Also, keeping my ball in the right spots on the course and staying below the hole on the greens will help immensely. And finally, going out there and being grateful for this opportunity will keep me in the right state of mind. I'm just going to go out there and play like I'm a kid again!