SAN BERNARDINO -

Just before practice, Anthony was working on his touch. He bounced the ball on his wedge, twisting and turning, going between his legs and behind his back. It was similar to the routine Tiger Woods made famous in his Nike commercials.

Anthony, a senior on San Bernardino San Gorgonio's golf team, has patterned much of his game after Woods. From the way he tirelessly works to get better, to the frustration at an errant shot. Even down to little tricks, Anthony mimics Woods.

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Stan Lim / The Press-Enterprise

San Gorgonio's top golfer, Kenney Anthony, is working on his game so he can get back to CIF Individuals and improve on last year's performance. He was disqualified for playing the wrong ball.

"Just all the work he puts in to be so good, that's my motivation," Anthony said.

And, after just five years of playing, Anthony is the top player on his team and will likely lead the San Andreas League in scoring average at the end of the season. So far in the short season, Anthony's consistent stroke has led the Spartans to a 5-1 record as they begin their league season.

"He has always been a very steady player and is still learning, even though he's good at it," San Gorgonio coach Dan Payne said.

Anthony, who says his driver is his best club, is averaging 37 strokes a round so far this season. He works out weekly with a pro at the Cajon Golf Club and plays nearly every day of the week. He says he needs to work on his irons and become more consistent with his short game. But all that will surely come. The kid loves to work.

Anthony's tendency is to go straight at the pin. But sometimes, his flag hunting, especially in tournaments gets him in trouble with his coach.

"Sometimes I have to ask him whether he is OK with getting pars," Payne said. "Sometimes he likes to fire at the flag a little too much and has to bail himself out."

Persistence is the key to Anthony's rise from a kid who didn't know anything about the game, to the unspoken captain of the Spartans. Teammates ask for tips and help with shot selection. But the usually serious Anthony does have a little fun out on the course.

"When he makes a great shot he looks at the rest of us with a smile on his face and says, 'Did you see that?' " teammate Aaron Salazar said. "He is pretty amazing and practices 24/7 , but he helps a lot of us too."

This season he wants to qualify for CIF for the second straight year, and improve on his performance. Last season, Anthony was disqualified after the first round of the event, even after making the cut, because he mistakenly played the wrong ball. He wasn't caught, but quickly owned up to his mistake and was promptly disqualified.

"Even though I didn't get caught, it was something I had to do," Anthony said. "It wasn't really my fault, but it happened."

This season, Anthony plans on making it back there in a better position. No disqualifications and no excuses as Anthony knows it is his last chance at a CIF title. And after the season is over, Anthony said he is headed to college. He's not sure where, but he knows he will be playing golf and aims to succeed wherever he lands.

"Whatever it is that I decide to do, I just want to be successful," Anthony said.