Four holes into the final round of the CIF San Diego Section girls golf tournament and Sabrina Sun’s first-round, two-stroke lead had vanished.

Poof. Disappeared.

The diminutive 5-foot-2 Carlsbad High School freshman went from leading by two strokes to trailing reigning state champion Zoe Jiamanukoonkit by one.

Might the freshman wilt and succumb to the pressure?

Her coach didn’t think so.

Said Lancers coach Dan Brand, “She is a gritty young lady with a high golf IQ.”

Sun proved her coach correct. The 15-year-old recovered to shoot a 3-over par 75 Wednesday afternoon at Torrey Pines North to win the individual title by one stroke over Torrey Pines’ Jiamanukoonkit and her Carlsbad freshman teammate Mia Clausen.

Paired with her first round 1-under at Balboa Park Golf Course, Sun finished with a 2-over 146.

On a sun-splashed warm afternoon with the breeze kicking in, Sun needed some soft hands on the par-four, 343-yard No. 18 to nail down the match. An approach iron shot drifted right, pin high but about 15 feet wide of the green.

Her ball wasn’t exactly sitting high in a tuft of grass.

“I was kind of scared because my ball was sitting down,” said Sun. “I was just thinking, ‘Hit it in the center and you’ll be fine.’ ”

She did just that, leaving the ball 2½-feet below the hole for a tap in par. Jiamanukoonkit was playing one group behind Sun. There are no leaderboards at the tournament and golfers aren’t allowed to use their cellphones to track where they stand.

But Jiamanukoonkit asked an official where she stood.

“One shot back,” the official said.

After two shots, Jiamanukoonkit sat in the middle of the green, 20 feet above the hole. Her putt slid left, missing by two feet. It was that kind of day for Jiamanukoonkit, who shot a 1-over 73. On the 472-yard, par-five 17th, her 20-foot birdie putt missed the cup by inches.

“I had many putts like that today,” she said. “The ball just didn’t want to fall in.”

Zoe Jiamanukoonkit of Torrey Pines High looks on during the CIF San Diego Section girls golf championships at Torrey Pines North on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (Photo by K.C. Alfred)

Clausen was the day’s hottest golfer. In a 76-player field, she was the only golfer to break par, signing for a 3-under 69. Her iron play was superb, enabling to require only 27 putts.

“My up-and-downs saved me a few times,” she said.

Sun hardly was a surprise winner. In August, she won her first American Junior Golf Association tournament; she led wire to wire.

“She has the unteachables,” said Brand. “You can teach technique. But you can’t teach the grit and you can’t teach the IQ. She knows how to make birdies down the stretch, knows how to manage her game and not get ahead of herself.”

Torrey Pines came from four shots back after the first round to win the Division 1 tournament by three strokes over Rancho Bernardo. It’s the Falcons’ 20th section title in 25 years since golf became sanctioned in 2000.

Sophia Roxas of Rancho Bernardo High tees off during the CIF San Diego Section girls golf championships at Torrey Pines North on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (Photo by K.C. Alfred)

Cathedral Catholic won Division 2 by 27 strokes over Mater Dei Catholic.

Torrey Pines and RB advance to the Southern California Championships Nov. 14 at Los Serranos Golf Club in Chino Hills. The top 12 individual golfers not on Torrey Pines and RB also advance to the SoCals.

Those 12 golfers are: Sun and Clausen; Zodie Posternack of Patrick Henry (+8); Lauren Lee of Del Norte (+10); Kaily Yoon (Canyon Crest Academy) and Jennifer Yang (Bishop’s) at +11; Ellaclair Leedom (Cathedral Catholic) and Apple Cui (Westview) at +12; Emma Molina of Steele Canyon (plus 14); Mission Hills’ Jessica Hudson (+15); Carlsbad’s Gabriella Fanuchi (+16) and Ashley Ding of La Jolla Country Day (+17).