By Brian Argabright
The 830 Times
Isaac Diaz’s debut high school golf season continues to live up to expectations.
Playing on his home course at the San Felipe Springs Golf Course, the Del Rio freshman claimed his first district championship Friday, winning the District 30-6A Boys individual championship by 12 strokes over the next closest competitor.
Diaz had already become a well-known player on the links before he began his high school career. He’d won multiple junior golf tournaments around the country and had competed at the world championships on several different occasions.
He made a splash his freshman year by winning tournaments in Del Rio and the Rio Grande Valley as well as finishing third at a tournament in McAllen.
Diaz’s road to the district title started a bit bumpy. He shot a 3-over 75 Thursday on the first day of the district tournament to take a one-shot lead over Laredo Alexander’s Andres Ramos and a two-shot lead over Alexander’s Noah Rendon.
But on Friday Diaz came out firing. He finished his round with a one-under par 71 and a two-day score of 146. Both Ramos and Rendon faded on the second day, shooting 84 and 83 respectively, leaving the door open for Laredo LBJ’s Jesse Valdez to claim the silver medal as the individual runner-up with a two-day 158 after rounds of 81 and 77.
Diaz and Valdez each qualified for the Class 6A, Region IV Golf Tournament April 19-20 at The Golf Club of Texas in San Antonio. The top two teams and the top two individual golfers not already on a qualifying team from each district are qualified to compete at the regional tournament.
District 30-6A will also be represented by a pair of teams from Laredo Alexander.
Alexander Gold won the district championship with a team score of 667. The team included Jacob Salinas (84, 81 – 165), Brandon Urdiales (85, 84 – 169), Ruben Valdez (85, 84 – 169), Richie Rodriguez (82, 88 – 170) and Nicholas Lopez (95, 82 – 177). Only the top four individual scores are used each day to determine the team’s score.
Alexander Blue finished second by just four strokes after shooting a 671. The team included Rams (76, 84 – 160), Andrew Devally (87, 82 – 169), Greg Salinas (89, 88 – 177), Joaquin Pompa (85, 97 – 182) and Sebastian Valencia (92, 90 – 182).
As a team, Del Rio Blue finished fifth with a team score of 727. The team included Diaz, Mark Peña (92, 93 – 185), Andrew Klinck (94, 101 – 195), Austin Plumb (100, 101 – 201) and Julian Fernandez (110, 103 – 213).
Laredo United was third with a 702 followed by Eagle Pass with a 718.
Del Rio White finished with a team score of 964. The team included Eligio Flores (122, 107), Zeke De La Cruz (120, 117 – 237), Dorian Sanchez (130, 116 – 246), Andrew Guadiana (124, 128 – 252) and Angel Velasquez (141, 142 – 283).
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Contact the author at drnhsports@gmail.com
