By Brian Argabright
The 830 Times
While the Rams weren’t able to bring this weekend’s golf tournament title home, attendees got a glimpse of the future of the Del Rio High boys golf program.
Laredo Alexander Gold defended its title at this weekend’s Del Rio High School Brown Automotive Boys Golf Invitational Tournament, but local freshman Isaac Diaz won the individual title with back-to-back days of even par golf to leave the rest of the field in the dust.
Diaz was one of three golfers who shot under 80 on Friday, joining Alexander’s Nicholas Lopez, who shot a 77, and Laredo United’s Marcelo Luna, who shot a 79, but Diaz’s 72 on the Desert Oaks course, formerly Leaning Pine, on Laughlin Air Force Base put him ahead by five strokes.
Even with the lead, Diaz could be seen getting in some practice Friday evening on the San Felipe Springs Golf Course, the site of Saturday’s second round. That practice paid off.
Diaz opened with back-to-back birdies on No.’s 2 and 3 before carding a double bogey on No. 4. But he closed the front nine strong with pars on three of the five holes and birdies on No. 6 and No. 8.
Diaz ran into some trouble on the back nine, bogeying 13, 14, 15 and 18, but he was able to get some of his shots back with birdies on 12 and 16 to finish with the 72.
As a younger golfer, Diaz competed in tournaments across the state and country. He’s been a regular on youth amateur tours and has racked up dozens of medals and trophies along the way. Del Rio head golf coach Oscar Cardenas introduced Diaz by asking people to remember his name, as he would be on the medalist’s stand for years to come.
Diaz’s performance helped the Rams finish fourth overall with a two-day team score of 694. They began Saturday’s second round tied for fourth but were able to hang onto their spot.
Joining Diaz were Andrew Klinck (87, 89 – 176), Mark Peña (91, 96 – 187), Austin Plumb (90, 97 – 187), and Julian Fernandez (94, 101 – 195).
Fourteen teams took part in the tournament. Joining host team Del Rio were Eagle Pass, Eagle Pass C.C. Winn, Laredo Alexander, Laredo LBJ, Laredo United, Laredo United South, South San, Uvalde and West Campus.
Alexander’s championship team shot a 654. The team was comprised of Brandon Urdiales (82, 79 – 161), Lopez (77, 85 – 162), Jacob Salinas (83, 81 – 164), Richie Rodriguez (82, 85 – 167) and Ruben Valdez (94, 89 – 183).
Laredo United Orange finished second with a team score of 665. The team included Luna (79, 81 – 160), Cristian Arizola (89, 76 – 165), Roberto Garcia (84, 84 – 168), Ramiro Briones (88, 84 – 172) and Aaron Hernandez (94, 90 – 184).
Eagle Pass Orange was third with a 678. The team featured Jorge De La Cabada (84, 78 – 162), Cayetano Morales (85, 82 – 167), Adrian Rodriguez (85, 92 – 177), Diego Flores (81, 97 – 188) and Santiago Sanchez (95, 91 – 186). Eagle Pass was also awarded the Ernesto “Neto” Hernandez Memorial Sportsmanship Award. On hand to present the award were Hernandez’s son, and former Rams golfer, Ernesto “Ernie” Hernandez Jr. and his mother Ofelia Hernandez.
Fifth place went to Laredo Alexander Blue and its score of 700. The team included Andres Ramos (80, 90 – 170), Andrew Devally (85, 89 – 174), Greg Salinas (88, 88 – 176), Sebastian Valencia (85, 95 – 180) and Joaquian Pompa (98, 102 – 200).
The top five individual golfers were Diaz, Laredo LBJ’s Jesse Valdez (80, 77 – 152), Luna, Urdiales and De La Cabada. De La Cabada and Lopez each finished with a two-day 162, but De La Cabada was awarded fifth place via a scorecard playoff.
The Del Rio Queens golf team will take part in the Del Rio High School Brown Automotive Girls Invitational Golf Tournament beginning Friday, Feb. 10.
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Contact the author at drnhsports@gmail.com
