By Brian Argabright
The 830 Times
It may have taken an extra year, but Del Rio’s golfing sensation Isaac Diaz is headed to the state golf tournament.
Diaz, a sophomore at Del Rio High School, shot rounds of 71 and 70 at the Region IV-6A Boys Golf Tournament held at The Golf Club of Texas in San Antonio to finish third overall and qualify for his first Class 6A Boys State Golf Tournament.
The two-day regional tournament was held Monday and Tuesday.
Diaz will next head to the White Wing Golf Club in Georgetown for the state tournament that will be held April 29-30. He will be the first Del Rio golfer to compete at the state tournament since Guy Goodspeed Jr. competed at state in 2005 and 2006.
Diaz is the back-to-back District 30-6A boys golf champion. As a freshman in 2023, Diaz competed in his first Region IV-6A tournament, finishing 10th overall. He returned this year with a little more experience and a lot more drive as he moved up seven spots in the overall standings.
This season was another stellar season for the young golfer. He went on a streak of first place finishes in four consecutive tournaments including the Del Rio High School Brown Automotive Boys Invitational Golf Tournament as well as a win at the Winter Laredo Juniors Golf Championships. He also helped Del Rio reclaim the Brown Auto golf tournament championship for the first time since 2017 in February.
Last season Diaz was named Del Rio Golf’s Freshman of the Year as well as Male Golfer of the Year and Most Outstanding Golfer of the Year after finishing in the top 10 in every tournament he competed in.
Diaz is also an accomplished amateur golfer away from the Rams. He’s competed on several youth tours and has competed at a variety of state, national and world tournaments. His younger brother, Isaiah, is also an accomplished golfer and will join the Rams team in due time.
Diaz was joined at the regional tournament by his Rams teammates who had finished second at the district tournament. The Rams finished 12th as a team and did not advance to state. Joining Diaz on the team were Juan Pablo Cortez, Andrew Klinck, Mark Pena and Julian Fernandez.
Del Rio head golf coach Oscar Cardenas knows there’s plenty of work to be done before state, but the longtime coach wasn’t shy in saying how he felt Diaz could fare at the final high school tournament of the year.
“We have a good chance to medal at state,” Cardenas said.
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Contact the author at drnhsports@gmail.com
