SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | STAFF WRITER
Class 6A’s Region IV is one of the tougher regions in Texas.
Heading into the regional tournament on Wednesday at The Republic golf course in San Antonio, McAllen Memorial’s C.W. Phillips knew the competition would be tough. He shot a 72 in the first round, putting him in a tie for sixth place.
“Coming into the day, I told C.W. all we have to do is shoot an even par, and we will see where the chips fall,” McAllen Memorial coach Celso Gonzalez said. “It was good enough today. I am very proud of him. He kept his composure, and he was focused. When he had one bad hole, he did not let that bother him. He had a goal, and luckily, today he accomplished it. I am very proud of him.”
Phillips trimmed a stroke off and shot a 71 in the final round. His 143 two-day score was good enough for fourth place and a bid into the state tournament as the highest finisher not on a state-qualifying team.
“As far as his goals, state was on his mind. It’s been on his mind all year,” Gonzalez said. “He’d say, ‘Coach, we are going to state,’ and I would say, ‘Well, it’s going to be a tough region to get out of, but if we get out of this region, which in my opinion is one of the hardest regions in golf to get out of … It’s going to be an uphill climb.’ But I told him, ‘You are just as good as anybody. They have to hit the ball just like we do.’ His mental game was there. Nothing bothered him. He was a grinder today.”
Phillips will be the lone 6A representative from the Valley at the state tournament. His Mustangs finished ninth with a score of 652. Harlingen High was 11th with a two-day score of 655. PSJA North (662), Edinburg Vela (672), McAllen High (685) and Weslaco High (688) finished 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th, respectively.
The next highest Valley finisher was Bradley McCaleb, who tied for the 15th spot with a score of 149.
About 25 miles away, at the Golf Club of Texas in San Antonio, the Class 5A Region IV tournament was taking place at the same time.
Sharyland High sophomore Jun Min Lee had what could only be described as a tough day when referring to the best golfer in the Valley. He shot a 71, putting him four strokes short of the regional title. His second-place finish secured a trip to state.
“He was excited,” Sharyland coach Fernando Rodriguez said. “He was down on himself a little bit, because the team is not advancing. They had a team meeting last night, and they were talking about it, and he was trying to get the kids up for it, but it’s a long 18 holes and things happen on the course.
“He held his game together and he stayed focused. The course was playing a little bit different today, and we don’t play this course enough during the year. It takes a while to get used to it. Jimmy is a good player, and it could have been worse, but he kept his focus and his mental game together and he was able to come in with a one-under par round today.”
The top golfer at the tournament, Alamo Heights’ Mac Meissner, put together a pair of 67 rounds for a 134 overall score. Earlier this season, at Alamo Heights’ district tournament, Meissner set the course record on the same course with a 61.
Lee and Meissner were tied after the first round, but Lee couldn’t keep up with the impressive pace in the final round.
“He struggled a little bit as far as making birdies,” Rodriguez said. “He was hitting good drives, but the greens weren’t holding today like they were yesterday. They were a little bit hard and stiff because of the wind. Yesterday, we had winds from the north, and today we had winds from the south.”
Not far behind Lee was Mission Veterans senior Diego Hernandez, who turned in consecutive rounds of 73. The two-day score of 146 put him into a three-way tie for third place, leading to a playoff for seeding and finish order. Hernandez fell short in the playoff but still earned a trip to state. His teammate, senior Aaron Martinez, finished with a score of 151, good for a tie for ninth place.
Edcouch-Elsa senior Canaan Vasquez had a heart-breaking end to his season. After a first-round score of 76, Edcouch-Elsa coach Bobby Hernandez said Vasquez knew he was too high and would need a big round to recover.
“We knew he had a chance,” Bobby Hernandez said. “We knew he needed to shoot at least one under or two under. He was even up until 17, and 18 was the last chance we had for birdie or eagle, so he wanted to go for two. He pushed the drive, and it was on the right rough. I told him, ‘Hey, just get out, put it on the fairway, and then get on.’ He hit it, and it stayed in the wasteland. Then he two-putted for a bogey. That was it. We knew where we were at. We knew that he had one bad shot that put him out. It is what it is. I’m proud of him and proud of the way he played.”
Vasquez finished tied for sixth with a score of 150, just four strokes off the third-place finishers.
“He did very well,” Bobby Hernandez said. “He did a very good job of representing himself and representing the Valley. There is nothing to be ashamed of. He played great and came out just a little bit short.”
Sharyland High (643) finished fourth, and Mission Veterans (653) came in fifth. Brownsville Veterans scored 709, putting it in ninth place. Edcouch-Elsa was 14th with a score of 792.
After Martinez, the next highest Valley finisher was Sharyland High’s Victor Martinez, who tied for 22nd with a score of 160.
In all, three Valley golfers are headed to the state tournament on May 22: Sharyland’s Lee, Veterans’ Hernandez and Memorial’s Phillips.
“That’s exciting,” Rodriguez said. “I think this is the first time that we have two medalists coming out from our region in 5A. Last year, we had a couple of kids in 6A that advanced as well. That’s great news. That says a lot about Valley golf. The kids are becoming more competitive, and we are able to compete with the San Antonio and Austin schools up there.”
VALLEY-GOLF RESULTS
CLASS 6A REGION IV TOURNAMENT
At The Republic G.C.
San Antonio
First Round
TEAM SCORES
1. Austin Westlake, 282; 2. SA Johnson, 301; 3. SA Churchill, 304; 4. Austin Lake Travis, 305; 5. New Braunfels, 308; 6. Smithson Valley, 311; 7. Brandeis, 317; 8. SA Clark, 319; 9. Laredo United, 322; 10. Harligen High, 327; 11. Laredo Alexander, 328; 12. McAllen Memorial, 330; T13. McAllen High, 339; T13. PSJA North, 339; 15. Edinburg Vela, 340; 16. Weslaco High, 349.
INDIVIDUAL SCORES
1. Reese Ramsey, Austin Westlake, 66
T2. Mike Yang, SA Brennan, 70
T2. Matthew Denton, Austin Westlake, 70
T2. Brett Allen, SA Churchill, 70
5. Andres Acevedo, Brandeis, 71
T6. C.W. Phillips, McAllen Memorial, 72
T6. Joel Alfaro, Laredo United, 72
T8. Michael Rome, Austin Westlake, 73
T8. Reid Davenport, Austin Westlake, 73
T10. Johnny Keefer, SA Johnson, 74
T10. Thomas Bockholt, Austin Westlake, 74
T10. Bradley McCaleb, Weslaco High, 74
T10. Jordan Stagg, Smithson Valley, 74
T10. Justin Abshire, SA Johnson, 74
T10. Trey Bosco, Austin Lake Travis 74
CLASS 5A REGION IV TOURNAMENT
At Golf Club of Texas
San Antonio
First Round
TEAM SCORES
1. Alamo Heights, 293; 2. Boerne Champions, 310; 3. SF Austin A, 314; 4. Sharyland High, 319; 5. Mission Veterans, 328; 6. SF Austin B, 342; 7. Victoria West, 345; 8. Calallen, 349; 9. Uvalde, 367; 10. Victoria East, 370; 11. Gregory-Portland, 371; 12. Brownsville Veterans, 372; 13. Floresville, 402; 14. Edcouch-Elsa, 412; 15. SA Brackenridge, 484; 16. SA Jefferson, 1403.
INDIVIDUAL SCORES
T1. Mac Meissner, Alamo Heights, 67
T1. Jun Min Lee, Sharyland High, 67
T3. Diego Hernandez, Mission Veterans, 73
T3. Ben Lake, Victoria East, 73
T5. Forest Miller, S.F. Austin 1, 74
T5. Sam Berryman, Alamo Heights, 74
7. Parker Ray, Alamo Heights, 75
T8. Ben Snelgrove, Kerrville Tivy, 76
T8. Canaan Vasquez, Edcouch-Elsa, 76
T8. Kenner Mangold, Boerne Champion, 76