McAllen Memorial’s Vince Gutierrez fired a two-round tournament-low 73-79—152 to capture individual medalist honors for the season-opening McAllen Invitational on Friday and Saturday at Palm View golf course in McAllen.
The junior, playing for the Mustangs’ “B” team, beat McAllen Memorial’s Esteban Gonzalez, who ended the event with a 78-76—154 to pace the Mustangs’ “A” squad to the team title with a 629 total. Sharyland High’s “A” team earned second with a 653, while Sharyland Pioneer capture third at 683. The Mustangs shot a field-low 312 during the second round, played Saturday.
While Gonzalez finished second in the individual segment of the event, teammate Ryan Avila captured fifth with a 156. Pioneer golfers Gabriel Guerrero and Ryan Montoya each penciled a 155 total on their scorecards to lead the Diamondbacks.
Overall, there were 21 rounds of sub-80 played during the first tournament of the season out of 18 teams. McAllen Memorial “A” and Pioneer each tallied five of those rounds, followed by McAllen Memorial “B” (3), Sharyland High “A” (3), Laredo Alexander (2) and Brownsville Veterans, Harlingen South and Laredo United each with one round below 80.
The girls open their season Friday and Saturday, also at Palm View for the McAllen Invitational.