By ROY HESS | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD
Some of Santiago Garcia’s unfinished business as a high school senior was taken care of Thursday afternoon.
From his to-do list prior to graduation, the standout Hanna golfer can now check off the item regarding his college future.
He signed a full-ride athletic scholarship agreement Thursday to play golf next school year at Texas A&M International University, an NCAA Division II school in Laredo.
“This (signing) is something special in my life,” said Garcia, a four-time District 32-6A individual champion who is the top-rated high school golfer in the Rio Grande Valley as a senior with a 70.73 stroke average for 18 holes. “This is a short step in the next direction for me. Playing college golf is something I’ve always dreamed of and hoped to do one day. It’s just a step in the right direction for the long career (in golf) that I hope to have.”
Most notably, Garcia won his latest district medalist title by shooting an 11-under-par 61 during the final round of the 32-6A tournament on April 5 at Weslaco’s Tierra Santa Golf Club. That remarkable score tied Garcia with two other high school golfers for the best 18-hole round ever recorded in Texas during UIL competition. The other two 61s were recorded in 2005 and 2017.
Other items on the standout golfer’s immediate to-do list include having a strong finish at next week’s Region IV-6A Tournament in San Antonio and qualifying for the UIL state tournament in May at Georgetown for the first time.
Garcia knows he can turn his full attention to doing well on the golf course during the coming days after securing his college future on Thursday.
He ranks in the upper 15 percent of his class academically. At A&M International, he plans to pursue a degree in international business or mechanical engineering.
“Of course, it feels really good (to be attending college in Laredo) because my parents will be close and my family will be close,” he said. “They don’t have to travel that far to go see me and I won’t have to travel that far to come back home.
“I was going to go to the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, which is also an NCAA II school, but I de-committed from there because they offered me a full ride in Laredo (compared to a 75 percent of expenses paid scholarship in Colorado), so it feels really good,” he added. “I feel the support of everyone (in the golfing community) around the Valley. Even though I’ll be in Laredo, it will feel like I’m at home, so it will be a good place to be.”
It was a joyous occasion for all the family members, fellow students, coaches, teachers and Brownsville ISD administrators in attendance Thursday for the signing at the auditorium on the Hanna campus.
Besides Santiago Garcia, perhaps the one at the gathering in the most celebratory mood was Adrian Garcia, the golfer’s father and also his golf coach at Hanna.
“This is an incredible day,” Adrian Garcia said. “My son is very independent, his focus is phenomenal and he’s very talented. I’m really excited for him and glad that he’s staying close to home in Laredo versus Colorado.
“‘Chago’ (Santiago) did all the footwork (in landing his scholarship),” the Hanna coach said. “We’ll be excited to go see him play (after he finishes his Hanna golf career). Before too long I’ll get to watch ‘Chago’ at the next level and it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess