PHARR — Dylan Villarreal’s tee shot on the par-3 No. 8 hole at Tierra Del Sol barely cleared a sand trip on the left side of the green and landed on the fringe, pin high, about 45 feet from the hole.
He hit a flop shot onto the green and left himself a 3-foot putt for par.
On the finishing No. 10 hole, Villarreal again left his approach about 50 feet short of the pin on the large green, leaving him an uphill putt. He lagged a putt to within 2 feet, sank his par putt and ended his day with a 1-under-par 71 and medalist of the two-day District 31-5A tournament Tuesday.
His victory also led the Mustangs to the District 31-5A title with a two-day team total of 587. Sharyland Pioneer finished second with a 620 and McAllen High took third with a 628.
“I told him on No. 8 that all he had to do was barely hit the fringe because the greens were real fast,” Memorial head coach Celso Gonzales said. “He did just that. He didn’t let anything bother him today. If he bogeyed, he didn’t get mad. He just kept calm and I think that was a factor today.
“He grew up a lot this year. Bad shots used to get to him and we have been working on that all year.”
Senior Kaylee Cruz blistered the course for Sharyland Pioneer, firing a 3-under-par 69 and a two-day 141 total to lead the Diamondbacks to their first district title. Their 647 team total was 12 strokes better than second-place Sharyland High, led by Carolina Tirado’s two day 151 (79-72).
The top two teams for the boys and the girls, and the top two individuals not on those teams will advance to the regional round. McAllen High’s Jordan Gabrielson (79-91—170) and teammate Kayla Vargas (87-89—176) will advance individually for the girls while McHi’s Justin Ochoa (72-75—147) and Ben De La Garza (76-75—151) will move on for the boys.
“I’ve been watching Dylan since he was 5 or 6 and knew he was going to be a good one,” Gonzales said. “This is a breakout for him. He won here in an invitational so he gained a lot of confidence. With my top three, any of them can win a tournament.”
The back-to-back sub-300 rounds are the first for Gonzales in his 32 years at the Mustangs’ helm. He said he couldn’t remember in his time at Memorial if any other freshman had won the district title before Villarreal at the school.
The UIL 5A Region IV tournament will be held at the Hyatt Hill Country Club in San Antonio. The girls will compete April 19-20, while the boys play April 21-22.