Before every golf tournament, Edinburg High’s Madi Ozuna makes sure of two things. The first is that her lucky ball marker is safely in her bag. The other is to end every practice session with a 1-foot putt.
“I like to hear the ball go into the cup,” Ozuna said.
Ozuna, the Rio Grande Valley’s top girls golfer, and her Bobcats team are hoping to have plenty of 1-foot putts Monday and Tuesday while playing in the Region IV-6A tournament at Palm View Golf Course in McAllen. The boys Region IV-6A will take place Wednesday and Thursday, also at Palm View. Tee off time for all four days start at 8 a.m.
The girls and boys Region IV-5A tournament is being held the same days at the Hyatt Hill Country Club in San Antonio.
The top three teams and the top three individuals not on those teams will advance to the state tournament. Austin Vandegrift is ranked first with a 593 team scoring average. Los Fresnos is fourth at 633 and Edinburg High is sixth at 697.
Ozuna, a senior, has dominated play this year and is making her third trip to regionals, the COVID-19 pandemic standing in the way last year of a possible four-year sweep. Her 73.5 scoring average through 12 district rounds is nearly five strokes better than the second-lowest Class 6A scorer, Los Fresnos’ Gabriana Garrido, with a 78.39 average.
Ozuna won the District 31-6A individual title with back-to-back sub-70 rounds, 69-68 and the Bobcats claimed a three-stroke victory over Edinburg Vela for the team championship.
“My year has been a pretty good year,” said Ozuna, who has committed to play golf at UTRGV next year. “I set a goal to keep my average under par and I almost had it. As a team, we’ve been working hard and we’re doing our best golf now.”
The Bobcats went into the district tournament without their No. 2 golfer available and heavy underdogs, but Vanessa Salinas stepped into that role and shot her first career sub-90 round. In fact, Salinas improved her second-day score by 11 strokes, firing a 93 her first day, one stroke off her season best, and following that with a second-day 81.
“She has always had a passion for golf but also dance. This year, though she couldn’t do dance because of COVID so she came out,” Edinburg High head coach Orlando Garza said. “She shot a 137 during her first round, but every single time I saw her practice, she never stayed the same and was always getting better. There was always another notch, another click. She was always improving.”
Ozuna, who last went to the state tournament as a freshman with her team, said she has grown a lot as a player in the past year.
“I know that I’ll have bad shots and I get through it every time. I’ve learned to accept that,” she said. “I can let it go in the past. I grew that way. I can’t change it, so I might as well not dwell over it. I also learned it’s just as important to be a team player, have fun and be confident out there.”
“Nothing fazes her,” Garza said. “She has matured so much. She totally understands herself more and she hardly ever makes a mistake.
Ozuna was practicing Palm View on a windy and wet Saturday, getting a feel for the course, which she is very familiar with.
“Well, the greens were slower than usual,” she said. “But I know they’ll be faster on Monday and Tuesday. It will be fast and smooth but I like the greens for my putting.”
Especially if she’s just a foot away and can hear the ball rattle in the cup, and her lucky ball marker is in her bag.