By STEFAN MODRICH, Staff Writer
PALM VALLEY — Palmhurst’s LJ Chavez had a comfortable seven-stroke lead going into the final day of the South Texas Junior Golf Classic on Sunday at Harlingen Country Club and cruised to a 10-stroke advantage after his final round to claim the boys 15- to 18-year-olds division championship.
The 38th annual edition of the tournament was sponsored by Gillman Auto Group, and the event saved some of its most exciting action for the final holes of the par-72 course.
“Overall, I’m very pleased with the tournament,” STJGC director Durrell Lovell said. “We saw some extremely low scores and good play, lots of sportsmanship.”
At the front and center of that solid play was Chavez (66-70—136), who followed up Saturday’s electric performance by overcoming a shaky start to the latter part of his second round. He recorded a 35 on both the front and back nine, including a string of birdies capped by an eagle on the 17th hole. He was the only golfer to finish below par.
Despite bogeys on the ninth and 11th holes, he refocused and channeled his energy into attacking.
“I kind of switched things around and moved my momentum towards positivity, and started hitting the ball better,” Chavez said. “I was just playing aggressive like I did (Saturday).”
Harlingen’s Nate Newman (73-73—146) was the runner-up, posting a 37 on the front end and 36 on the back end. Ethan Galvan of Edinburg (75-76—151) started the day in third place and was overtaken by McAllen’s Raul Gonzalez (77-72—149) for the last medal spot.
“Ethan’s like my brother,” Chavez said. “It was fun (playing with Galvan and Newman), we give each other good competition (in the Rio Grande Valley).
Edinburg’s Madison Ozuna (83-81—164) repeated as the girls 15-18 division champion, and Round Rock’s Jordan Davis (87-80—167) was three strokes behind her. Three strokes also separated Davis and Rancho Viejo’s Allison McGinnis (90-80—170), the third-place finisher.
“Today’s round was a little shaky,” Ozuna said. “But I made sure I never stopped trying. It was a little bit rough. I struggled with my long game, but my short game was where I wanted it to be. I wasn’t too disappointed, but I knew I could have played a lot better. But I still came out with a win.”
Lovell said it was important for the tournament to continue and to give young golfers an opportunity to perform at an event that conforms to PGA standards and what he believes is one of the best simulations of a college golf setting.
Ozuna appreciated the HCC course for the way it challenges her to improve her performance off the tee.
“I love how the course has a lot of trees and makes it difficult to ensure your long game is very accurate,” Ozuna said. “It’s a very unique course for the Valley, just a lot of trees. It’s pretty windy as well. It makes it a little more difficult for those people who don’t hit as long, but overall it’s a pretty good course.”
Joslyn Lopez of Mission, who shot a 90 on Saturday and trailed Ozuna and Davis, withdrew from the tournament after having stomach pains.
Presley Bolado of San Antonio (81-80—161) captured the title in the girls 13-14 division.
In the boys 13-14 division, Edinburg’s Bryan Sandoval (78-85) took home the crown. Hezikia Caldera of Weslaco (88-88—176) finished first in the boys 11-12 division.
Harlingen’s Sofia Pena (46-47—93) placed first in girls 11-12 linkster. The boys 11-12 linkster champion was Lorenzo Garza (40-42—82) of Mission.
Anounallah Farid of Houston (51-40—91) won the boys 9-10 linkster, and Edinburg’s Leonel Salinas III (46-48—94) won the 6-8 coed division.
Lovell noted that he was proud of the efforts of the HCC staff, tournament volunteers and the compliance of spectators and golfers with the mask-wearing and social distancing regulations and guidelines in place to curb the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
“I thought the kids handled the pressure more so than anything else,” Lovell said. “‘Do I wear the mask? Do I stay 6 feet away?’ … It’s mass confusion, but I thought they handled it extremely well. … The virus is very serious, and we shouldn’t take that for granted. It’s a pleasure to get to play golf and to be outdoors. I thought the kids showed respect for the rules and what all we had to do.”