ROY HESS | Staff Writer
Mother Nature didn’t interfere with regional golf until Wednesday.
The Region IV-6A and Region IV-5A tournaments for girls were played Monday and Tuesday at San Antonio’s Republic Golf Club and McAllen’s Palmview Golf Course, respectively, with no interruptions.
But on Wednesday, the Class 6A boys tournament at Republic Golf Club in San Antonio was not as fortunate as there were three rain/lightning delays. The 5A boys tournament at Palmview in McAllen came off without a hitch Wednesday, but inclement weather could possibly threaten today, especially for the 6A regional competition in San Antonio.
Harlingen High and Harlingen South both have boys teams playing at the Region IV-6A event. They were the top two qualifying teams at the District 32-6A Tournament earlier this month.
“We didn’t get it finished,” Cardinals golf coach Chris Milligan said of Wednesday’s opening round in San Antonio. “There were three different rain and lightning delays. We’ve got two and three holes left (to complete the first round). We didn’t play that well today.
“We’ll finish the first round in the morning (starting at 8 a.m.), redo groupings and head out for the second round,” Milligan added. “We were just trying to stay dry today.”
Members of the three-time 32-6A champion Harlingen High squad are Nate Newman, Aaron Salinas, Nicholas Galvan, Mikey Bullock and Larry Bolt.
For South, members of the Hawks’ squad are Malachi Pena, Nolan Garrison, Javi Vento, Zach David and Jimi Abbott.
Playing as individual qualifiers from 32-6A at the 6A regional tournament are Harlingen High’s Chris Galvan and San Benito’s Mike Robles.
Golfers qualify for state from this week’s regional competition by finishing as one of the top three teams or finishing as one of the top three individual golfers not on a state-qualifying team.
Meanwhile, the Region IV-5A Tournament for boys at Palmview completed its first round Wednesday with Boerne Champion Navy (304), Dripping Springs (314) and Sharyland Pioneer (319) as the top three teams. Sharyland High (320) was fourth.
Donna High (364) and Brownsville Veterans Memorial (380) were playing in the Region IV-5A event as the top two qualifying teams from District 32-5A.
Jonathan Del Bosque led Donna High with an 84, while Daniel Yznaga led Brownsville Veterans with an 85.
“Daniel had some trouble on the fast greens, but he is optimistic about Thursday’s round,” Brownsville Veterans golf coach Thomas Abete said. “He is our captain and this is his senior year, so he’s going to leave everything he has left out there on the course in the final round.”
The top three individuals after Wednesday’s opening round at the Region IV-5A Tournament were Sharyland High’s Jun Min Lee (69), Boerne Champion Navy’s Zach Hefferman (73) and Dripping Springs’ Jake Sitterle (73).