By STEFAN MODRICH, Staff Writer
Everything seemed to be coming up aces for the Pace boys golf team as it rolled through its spring predistrict slate.
Pace coach Ronnie Zamora was excited for his top two players — seniors Cristian Garcia and Marcos Abete — to showcase their growth in just their fourth year of competitive golf when the Vikings were slated to host the District 32-5A tournament April 1-2 at River Bend Resort & Country Club.
“It was rough, I feel really bad for them,” Zamora said. “They were in golf all four years. … Putting in the work all year leading up to this, and they didn’t get to see it through.”
The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic led to the University Interscholastic League’s cancelation of the golf season and brought about an unceremonious and unresolved ending to the careers of Abete and Garcia, who had aspirations of making a run to the Class 5A Region IV tournament and giving their best shot at qualifying for state.
Neither of those things came to fruition. However, the Vikings are grateful for the opportunity to play a sport that evolved from merely being an extracurricular activity worth trying into something from which they hope they will be able to derive lifelong enjoyment.
“It was really devastating,” Garcia said. “It was four years of hard work with coaches from school and outside of school. Me and Marcos always worked together, and we always took our time to dedicate ourselves to golf. We would pretty much go five days a week.”
Garcia was a golf novice when he began, but he credited his uncle and his family’s interest in golf for helping him to quickly acclimate to the sport.
“My freshman year I finished 48th place in the district,” Garcia said. “Every year since then, I went up 12 spots. … Last year I started shooting in the low 90s. … I noticed my pattern (of improvement), and I knew I had a good shot at finishing first in district.”
Garcia earned a spot on the All-District 32-5A first team with a stroke average of 93.64, good for sixth-best in the district, and Abete was named to the all-district second team with an average score of 98.42.
As for their post-high school plans, Abete said he is likely to attend the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, where he will major in finance and pursue a career as a stock broker. Garcia plans to become a commercial pilot and attend either the University of Nevada-Las Vegas or University of Nevada-Reno.
Garcia and Abete have both been playing recreationally since golf courses were allowed to resume play after the first phase of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s plan to reopen the state for business.
“Christian and I would practice a lot together (during the season),” Abete said. “We would always stay at the same level. … It’s kind of a bummer that when (the season) got canceled is when I was doing my best.”
The two played a round Thursday at Valley International Country Club in Brownsville.
Zamora said the Mercedes Invitational, held March 6-7 at Treasure Hills Golf Club in Harlingen, was when both Garcia and Abete were rounding into their top form, and that their momentum likely would have carried them to top five finishes in 32-5A.
Garcia shot an 86 on the first day of the Mercedes tournament and an 85 on the second day, and Abete rebounded from a rough first round with a score of 104, ending his final round with an 86.
“That course was new for me,” Abete said. “I don’t think I had played it before. But that was our best tournament of the year.”
While they won’t ever know how their postseason would have played out, Zamora said his players should take pride in their rapid growth after picking up the sport in such short order.
“They had joined golf as freshmen having never touched a golf club before in their lives,” Zamora said. “They stuck it out with the program for four years. … Year by year, they got better and better.”