San Benito golfer gains experience at exclusive year-end
tournament
On her approach to the ninth green at the Rancho Canada East
Golf Course on Tuesday
— in what was her final hole of the day — San Benito High junior
Jordan Davies delivered a shot that even officials had a tough time
ruling.
San Benito golfer gains experience at exclusive year-end tournament
On her approach to the ninth green at the Rancho Canada East Golf Course on Tuesday — in what was her final hole of the day — San Benito High junior Jordan Davies delivered a shot that even officials had a tough time ruling.
The ball bounced left of the green and into some light rough, inexplicably landing on top of the cart-path curb but still touching the course itself, still technically in play. But in what was simply a microcosm to the game itself and Davies’ day at the Central Coast Section Girls Golf Championships on Tuesday, the disappointed junior was forced to re-hit after the ball was ruled out of bounds by mere inches.
Some days, the ball simply doesn’t bounce your way.
“I played here on Sunday and I shot an 84,” said Davies, who carded a 99 (51-48) on Tuesday at the Carmel Valley course.
“That’s one too many (strokes).”
Davies was San Benito’s lone section qualifier after she recorded a 97 during last week’s Tri-County Athletic League Championships at the Salinas Golf and Country Club. But while her score at CCS was somewhat similar to what she recorded at TCALs, the Hollister golfer’s disappointment seemed to center around a pair of Rancho’s par-3 holes.
“(On Sunday) I actually made it over those par 3’s,” Davies said, referring to holes No. 6 and 7 at Rancho — short, par-3 holes that offer both small fairways and a dried river bed in between the tee box and the green.
“I didn’t really get frustrated,” Davies added. “I got disappointed because I shot a nine on a par 3. I tried to turn it around, but more bad shots came.”
Davies finished 77th out of 103 golfers on Tuesday. With the majority of the scores falling in the 80 to 90 range, Presentation junior MarikoTumangan shocked the field when she earned her second straight CCS title with a 10-under 62.
She defeated Pacific Grove’s Haley Andreas by seven strokes.
Tumangan’s score, a CCS course record, positioned Presentation runner-up behind St. Ignatius for the team title, however. Led by Alexandra Wong’s 71, St. Ignatius defeated Presentation by a 301-320 margin. The two teams advance to NorCals, nonetheless, and will be joined by third-place Salinas (324).
Pacific Grove’s Andreas, as well as Hannah Suh (70) of Evergreen Valley, Lauren Kim (71) of Los Altos and Deborah Lee (72) of Stevenson, move on to NorCals as individual qualifiers.
While Davies said the pressure-packed CCS atmosphere made it difficult to turn her game around, San Benito head coach Chris Branon couldn’t help but note the experience Davies gained during Tuesday’s section championship.
Just a junior, Davies still has another year to qualify.
“This will be a good experience for her, a great experience for her,” Branon said. “And this is good experience for the entire team. She has something the rest of the team will be shooting for.
“With the experience she gained this year, she will hopefully pass that down to the girls next year.”
Davies, understandably, wanted to qualify to the NorCal tournament on Tuesday. But planning on practicing more frequently in the offseason, the junior said she appreciated Tuesday’s event as a learning experience.
“Don’t get flustered and don’t get disappointed, because it’s only gonna bring [your attitude] down farther,” she said.
When asked how she will build off of Tuesday’s event, Davies said simply, “Practice, practice, practice.”
