Grand aspirations set at the beginning of the season instead
turned into several near-misses Monday as each member of the Balers
fell short of advancing to the Central Coast Section
Championships.
Competing in the Tri-County Athletic League Tournament, the
Balers missed the qualifying mark as a team, finishing fourth
overall out of 11 teams with a 511, and also had a pair of
individuals narrowly miss out on a chance of extending their
respective seasons.
SALINAS
Sitting at a table near the 18th green of the Salinas Golf and Country Club Monday, several members of the San Benito girls golf team held a quiet demeanor and dejected appearance.
In the game of golf, that’s not a good sign.
Grand aspirations set at the beginning of the season instead turned into several near-misses Monday as each member of the Balers fell short of advancing to the Central Coast Section Championships.
Competing in the Tri-County Athletic League Tournament, the Balers missed the qualifying mark as a team, finishing fourth overall out of 11 teams with a 511, and also had a pair of individuals narrowly miss out on a chance of extending their respective seasons.
Sophomore Emiley Palmquist recorded a 97 for the Balers, while senior teammate Jordan Davies, who recorded a 94 at TCALs last year and was the lone CCS qualifier from San Benito, finished her prep campaign with a 96 Monday — just three strokes off of the individual qualifying mark of 93.
“My putting was really bad,” said Davies, who recorded a 7 on the par-4 15th and an 8 on the par-4 7th Monday.
“One ball I hit out of bounds, and the other one, I don’t even know what happened on that one,” she said. “I blew those off and stayed positive, but it was just those little things I did wrong.”
Davies admitted to being overly cautious with some of her approach shots, too, not wanting to over-hit the greens and instead pulling up short. A rain-soaked weekend provided wet and muddy conditions on Monday as well, but not enough to make much of a difference, Davies said.
“I didn’t play as well as I should have played,” said Davies, who plans on continuing her golf career in college.
In hindsight, there were several teams Monday that didn’t fare as expected. Only Santa Catalina, which won the regular season in the TCAL, carded a qualifying score of 448, and will advance as a team to next Tuesday’s CCS Championships.
Otherwise, Stevenson (477), Salinas (503) and Monte Vista Christian (513) all fell short of the team-qualifying mark of 465.
Monte Vista Christian’s Caroline Belmont did medal Monday’s round, though, by shooting a 2-over 74. She led a total of eight individuals who will advance to the CCS Championships, including teammates Jessica Fore (92) and Lauren Umamoto (92), Stevenson’s Katherine Pan (93), Molly Brossman (92) and Kathee Zhen (86), Salinas’ Corrine Ow (88) and Pacific Grove’s Lauren Molin (91).
The Balers, meanwhile, were unable to replicate the magic they had recorded several times this year at the Ridgemark Golf and Country Club, where the team posted season-low scores of 225 on Sept. 30 and 233 on Sept. 20 — both over nine holes.
Monday’s 18-hole finale was a first for many on the Balers. For some, it was even the first time they had played at the Salinas Golf and Country Club.
“It’s hard not knowing,” said senior LaShea Dailey, who finished with a 106 on Monday. “I haven’t seen this course before.”
Rounding out the Balers Monday included senior Nicole Rianda, who finished with a 104, while Morgan DiDomenico carded a 108 and Lexi Branon a 124.
“It’s disappointing, not being able to say I went to CCS. It’s kind of sad being a senior,” Dailey said.
For Palmquist, who as a freshman last year shot a 102 at TCALs, her 97 on Monday was disappointing, she said, and was made even worse considering how close she was to the cut.
And her sentiments weren’t at all that much different than Davies.
“My putting was not good and my shots, I was hitting everything left,” she said.
Palmquist, too, had an 8 on the par-4 8th hole, but still managed to finish the round with six pars.
When asked if her sophomore standing provided some sort of a silver lining, as she will have two more years to qualify toward CCS, Palmquist quickly responded, “Not really.”
Said Dailey, “I think mentally, we were all off.”
TCAL Tournament
1, Santa Catalina, 448; 2, Stevenosn, 477; 3, Salinas, 503; 4, San Benito, 511; 5, Monte Vista Christian, 513; 6, Pacific Grove, 525; 7, Watsonville, 609; 8, Notre Dame, 618; 9, Everett Alvarez, 635; 10, Gilroy, 637; 11, Christopher, 725.
