GHS golf team gusts past Palma, Salinas
GILROY – Eagle Ridge is a difficult course on the most beautiful of days. So Monday’s T-CAL meet – played under gusting winds and cold temperatures – made play even harder for the Gilroy High boys golf team as it played host to both reigning league champion Salinas and Palma.
But the Mustang duffers endured – shooting a tournament-low combined score of 171 to beat Salinas (175) by four strokes and Palma (180) by nine strokes on their home course.
“This golf course doesn’t give anything up and you have to play smart conservative golf in order to score well here,” head coach Eric Kuwada said. “There are not too many holes that you can say, ‘I can birdie this one.’ Eagle Ridge is one the toughest courses in the Santa Clara Valley.”
The adverse conditions worked well for Gilroy’s Ale Rodriguez – who finished with a tournament-low 40 and was the medalist for the day in the 18-player field.
Senior Chad Brownfield and teammate Ryan Dinsmore followed with solid 43s, while Matt Lofstrom registered a 45, Thomas Hoshida scored a 46, and Brian Calimpong tallied a 51.
“We have been working hard in hitting fairways and greens. When you do that here, you can make some birdies, but for sure pars,” Kuwada said. “However, when you get wild and try to scramble on this golf course, it sometimes works and you can get away with it. (But) most of the time you begin stringing bogies along. That makes for a long day.”
Up next, Gilroy will play March 10 at the Salinas Country Club in the Monterey Bay Invite before heading to the Corral De Tierra Golf Course for a T-CAL match against Salinas and North Salinas.
