Marissa Gutierrez sets high standards for herself, which is why
the junior San Benito golfer wasn’t too impressed that her 46 was
the best score on a breezy day at Gilroy Golf Course.
Gilroy – Marissa Gutierrez sets high standards for herself, which is why the junior San Benito golfer wasn’t too impressed that her 46 was the best score on a breezy day at Gilroy Golf Course.
In fact, she was happier that her Balers’ teammates came through as San Benito shot 202 and won the Tri-County Athletic League Group N event Tuesday.
That was helped along by No. 3 Balers’ golfer Katie O’Brien shooting 48 to tie for second best with Monte Vista Christian’s Katelyn Ingusoll, who might have had the most interesting round of any of the girls.
Ingusoll had two 8s and a 7, and yet she rolled in a 3-foot birdie putt on No. 5 and almost chipped in for a birdie on No. 6 in an up-and-down round. MVC was second in the team scoring at 223.
Gilroy was third overall at 232, paced by seniors Annie Cockerill (52) and Rowena Tabilas (55). Tabilas had the shot of the day for the Mustangs, lofting an 80-yard wedge 1-foot past the third hole, and tapping in for a par.
“I wish I would have had more of those,” Tabilas said. “My short game was missing (other than that shot).”
Only three girls broke 50 for the day. Ashley Bushaw (52) and Nydia Martinez (56) rounded out San Benito’s scoring.
“It’s a short, tight course,” Balers’ coach Chris Branon said of Gilroy GC. “If you hit the ball anywhere sideways, you’re going to have a tough time. We didn’t play our best, but we played well enough.”
The long-hitting Gutierrez is normally in the low 40s. She struggled with her alignment and made only three pars.
“My alignment is what killed me today,” Gutierrez said. “I need to work on that. I’ve been pretty consistently shooting in the low 40s. I need to break into the high 30s.”
Cockerill tied for the fourth best score, and yet was bitterly disappointed in herself less than a week after shooting 44 on the same course.
“That’s horrible,” said Gilroy’s No. 1 golfer after checking her scorecard. “I can do better.”
She couldn’t do much better than the up-and-down she had on the par-5 fifth hole. After hitting her third shot long, Cockerill was faced with a delicate flop shot to have any chance at par. She hit the chip 5 feet below the hole and made the putt.
It was that type of day for many of the girls Tuesday. There were long putts dropping, excellent chips like those hit by Tabilas and Cockerill, and the booming drives of Gutierrez. And yet none of the girls were able to sustain their efforts throughout nine holes.
