CARMEL—Though Gilroy High golfer Magnus Myhr started off on a hot streak, he finished a few strokes shy of extending his season.
Myhr shot a 75, four over par, at the Central Coast Section Tournament Championship at Rancho Canada West in Carmel Tuesday, missing the cut the Nor-Cal Tournament by just four strokes.
Myhr, a Swedish exchange student, knew heading into the tournament that he’d have to shoot par or better to have a chance at making it to Nor-Cals. He started on the front nine, which coach Sam Sauer said is easily the more difficult of the two nine-hole courses. Knowing what he was up against, Myhr told his coach that if he could make it through those first nine holes in good shape, he’d be happy.
Myhr seemed unstoppable to start, shooting four under par on his first eight holes. But things fell apart on the ninth hole, as he 3-putted and bogeyed. Myhr shot a 32 on the front nine and 43 on the back.
“That’s a pretty tough course,” Sauer said. “He just shot lights out on that opening nine.”
The Gilroy boys claimed the Monterey Bay League Pacific Division title on April 27 and Myhr was instrumental to the team’s success. He led the Mustangs with a 76 at the MBL Tournament and earned medalist honors for the sixth consecutive week. He was also named the league’s Most Valuable Player for his performance at the tournament.
“Of course, the No. 1 way he helped us was what he was able to do on the leaderboard,” Sauer said. “He definitely carried the team on his shoulders.”
The senior golfer also served as an extra coach for Sauer, helping his teammates with their swings at practice and giving them tips out on the course. Sauer said he will miss having Myhr around next season, but doesn’t expect to have seen the last of him. Myhr has told his sophomore teammates that he wants to return to Gilroy for their senior season to check on their progress.
The trip to the CCS Championships was the first for Sauer and he hopes it won’t be the last. Private high schools the likes of Bellarmine College Preparatory, Archbishop Mitty and Monte Vista Christian were well represented at CCS, while public schools such as Gilroy High were few and far between.
“For us to even get up there was an honor,” Sauer said.
