After watching his team shoot an opening round of 287, Odessa College men’s golf coach Paul Chavez considered the first round of the 2022 NJCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship Tournament a success.
The Wranglers finished the first day three shots behind leader Hutchinson Community College on the Odessa Country Club’s Links Course.
“It’s a marathon, obviously you don’t want to shoot yourself out of the tournament,” Chavez said. “We’re in a good position where we can just continue to play consistent.
“If we just play our game and stay consistent throughout the week, we’ve got a great shot.”
Despite some humidity, conditions on the course were optimal for the Wranglers, with winds picking up later in the day.
Marcelo Garza’s 3-under-par 69 led Odessa College, putting him one shot behind early leaders JT Pittman of Midland College and Hutchinson’s Ben Partridge.
Pittman, from Monahans, had six birdies and two bogeys on the day.
Garza felt that he had a stronger showing on the front nine of the course compared to the back nine, where he missed a few of his shots off the tee.
“I think I’ve just got to be confident, I’ve played this course many times,” Garza said. “I know where to hit it, I know how to play.”
Chavez was expecting to get strong performances from Garza and Sangha Park, two of his team’s leaders throughout the season.
Laurenz Kubin (71) was tied for 10th, while Park (73) tied for 34th with Max Cooper (74) and Cameron Lopez (76) rounding out the team score for the Wranglers.
Cooper got his first chance to compete at the tournament, adding that he felt his putting needed work after the first round.
He said he wants to work on his putting speed in the second round and continue building on his shooting off the tee.
“I hit the ball really good with the driver,” Cooper said. “I had one bad drive, but besides that I stepped up to every shot with confidence.”
The first round of the tournament also helped each golfer settle into a rhythm and work out any nerves that built up before the competition.
Chavez talked to each of his golfers before they headed to the first tee, telling them to treat the tournament like it was any other in the campaign.
He saw his team go through minor struggles on the 10th hole, battling through the wind to avoid putting the ball out of play.
“It’s a very difficult driving hole when you have a strong crosswind,” Chavez said. “You don’t want to go in the water and you don’t want to go out of bounds, it’s just a tough shot.
The head coach was pleased to see his team finish under par on the difficult course, something the Wranglers hope to continue.
The tournament’s second round will tee off at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, with Cooper starting things off for the Wranglers at 12:39 p.m. on the Links Course.
Cooper said there’s still a lot that can happen in the remainder of the tournament, but he feels comfortable knowing he has familiarity with the course and its weather conditions.
“We’ve played here for however long and it’s been windy probably every day for the last two weeks,” Cooper said. “It’s not really that big of a deal.”
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