STOCKTON — A course that consistently provides beautiful scenery yet poses significant challenges to players of all levels stood little chance against high school golfers from across the region on Tuesday.
The Reserve at Spanos Park played host to the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters, which saw 21 players shoot par or better in the near-perfect sunny and 90-degree conditions. For Turlock High’s three participating golfers Logan Bream, Carter Van Gaalen and Ezekiel Roque, though, the abundance of low scores proved too big of a mountain to climb in their hopes of advancing to next week’s Northern California tournament.
With the top three teams advancing — Jesuit (359), Vista Del Lago (370) and Rio Americano (371) — along with the six next best individual scores, Bream finished two back of the cutoff, which was 4-under par 72. Although disappointed in coming up just short, the senior still walked off the fifth green with a smile.
Bream birdied the fifth hole to finish with a 73, the best round of his life. It came just two weeks after his last outing at the Division II tournament where he achieved his previous best round of 74, and capped a stellar prep career in which he contributed to four Central California Athletic League championships and became a staple of the Bulldog golf program.
“My goal coming in today was to just have fun,” Bream said as he walked towards the clubhouse to submit his scorecard. “I knew this could be my last tournament, and I wasn’t going to stress it. I wanted to play a good round with a fun group and enjoy it, and I did.
“I’m ecstatic because this was my last tournament ever for high school, and I shot my best. I’m super happy.”
In the shotgun start, Bream teed off on the sixth hole and immediately fell into a hole with a bogey. Two more bogeys came on 10 and 15 before rebounding with a birdie on the birdie on the par-5 16th. Another bogey came on 17 before Bream turned up the intensity at the turn following pars on 18 and one.
Standing roughly 5-foot-10 with a powerful swing, Bream was able to land on the green in just two shots on the 523-yard, par-5 second hole to help post eagle.
While known to launch from the tee box, it was Bream’s short game that proved the most valuable. On the 159-yard, par-3 fourth hole, Bream landed on a hill just to the right of the green. He had to be careful with his chip shot, as it was downhill and the pin was located just a few feet before a large slope dropped off to the left side of the green. Bream was able to lay up about 10 feet short of the hole, and a two-putt resulted in a bogey heading into his fifth and final hole.
Teeing off at the 383-yard, par-4 with his four-iron, Bream’s shot again drifted left. About 180 yards from the pin and on the top of another hill, Bream darted a pitch shot within five feet of the hole, and drained the ensuing putt to end the day and secure his all-time best round.
“The one thing I had been working on was my chipping,” Bream said. “I figured it out at divisionals a little bit, and I just kept working on it from there. I knew what could have happened on each of those two shots to get on the green. I could have gotten under it or overshot it. The greens are fast, so I’m just happy it all worked out.”
Van Gaalen experienced those fast greens firsthand. Sitting at 2-over par heading into his final two holes at No. 3 and No. 4, the sophomore missed a pair of tough putts. He commented throughout the day that the balls were not breaking as much as he anticipated. It was on full display as he wrapped up his round at the fourth hole. After losing his ball off the tee, Van Gaalen eventually found his way onto the green to putt for double bogey. It lipped out, and he’d settle for a round of 78. Van Gaalen had one birdie on the day, coming on the 10th hole.
It was an even rougher go for Roque, who after shooting a 72 at the divisional tournament to finish second overall, entered with high hopes. Bogeys on eight of his first 10 holes, including a double-bogey at the 13th, put him in an 8-over hole early. Roque’s lone birdie came on the 16th, but it was extinguished with a bogey on the first hole. He finished with an 80.
