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Turlock golf bests 16 schools to win Crosstown Cup
Turlock golf
Clark Van Gaalen and Christian Maggard help teammate Grant Old read a crucial putt during the Crosstown Cup at Turlock Golf and Country Club (CHRISTOPHER CORREA/The Journal).

Golfers from 17 schools from around the region battled it out at the Turlock Golf and Country Club on Monday for the Crosstown Cup. The boys of Turlock High School shot an impressive score in the scramble format to take home the title on their home turf.

The group of Clark Van Gaalen, Christian Maggard and Grant Old led the Bulldogs with a score of 60 on the day. Elias Rabine, Keean Young and Addan Gutierrez helped the cause with an impressive group score of 69.

While long drives off the tee by Van Gaalen was a huge help throughout the day for the Bulldogs, Old’s great putting and pitching was the major difference maker in the tournament. On the group’s last hole on the 13th, Old pitched in and holed the ball from the rough on the far side of the green to birdie, ending the match and clinching the win for Turlock.

Old spoke about his performance and praised his teammates for their great play.

“I think I played okay, but my teammates came out here and showed up,” he said. “I feel like I had some clutch shots and clutch putts, but yeah it was the whole team that really came out here.”

Old also praised the putting of Maggard, who sunk a long putt alongside him to save par on hole 4 for the group.

“Hole 4 was pretty big. That one was pretty detrimental and we needed to make that putt and both Christian and I made it,” he added.

The Bulldogs played alongside Pitman High School in both groups throughout the day. While they finished in 9th place with a score of 155, the Pride’s Samuel Skalinder had an optimistic view on the day for the young squad, which consists of five underclassmen.

“I think the day went well overall,” Skalinder said. “It was a lot of fun playing the scramble and I think it builds a lot of confidence heading into our next tournament.”

One aspect of the game Skalinder and his teammates look to improve on is putting. The Pride, alongside most other teams in the tournament, made comments on how the TGCC greens were playing so fast. Regardless, he feels as if there shouldn’t be any excuses.

“I do think putting was a struggle. We missed a lot of putts we could have made. The greens were fast, but I think it comes down to reading the greens,” he said.

Both Turlock and Pitman will look to build on Monday’s performances at the Mid-Season Tournament on April 18, which will also take place at the Turlock Golf and Country Club.