SACRAMENTO — Eighteen holes of golf wasn’t enough to determine the final qualifier to this year’s CIF Sac-Joaquin Sections Masters golf tournament.
After both shooting rounds of 73 at Tuesday’s Division 2 Tournament from Sacramento’s par-72 Bing Maloney Golf Course, Turlock’s Carter Van Gaalen and Woodcreek’s Vanish Bains marched towards the 17th to begin a two-hole playoff with the sixth and final individual Masters spot on the line.
After they each bogied the par-4 No. 17, the golfers swung nearly identical drives on the 363-yard 18th before each laying up roughly 30 feet away from the hole. Bains landed over the hole, while Van Gaalen’s was pin high to the left. Ultimately, it was the clutch putting of Bains that secured him a one-stroke win as he sunk his birdie putt. He was promptly met with a roar from the crowd of about 50 golfers and coaches that chose to stick around to watch the proceedings unfold.
Van Gaalen’s attempt to extend the playoff looked good until the final moment, when his putt lipped out to the right. He could do little then but shrug, smile and offer his counterpart a congratulatory handshake.
The freshman admitted that he initially thought the playoff would be determined on a few holes on their scorecards, but was ready to head back to the course.
“I thought it was a scorecard playoff, but hearing the news really didn’t put any pressure on me. Whoever played better was going to get the job done, and it just wasn’t my day,” Van Gaalen said, disappointed but at peace with his effort. “I’d say I played pretty good, just had a few mistakes that led to a couple extra putts, missed a couple fairways, got into the rough, but I was swinging good today.
“This will motivate me way more. I’ll be back next year and get it done,” he vowed.
Van Gaalen, whose older sister is THS senior and University of Southern Mississippi-bound Savannah and older brother is University of Oklahoma freshman Clark, represented the Bulldogs’ last chance at being represented at Monday’s Masters Tournament at The Reserve at Spanos Park.
Reigning D-2 champion and 2023 SJS Masters champion Christian Maggard, who has committed to play collegiately at San Jose State, had a round to forget. The senior was scrambling throughout the day as he struggled with a new driver, finishing 4-over-par 76.
Maggard got off to a hot start, though, hitting the fairway and laying up inside 10 feet of the hole on his chip shot to set up a birdie. But then the trouble came when he teed off on the second into trees on the left fairway, forcing a provisional shot. He punched out of the rough and later sunk a double-bogey. It would be a sign of what was to come.
Despite a sunny day with temperatures in the high 70s with minimal wind, most of Maggard’s tee shots on the day were fading to the right, setting him up in tall grass, dirt, or behind trees. He had another double-bogey on the 8th and totaled five bogeys after that.
His luck was summarized in a tee shot on the 377-foot par 4 that was hole No. 8. The ball carried right once more, but not as much as in previous holes. Nevertheless, it caught a low-hanging limb and dropped straight down and near the cart path. His line drive wedge shot evaded all but one tree, and he was forced to punch out onto the fairway just short of the green. He eventually made double-bogey.
“Just way too many shots like that, getting into the trees, getting myself in trouble,” Maggard said. “It really stinks to come over here and play the way I did, but I battled.”
Aside from the first hole, Maggard scattered six birdies in his round, including two straight on No. 13 and 14, but it wasn’t enough to climb out of his hole.
“The six birdies were definitely a step in the direction of where I wanted to be, but it was just tough off the tee,” Maggard said. “I understand that rounds like this happen, so I'm just going take this with as many positives as I can.”
The young Bulldogs, who alongside Maggard fielded a team of two juniors and three freshman, including Van Gaalen. They shot a combined score of 383, coming in fourth in the team competition. They were 24 strokes off first-place Vista Del Lago and 15 behind runner-up Rio Americano. Woodcreek placed third at 376.
Ezekiel Roque and Thomas Manotok, the two other freshmen, shot a 79 and 84, respectively. Juniors Logan Bream and Daniel Joseph were one stroke apart at 77 and 78, respectively.
Also qualifying to the divisional tournament as individuals were Pitman’s Roman Piro and Davis Cornell, each with rounds of 85. It was the second straight year in which Piro played in the D-II tournament, while it was Cornell’s first appearance.
“Very proud of this group,” said Turlock head coach Jason Boswell. “Wish we could’ve extended Christian’s career here, but he’s an all-timer.”
Maggard’s win at the 2023 Masters made him the sixth and last player in Turlock High history to win a section championship, joining Paul Smith (2010, ’11), Sam Smith (’07, ’08), John Adams (1967), Jimmy Thompson Jr. (’62) and Gary Olson (’56, ’57).
Boswell made it clear to Maggard that one bad round doesn’t define him or his stellar high school career.
“He has a Hall-of-Fame career,” Boswell said. “He is right up there with the Smiths, who are in the (THS) Hall of Fame. What he did for our program is nothing short of great.”
“It's a rough ending, but I realize what I accomplished and what we got done as a team,” Maggard said. “And as Coach Boswell said, not many people are in my position where they get an opportunity to keep playing for a big college program, so I’m very grateful and I’ll continue to build on this.”
As he sets his sights on swinging for the Spartans, Maggard will be keeping a watchful eye on the Bulldogs, who just won their fifth straight CCAL title and 12th in the last 15 years.
“Even when I leave here, I know Turlock High is in a pretty good spot. We’re still going to be really, really good,” he said. “Carter played great today and showed what he can do, they got Zeke, Thomas, Logan and Daniel. I know that they have a bright future ahead of them.”
