The Turlock High boys golf team capped off their stellar 2022 campaign with a sixth-place finish at the CIF Sac-Joaquin Sections Masters tournament. The tournament, which was hosted by Elkhorn Golf Club in Stockton, consisted of 13 teams from all six divisions within the Sac-Joaquin Section.
After an undefeated season that was good enough for the league and section championships, head coach Jason Boswell was brutally honest with the way Monday’s Masters played out
“We placed sixth overall and no one advanced to NorCal regionals. Not a good day for Turlock golf,” he said.
While Boswell and his team were obviously disappointed with the results, there were some bright spots.
The Bulldogs were once again led by sophomore Clark Van Gaalen, who shot a team leading 74 at the par 71 course. Van Gaalen’s score was tied for 12th best out of the field of 78 golfers from across the region.
Out of the 78 competitors, only about 30% shot a score in the 70s, including Turlock freshman Christian Maggard. He fell only one stroke behind of his teammate Van Gaalen with a 75 and spoke about the tough playing grounds at Elkhorn.
“It was playing a lot harder than we thought going in,” Maggard said. “The greens were rolling really fast and most of the pin placements were in tough spots.”
Keean Young rounded out the top three scores for the Bulldogs with an 83 and was followed by Elias Rabine with an 85, Grant Old with an 87, and Nihal Gill with a 92. Together, the six Bulldogs earned a team score of 404.
Maggard reflected on the season and explained he and many of his teammates are already looking forward to the 2023 season.
“We are highly motivated going into next season,” he said. “We look forward to building on our league and section tiles next year. It will be challenging since we are losing our seniors, but with hard work we believe we can be successful.”