CHOWCHILLA — The Sac-Joaquin Section Division II golf tournament last Tuesday posed unique opportunities for members of the Turlock High School boys golf team.

For sophomore Ezekiel Roque, his round at Pheasant Run Golf Club in Chowchilla was his first divisional tournament as one of the top seeds (, looking to capitalize on a dominant regular season.

Classmate Carter Van Gaalen, this year’s Central California Athletic League Most Valuable Player, had an extra chip on his shoulder after falling short of qualifying to the section Masters by just one stroke at last year’s divisional.

Then there is the team’s lone senior, Logan Bream, who entered the season with the goal of capping his career by qualifying to the Masters as an individual for the first time.

All three delivered by posting top-seven individual scores, marking it the first time in years they did not qualify as a team in which the Bulldogs will be sending three individuals to the Masters.

Roque led the Bulldogs, who placed third in the team competition with a score of 399, finished second overall with a 2-under par 72. He was two strokes behind individual winner Kenneth Yang of team champion Vista Del Lago, who won by posting a score 370 — seven strokes better than runner-up Rio Americano.

Van Gaalen finished fourth overall with an even round of 72. Bream carded a career-best score of 74 to tie with Rio Americano’s Marty Lundberg for seventh overall.

“It’s an amazing feeling,” Roque said. “I had a really good round and knew I did enough. Afterwards, I was hoping at least one of them had qualified with me, and when I found out they both did, I was just ecstatic. I’m excited to compete out there with them.”

“I'm happy for everyone,” Van Gaalen said. “Me and Zeke play so much together, and playing with him again, we knew we were both right there in qualifying. Figuring out Logan made it with his best score ever, it was great to hear. We’re all so excited for him. It’s great to know that three of us are going to Masters. It’s going to be really fun.”

The Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Tournament will take place from The Reserve at Spanos Park in Stockton on Tuesday, May 19.

Roque’s run at divisionals started slow by his standards, having to find a feel for his drivers and irons. Those early struggles resulted in bogeys on the fourth and fifth holes. The tide changed with three straight pars and a birdie on the 500-yard par-5 ninth hole. Roque went on a roll from that point on, with birdies on 12, 13 and 14. He found the fairway on each of the par-4s and chipped onto the greens. He credited his putting, which has drawn praise from coaches and teammates all season, was key to his success.

“My putting was there the whole time,” Roque said. “Even when I was figuring out my driving and my irons, I knew my putting was good, and it saved me some pars on the front nine. I was kind of on autopilot the whole front nine. I think that birdie on hole nine was a big boost and gave me motivation moving forward. With the number of holes cutting down, I knew I had to turn it on a bit.

“I wasn't really thinking too much about the score because I’m always trying to focus on my game, but after the second birdie in a row at 13, I felt that maybe I had a chance at actually winning.”

He shot even the rest of the way. Yang, meanwhile, scattered five birdies across his scorecard, with his lone blemish being a bogey at 14.

Van Gaalen catapulted to fourth position on his final putt at the par-15, 430-yard 18th hole to secure his second birdie of the day. It came after five straight pars, following a bogey at 12. His first birdie, like Roque, came on hole nine. The rest of Van Gaalen’s sheet was clean with the exception of a bogey on five, though with 11 missed birdie looks over the course of his round, he felt that there was plenty of room for improvement.

“It feels great to finally break through,” Van Gaalen, referring to last year’s playoff loss. “I had a bit of a rough start there, and I just didn't want to shoot what I shot last year (73). I was able to beat it with that birdie on 18, which was great. I was rolling it well (with the putter), but leaving 11 out there, it was just one of those days. I’m going to put some emphasis on putting these next few days so we’re dialed for Masters.”

Bream, who began his divisional run on hole 10, had never felt more dialed in the eight years he has been playing golf. His previous best round was a 75, and was able to beat it by one stroke with a clutch birdie on hole nine to end his day. It was his third birdie of the day. His second, at hole six, pushed him to 3-over par, matching his previous best mark.

“I knew I was sitting at 75 after hole six, and even if I just shot par from then on out, I’d set myself up perfectly to two-putt for birdie at that lone par-5 (hole nine),” Bream said. “Once I made my putt, it was such an amazing feeling. I called my parents right away to let them know.

Bream started three-over through his first two holes, and had another bogey on 15. He was one of the few that minimized damage on the front nine, starting with a birdie on hole one before his others on six and nine.

“Everything seemed to be going my way at that point,” Bream said. “It was so fun.”

Bream continued to glow in excitement when speaking of The Reserve, a course that he, Roque and Van Gaalen “love” to play at. All have played there a handful of times for both high school and youth tournaments over the years.

“It’s probably one of my favorite courses,” Bream said.

“We’ve played Spanos plenty of times and have had success there, so it should be pretty comfortable,” added Roque, who shot 2-under par 72.

“It could definitely help a lot,” said Van Gaalen, who estimates to have played around 20 rounds at the course. “Knowing where to play a ball, knowing what shots to hit, when to hit them, knowing when to lay up, where to go on the green, it's all great knowledge to have.”

Other golfers representing Turlock High, this year’s CCAL team champions, were juniors Easton Kahler (90), Kohen Ficher (93) and Donaven Zendejas (94).

Pitman High senior Davis Cornell, who has competed at the divisional tournament for all four years in high school, shot a 79 to finish tied for 19th position. Freshman Alex Wieseman carded an 86 in his first career postseason outing for the Pride. Senior Stephen Schmidt posted a score of 94 to cap his prep career with the Pride.

The Sac-Joaquin Section Boys Masters Golf Tournament gets underway with a 9 a.m. shotgun start on Tuesday. The top three teams and four individuals not on those teams will advance to the NorCal Tournament on Tuesday, May 26 at Poppy Ridge Golf Course in Livermore.