A.D. Ibarra
-San Antonio, Tx
Paloma Garcia-ZuaZua participated in the Region IV Golf Tournament held April 15-16 at The Republic Golf Course in San Antonio, Texas. With 15 teams and 16 regional qualifiers participating for a chance to go to Austin Texas for the State Tournament, competition was at its best. There were approximately 95 girls participating for that spot to go to Austin Texas.
According to Coach Pat Hernandez, the weather was great the first day, but the second day saw all participants on a shotgun start to possibly beat the heavy rains that were expected to make their appearance.
"On Day 1, Paloma hit 6 of 6 fairways on the front 9 and was able to hit 3 of 3 greens on the Par 3’s. The course was pretty much wide open but if you got in trouble there was no way you would find your ball with the high trees and high grass," said Hernandez, "She gave up 13 strokes in the first round with 4 doubles in the front 9 and 4 doubles in the back 9. Playing too cautious will prevent from getting to where you want to be to take the pressure off the putter."
On the first day according to Coach Hernandez she was sitting 9th place out of 16 regional qualifiers. Her goal was to finish in the top half of the group.
"On Day 2, we were notified that we going to have to start a shotgun start at 8 a.m. due to the heavy rain that was coming. She was paired up in a foursome with young ladies from Pharr-San Juan-Alamo, Donna and Bastrop. She started off a little slow and little cautious but was able to surprise these other ladies with some shots that put pressure on these other 3 girls. She hit 12 of 14 fairways and 5 of 5 greens in regulation on the Par 3’s. This put pressure on the other girls and their shots started to go right and left. Paloma kept her composure and did what she had to do. She hit more greens in regulation but her putting with the water that was falling off and on didn’t help her on the second day. She was leaving putts shorts and 3 putted 3 times on the front 9 with a 4 putt on a Par 5."
The diminutive Garcia ZuaZua managed to score a 97 on Day 2 to keep her in 9th place overall in the Regional Qualifier bracket of 14 players.
"Overall Paloma’s Junior year at CC Winn High School was her best year. As a team they placed in 6 out of 7 tournaments and she won her first tournament of the 2014-2015 season on October 23, 2015." In district she was able to squeeze into participating in the Region IV golf tournament and finished the season in 9th place. This young lady has proven that size has nothing to do with it. Her determination to arrive at Regionals was a stepping stone that her previous teammate, Gabriela Rangel and her cousin Ana Garza had placed for her. She wanted to be added to that list of prestigious competitors and she fulfilled her dream of keeping the Lady Maverick Golf team legacy alive for others to follow."
"Paloma is a junior and still has one more year to compete. She made a name for herself in Laredo, Del Rio, the Valley and now San Antonio. Paloma is a go-getter and she has worked extremely hard to get where she has gotten this year. I am very proud of her and expect only the best for her next year."