Catron captures District championship

Collin Catron started off the season with four goals - win the district, regional, super-regional and state match. One down, three to go.

Catron shot a final round 4-over 76 to finish with a two-day score of 114 and placed first for Gila Ridge in the Boys District Championship match on Saturday at Las Barrancas.

Gila Ridge claimed the team title with a total score of 505. Kofa (575) finished second and Cibola (591) third. Yuma High was disqualified for having recorded less than five individual scores.
Gila Ridge's Catron finished the first round in second place with a 2-over 38 after nine holes. He trailed teammate Mason Lopez by one stroke.

As the second round began Catron consistently found the greens and fairways and finished the front nine at an even 36. Lopez had less luck with his front nine score ballooning to 46.

But on hole nine, 10 and 11 things came apart for Catron who hit a ball out-of-bounds on each of those holes. He went on to bogey 10 and 11, but was saved on 9 after a chip-in from 25-yards out.

"Honestly, I had no clue what was going on," Catron said. "I was really tired and hadn’t been focusing on where the golf club was or any of the things my coach and I had practiced. I was more focused on my ego and how much I wanted to win by."

But as Catron's stroke fell apart, Kofa's Daniel Linares seized the opportunity. On a par-4 15th hole Linares was the only golfer among Catron or Lopez to par the hole. He followed it up with an equally compelling performance on the par-3 16th.

"My iron ended up two feet from (the pin)," Linares said. "I almost made my birdie putt, but I missed it by a couple inches,"

Linares sank his next putt to save par. He finished the back nine with 38, the lowest score carded by the field. Catron shot 40 and Lopez carded 52.

"My coach just talked to me, told me to calm down, chill out and just play my game," Linares said regarding his turnaround performance. He had scored a 48 through the front nine.

The back nine revival for Linares wasn't enough to claim medalist honors - he finished the match with a 125 to place second.

"I’m happy with it," Linares said. "Collin is very good, he’s a very good competitor. I can’t complain with second though."

After bogeying holes 10 and 11, Catron went on to par seven of the next eight holes to finish out the match. Despite his out-of-bounds drives on 9 and 10, he said the part of his game that needs most improvement was his approach and judgment.

"I’m just not aggressive enough, I’m being lazy and just swinging the golf club," Catron said. "My swing is perfect, my strength is good, just need to make better decisions instead of rushing everything."

Many of the bad judgments were echoed by the other golfers playing behind Catron. It was the first time this season that the teams were scheduled to play 18 holes.

"Everyone is tired and just wants to get home," Linares said.