Prep golf: St. Michael's sophomore Macias has off day as Horsemen sit seven shots behind Lovington

Tommy Trujillo | The New Mexican

5/12/2008 - 5/13/08

LAS CRUCES — Walk a round with Miguel Macias and his golf style is evident.

He throws darts, not bombs.

And while nearly every golfer around him is taking it to the tee box, Macias, a St. Michael's sophomore, is swinging much differently.

"That's not my game," Macias said of his playing partners — and longer hitters — Donavin Sanchez and Jacob Jameson. "I have a totally different style of game. I'm more of a strategic type of player. I try to put the ball in spots."

Macias had trouble getting the ball where he needed it Monday, in the first round of the Class
A-AAA State Golf Championships at the New Mexico State University Golf Course.

A place Macias shot 73 on April 29, the No. 1 Horsemen golfer carded a 78 in Monday's round, not good enough to keep with Lovington's Jameson, who eagled his 17th hole, and finished with a 74, nor Portales' Sanchez, who was steady throughout, and finished with a 73, good for second place heading into today's final round.

"It was a struggle for me," Macias, the District 2A-AAA champ, said. "I didn't put the ball in play where I needed to. And I got a little wild off the tee."

A player who throws darts can't afford that kind of loss of accuracy. And most of his troubles came early. Very early.

The workday had hardly begun and Macias already was five shots off the pace. That was after the first two holes, when Macias doubled on No. 10 and bogeyed the par-3 11th. The golfers were sent off the 10th tee to start.

That, combined with back-to-back birdies by Jameson, a freshman, forced Macias to play catch-up the rest of the round.

That's what the Horsemen will have to do in today's final round. St. Michael's is seven shots behind Lovington's first-day 309.

The Wildcats, behind clubhouse leader Mark Woods' 72, are the defending champs, and are looking for their fifth state golf title.

In order to catch and surpass Lovington today, the Horsemen will have to do it with three sophomores and a pair of eighth-graders. That roster held its own on Monday. No. 2 Parker Ashton and No. 3 Marty Sanchez each shot a 76 to tie for fourth place. Their fourth, Nathan Martinez, shot a 79, and fifth golfer, Nathan Gruda, shot an 81.

"(Today's) another day and anything can happen," St. Michael's head coach Lee Sanchez Jr. said. "We're right there. My two eighth-graders (Sanchez and Martinez), I'm very proud of them to break 80 for the first time being in the state tournament.

"(Today's) going to be the moving day. I believe we can be better."

Sanchez Jr. said he was hoping the wind that joined the lead group about three hours into their round, joins them on the first tee today. The Horsemen are used to playing in a swirling wind. And that's exactly what the later groups experienced. But it might not be as much an advantage for St. Michael's. Lots of teams have experienced the winds this season.

Facing that wind, Sanchez birdied two of his last three holes, including a 95-foot chip-in on No. 8.

"I had a solid front and I started off good on the back," Sanchez, the Portales junior, said. "I chipped in for birdie and almost chipped in for eagle, and that helped me out a lot and gave me a lot of confidence."

Macias, who birdied the par-3 sixth, but recorded bogeys on four of his last six holes, said he has to be better off the tee and on the green if he hopes to not only contend but help his team.

"I hope to put the ball in play and make more putts," he said. "I really need a good round tomorrow."

So do the Horsemen, who have never won a state golf title.

"Lovington has a very strong lineup," Sanchez Jr. said. "I need Parker and Miguel to be right around par tomorrow. They have a lot of weight on their shoulders, and we need everybody in the 70s tomorrow."

Desert Academy's Colin Pratt carded a 78, good for a tie for 10th place.

On the girls side, Las Vegas Robertson's No. 1 golfer, Amelia Martinez, might have struggled with a 105 and tie for eighth, but teammate Cheryl Conway shot a 99, and Jamie Allen a 103 to move the Lady Cardinals to second place with a 427.

Socorro, behind leader Kayla Cline's 81, also is first in the team standings with a 394.

At the Class AAAA State Golf Championships in Albuquerque, the Los Alamos boys are in fifth place in the seven-team tournament with a 348.

Albuquerque Academy leads with a stellar 296, turned in at The University of New Mexico's Championship Golf Course.

The Los Alamos girls also are in fifth place with a 405. Cayla Sanderson shot a 94 to lead the Lady Hilltoppers, while Curtis Norman leads the Los Alamos boys with a 77.

Overall, Piedra Vista leads the girls side with a 347.