Perhaps the comparison Houston Golf Association Junior Golf Coordinator Bill Walker made of the HGA’s Match Play Championships to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament was more appropriate than even he realized.

The event’s No. 1 seed, Seven Lakes’ Albert Miner, defended his territory like the power forward position he feasibly could fill on a basketball court.

Miner was a force in the long and short games, cruising through the field of 16 to defeat Will Dusenberry of League City 5-and-3 in the Boys 16-18 finals Friday afternoon at Memorial Park.

He drove about or more than his 290-foot average on several occasions amidst sunny skies that turned dark late, shooting 33 on the front nine to go 4-up. He won on the 15th hole.

“I just tried to keep it in the fairway and hit a lot of greens. I knew my putts were going to drop eventually,” Miner said. “I kept confident and accomplished it. I didn’t hit my driver as well as I normally do but I was still able to get out of trouble.”

Dusenberry, from Clear Creek, got within three at No. 12 but never closer.

“I don’t know that he was playing as well as he usually has been and I played well on the front,” said Miner, who led Seven Lakes to a fifth-place finish in the 4A state tournament in May.

Three of the four boys finalists were from League City.

In Boys 13-15, Clear Springs sophomore Cody Gonzalez parred the final hole to earn a one-shot victory against Clear Creek junior Travis Dennis.

Square through 17 holes, Gonzalez parred off a solid approach shot and Dennis bogeyed, sending several members of Gonzalez’s family onto the green in celebration.

Gonzalez hadn’t won a tournament since last year’s HGA Championships.

“I saw (Dennis) hit a pretty good drive so I just tried to keep my 3-wood in the fairway,” Gonzalez said. “He put it on the right side so I stayed in front of the hole. I was just thinking back of the cup. …

“This is great. The whole thing was important. There are a lot of players and I haven’t won a match this year, so I was just hoping to come in and play good golf.”

Subscribe to this comment's feed