Kofa runs away with 4-school match

Amanda Garcia walked off the ninth green a little upset with herself on Wednesday at the Foothills Golf Course, having just left a manageable par putt inches short of the hole.

Fortunately for the Kofa No. 1 golfer, she still had three more holes to redeem herself.

Starting the day on the fourth hole in a shotgun format, Garcia went 3-3-3 on hole No.'s 1, 2 and 3 with a pair of birdies to finish her round at 2-over 36 and win medalist honors in the four-school match.

The Kings also won the team competition as well in a landslide with a total score 167.
Fairfax, a new school in the Phoenix-metro area with only freshman and sophomores, was second at 250, and North High School was third at 286. Cibola, the match's host, only had one golfer compete. Shelby Johnson shot a 73.

"They'd started to get in a bit of a rut, but they're all smiles today," Kofa coach Eric Krepps said. "Our goal is for everyone to be playing bogey golf. Obviously Amanda was under that today, and the rest were right around it, so we're right about where we want to be."

Still thinking about her last putt on No. 9, Garcia rammed in a 20-foot putt from above the hole and off the green on the par-4 first hole for her first birdie. The ball hit the flagstick with plenty of pace and dropped in with no sign of surprise on her face.

"This is a good course for her. It fits her pretty well," Krepps said. "She put up a 75 or 76 in 100-degree heat in the Criminal Invite and was two-over on her back nine the last time she played it, so this doesn't surprise me at all."

After a ho-hum par on the 80-yard second hole, Garcia strapped on her crimson-colored glove, drove the green on the 200-yard third and coaxed her eagle attempt up close for another birdie.

"I've come really close, but I've never made it onto the green before on that hole," she said. "Our team has improved a lot. I think we have a pretty good shot at at least second in state."

Kofa's Cera Ford shot a 42 that included a birdie on her first hole of the day but ended in a double bogey-bogey finish. No. 4 golfer Amy Gonzalez and No. 3 Alyssa Slade were both in the low 40s, all posting the low scores in their threesomes.

Amanda Martinez also played for the Kings on Wednesday. The shotgun-style format was put in place to speed up play as one of the schools arrived late.

"When we play slower I just try not to concentrate on their shots so much, and I have more time to think about what I'm doing," Garcia said.