UTRGV Men’s Golf Team Assistant coach Paola Cortes (from left), freshman Esteban Gonzalez, senior Javier Neira Garcia, redshirt junior Taj Sutherland, junior Juan Luis de Bethencourt Duque, freshman Emilio Gil Leyva, freshman Eddie Lai and head coach Houston Moore pose at The Big Texan at Riverhill Country Club in Kerrville. The Big Texan was held March 25 and 26. COURTESY PHOTO
The UTRGV Men’s Golf Team retained its first-place finish at The Big Texan, hosted March 25 and 26 at the Riverhill Country Club in Kerrville.
The team was first out of 15 teams, with Vaquero senior Javier Neira Garcia earning the Individual Title after shooting 205 over three rounds.
Garcia said winning the Individual Title means a lot to him since it is his first since he got to UTRGV in 2022.
“It’s my first title here,” he said. “[The] thing is really hard to win because to perform the three days your best is definitely not easy. Especially on the first day, it was a little windy. … The key is to stay there, stay focused and if you have the shot, take it.”
Head coach Houston Moore said the team was familiar with the course since UTRGV hosted The Big Texan there last year.
“We had a string of tournaments leading up to the event,” Moore said. “Mentally and physically, these guys were in tournament mode coming in.”
UTRGV’s 854 finish was 11 strokes ahead of Abilene Christian University, which placed second.
Asked if an 11-stroke lead was a lot, Moore replied it was.
“It’s a pretty significant stroke difference there,” he said. “If you go through and see some of the differentials from tournaments, they’re normally pretty close. It’s just a testament to how good these guys played.”
Garcia said it attests to how good of a job the team did.
“It proves we did a great job,” he said. “… Especially the last day, we get a strong start, we get ourselves in a good spot and finish strong. Eleven strokes is a pretty good margin.”
UTRGV redshirt junior Taj Sutherland finished in second place.
Sutherland also said it proved how good the team performed, noting the team won by two strokes last year.
“I think that last year helped us a lot, because I think we only won by one or two last year,” he said. “I think knowing that we can do it kind of helped us on that last day, especially to perform under that pressure and get it done in the end.”
Garcia said the team will carry the momentum from this win onto upcoming events.
“Going to the next tournament knowing you just won is always good for … confidence,” he said. “What we needed as a team is to gain confidence. We knew we could do a great job.”
Next up for the Vaqueros is the University of Northern Colorado Spring Invite at Raindance National Resort April 15 and 16.
Moore said the team leaves for the Western Athletic Conference Championship eight days after they come back from the UNC Spring Invite.
“Another quick turnaround, but these guys are used to that,” he said. “Excited about what conference is going to look like this year.”
The tournament is set to be held from April 27 to 29 in Payson, Arizona at Chaparral Pines Golf Club.
