Golf title comes down to the wire
IMPERIAL — The Imperial Valley League boys’ individual golf title was decided on Friday at Las Barrancas Golf Course in Yuma, bringing an end to the regular season for local golfers.
In order to advance to Friday’s final, the 24 best individual athletes met for a preliminary event at Del Rio Country Club on April 26, with the top 12 golfers punching their ticket to the final.
At the qualifying meet, the top three finishers were separated by just one stroke, setting the stage for what would eventually be stunning final the next day.
After playing the full 18 holes, two players found themselves with tied scores of 86, including Imperial High’s Ryan Dale and Palo Verde Valley’s Michael Sanchez.
The pair then entered a onehole playoff round where Dale used four strokes to Sanchez’s five to win this year’s IVL Individual Champion honor.
Dale is the first golfer from Imperial High to win the honor and the first champion under the new format, which has a separate tourney to determine the individual champion.
The 17-year-old said he felt confident going into the final as he had seen his scores steadily improve throughout the second half of the season.
“Mikey (Sanchez) is really, really good, so I honestly didn’t know how I’d do against him in the final,” Dale said. “I had tied with him once earlier in the season, so I knew I might have a chance.”
The Tiger senior said it was certainly a special moment to earn individual IVL honors and said he shared the award with his coaches, teammates, families and friends.
“Before the meet, coach (Victor) Cruz was telling me how no one from Imperial had been IVL individual champ, so I really tried to step up my game,” Dale said.
In addition to determining the IVL individual champ, the meet also determined the All-IVL First and Second Team members based on how the golfers scored at the final meet.
Brawley Union High placed a total of five athletes on the first team, while Palo Verde Valley had one on the first team and three on the second team.
Additionally, several individuals throughout the league qualified to compete in the CIF-San Diego section playoffs, which will begin later this month.
The team competition will begin May 8, and the individual tourney will begin on May 14.
All-Imperial Valley League Boys’ Golf First Team
Ryan Dale, Imperial High Michael Sanchez, Palo Verde Valley Cadin Hoffman, Brawley Union High Ryan Salcido, Brawley Union High Tyler Peraza, Brawley Union High Broc Dickerson, Brawley Union High
All-Imperial Valley League Boys’ Golf Second Team
Luke Hoehl, Southwest High Jason Cordova, Southwest High Ricardo Borboa, Palo Verde Valley AJ Miller, Palo Verde Valley Emil Schaffner, Holtville High Jeffrey Ratcliff, Palo Verde Valley