Romeo Juarez of Reseda High wins City Section individual golf title

Romeo Juarez arrived expecting to play Harding but learned about 20 minutes later that he would play Wilson instead. He adjusted quickly, birdied the first hole, and shot a two-under-par 70 to become Reseda High’s first City individual champion. He birdied the seventh, ninth, 12th, and 14th while recovering from bogeys at the second, fourth, and 13th. He finished three shots ahead of the field and was the only player to finish under par. He said Wilson’s greater length and sloped greens made accuracy and putting important, and he felt he could have played better despite winning.

"Expecting to play Harding, where the finals are held every spring, he arrived to find out he would be on Wilson-which he had played only once before two years earlier as a freshman at Crespi. "I was well prepared for Harding," Juarez said. "I found out we were playing Wilson 20 minutes after I got here. I didn't let that bother me. It's just a golf course so I wasn't going to complain I just had to birdie the first hole because it's a par 5.""

"In addition the first hole, Juarez birdied the seventh, ninth, 12th and 14th to make up for bogeys at the second, fourth and 13th, all par 4s. Despite his three-foot birdie try on 18 lipping out he still won by three shots and was the only player to finish in the red. "I'm not satisfied, I feel like I could've played a lot better," he said of Wilson, which at 7,002 yards is nearly 300 longer than the adjacent Harding."

""I was scrambling a lot and left at least three out there but I put my wedges in close and gave myself opportunities to birdie. It's definitely a challenge if you're not accurate. And if you're not a good putter you'll be three-putting a lot on these sloped greens." Playing in the second group, Juarez was one under through 13 and blasted out of a frontside bunker to within four feet of the hole at 14 before sinking his birdie putt. He had a tap-in at 15, a three-footer at 16 and another tap-in at 17 to give himself a comfortable margin."

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