Junior golfer Roman Robledo earned his third individual title in seven tournaments at the Bayou City Collegiate. | Esteban Portillo/The Daily Cougar
The victorious UH players were all smiles and warm embraces as they trickled into the dining room after finishing their final round.
The good vibes spread from the players to the coaching staff after sweeping the team and individual titles at the Bayou City Collegiate Championship at the Golf Club of Houston on Sunday.
Junior golfer Roman Robledo’s 12-under-par 204 helped him capture his third title in seven tournaments and propelled the Cougars to a first-place finish.
However, Robledo’s final-round 66 to surge into the lead isn’t new to Arturo Rangel, who estimates that he has seen his grandson play at least 500 rounds of golf since he picked up the clubs at 5 years old.
“He’s got a love for the game. I used to tell the newspaper people from the Rio Grande Valley, ‘when Romey is on, nobody in the state can beat him,”’ Rangel said.
“It was his turn.”
Robledo overcame two bogeys on the front nine Friday and responded with four birdies on the back nine to finish three-under-par for the day — and he didn’t hit another bogey in the tournament.
Robledo’s six-under-par final round on Sunday propelled him to a five-stroke victory over three players who tied for second place. Robledo became only the 10th player in UH history to shoot 66 or better in the third round or later of a tournament.
Robledo had help earning the team title, though.
Including senior Wesley McClain, who led the tournament after two rounds and tied for second place, the Cougars had five players finish in the top 10 and six reach the top 15.
The Cougars’ collective 31-under-par 833 led them to a nine-stroke victory over No. 21 Texas, which finished second. The Cougars held the lead for most of the tournament and took a five-stroke lead after Friday’s competition that they expanded on Saturday to nine strokes and maintained during the final round against a field that included six ranked opponents.
Director of Golf Jonathan Dismuke said his squad is learning to play better with the lead.
“We played very well all three days. That’s something we kind of talked about — making sure our intensity is there from the get-go, from the time we put the peg in the ground until the time that we finished,” Dismuke said.
McClain and freshman Matt Scobie joined Robledo on the All-Tournament team with top-five finishes.
Junior Kyle Pilgrim and senior James Ross each tied for 10 at 212 as Pilgrim lowered his score with each round, including a final-round 69. Senior Curtis Reed posted a 70 in Sunday’s final round and tied for 15th at 3-under-par 213.
Robledo said the competition is creating a better team.
“We stood our ground and had our foot on the pedal the entire time. We didn’t give up,” Robledo said.
“The way our team works. We’re tight. It’s like a brotherhood. We’re there for each other no matter what. We all played well.”
Way to go golf team!!