Estrada par for the course

Justin Estrada enjoyed a banner season with the Yuba City High boys golf team this spring, leading the Honkers to a second straight Tri-County Conference title and the Sac-Joaquin Section Div. III championship.

"In my opinion, he is by far the best high school golfer in the area," said Yuba City coach Kent Myers. "He is probably the most consistent player I've ever coached in my 23 years."

For his prowess on the links, Estrada, who just completed his junior season, has been named the 2007-08 Appeal-Democrat Boys Golfer of the Year.

Estrada earned low medalist honors 13 times this season, a school record. He averaged 35.72 strokes per round during nine-hole matches and 72.75 for 18 holes.

"The thing about Justin was he was always right around par," Myers said. "He was always a few strokes below par or just a couple above. For a 17-year-old high school student, that is pretty amazing."

Estrada shot a 5-under-par 67 from the black tees at Peach Tree Golf & Country Club for the Section Div. III tournament. It was his best round on the course. He also just missed by one stroke qualifying for the NorCal Masters tournament, shooting a 77 for fifth place at the Section tournament.

The high point for Estrada this season was the Honkers' two-stroke victory over Benicia at the Section Div. III tournament, he said.

"We really played well as a team this year," Estrada said.

Just about all of his special moments are team-oriented. Going undefeated (20-0) in the TCC was another high point, he said, along with Yuba City's win at the Carmichael Invitational at Castle Oaks Golf Course.

"That was the turning point for us," Estrada said. "We realized then that we could go pretty far if we worked hard."

It helped that everyone on the team got along well with each other, Estrada said, adding the Honkers plan to get together this summer and play several rounds of golf.

"Justin is invaluable as a team leader," Myers said. "All the players look up to him. Yuba City is very fortunate in that we have Justin for one more year."

What makes Estrada such a good golfer is that he never displays any case of nerves, Myers said, attributing it to the fact he competes in several amateur golf tournaments during summer breaks. This week, he was in Los Angeles for the California Amateur, where he shot a two-day total of 4-over-par 146. He finished tied for 29th.

Estrada also has a well-rounded game. He noted that putting is the best facet of his game right now.

"I've really been working hard on my putting," he said.

The weakest part of his game is driving accuracy.

"I've kind of been spraying my drives right now," said Estrada, who is long off the tee.

After his stellar season this spring, Estrada was asked what he can do for an encore.

"I just want to keep practicing hard and see how far we can go as a team," Estrada said.

The other members of the all-area team are:

• Ben Geyer, junior, Pierce: Geyer was low medalist at the Northern Section Div. II tournament, carding a 2-under-par 70 at Arrowhead Golf Club in Alturas. That qualified him for the Section championship tournament.

• Zach Kuykendall, senior, Sutter: Kuykendall shot a 75 at the Northern Section Div. II tournament in Alturas to qualify for the Section championship. He averaged 77.8 a round for 18 holes in the Butte View League.

• Evan Larson, senior, Gridley: Larson was named the most valuable golfer in the BVL.

• Nick Maddalena, sophomore, Faith Christian: Maddalena qualified for the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Tournament upon shooting a 1-over par 72 at the small schools tournament at Castle Oaks. He averaged 37 strokes for nine holes.

• Derick Strain, senior, Faith Christian: Strain averaged 36.6 strokes for nine holes.

Contact sports reporter Richard Myers at 749-4714 or rmyers@appeal-democrat.com.