SUNRISE GOLF: Ruelas shines on par 5s, wins region tourney medal

Amy Ruelas’ favorite type of hole on the golf course is a par 5.

The senior at Foothill showed why on Thursday.

Ruelas birdied both par 5s on the Desert Hawk course at Boulder Creek Golf Club and carded a 2-over-par 74 to capture medalist honors at the Division I Sunrise Region girls tournament.

“I average 260 (yards) on my drives, so that’s a huge advantage for me,” Ruelas said. “I walked out here with high confidence. I had it in my head that I wanted it, and I wanted it more than anything.”

Ruelas played the par 5s in 2 under and had four birdies in all as she held off Green Valley’s Mercedes Khumnark, who was second with a 76. Coronado’s Natalie Yamamoto shot 77 to finish third.

Ruelas and Yamamoto each shot 1-over 37 on the Eldorado course and made the turn with a three-stroke lead over Khumnark. Ruelas birdied the par-5 second hole on the Desert Hawk course after reaching the green in two, and she knocked her second shot on the Desert Hawk’s fifth hole within 10 feet of the pin, leading to another birdie and a two-shot advantage.

“As soon as I hit it, I knew it was on it,” said Ruelas, who gave a double fist pump as she walked up the fairway on No. 5. “Everything was just on today. My irons were strong; my drives were strong.”

Khumnark started her back nine on the Desert Hawk course with two straight birdies to close the gap and had two chances in the final four holes to grab a share of the lead. The sophomore stuck her second shot on Desert Hawk No. 6 inside 10 feet and was even closer on No. 7, but she couldn’t make either birdie putt.

Khumnark then four-putted for double-bogey on the second-to-last hole to fall three shots behind Ruelas.

“I had high expectations for my score, but I’m really glad Amy won. She played brilliantly,” Khumnark said. “Things could have been different, but it’s golf. You have bad days, you have good days. Today just wasn’t my day, but there’s always next time.”

Isabella Martinez of Coronado finished fourth with an 81, followed by teammate Olivia Greenwald (86). The Cougars shot 332 to easily win the team title over Green Valley (390).

Both teams advance to the state tournament Wednesday and Thursday at Bear’s Best Golf Club. Along with Ruelas, Foothill’s Jourden Brown (87), Rancho’s Aubrianna Jordan (95) and Silverado’s Mary Kate Branigan (110) and Dezieree Mascarenas (114) qualified as individuals.

“It’s great to win, and the kids deserve it,” Coronado coach Joe Sawaia said. “We played well in spurts, but we didn’t do a very good job with our speed control on the greens. We had a lot of three-putts. Hopefully we can improve for next week.”