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EUs Brink earns second berth to Masters
League rival Oakdale prevails as Division IV titlist
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Will Brink of East Union carded an even 72 during the Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV Tournament at Diablo Grande Tuesday, good for second place. - photo by HIME ROMERO

Will Brink’s even-par-72 was not enough to pull the East Union Lancers into the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Tournament, but the Division IV boys golf tournament’s second best round was good enough to extend Brink’s season.

Brink was only second to Sonora High’s Barrett McLaughlin’s 71 at the Diablo Grande Legends Course, allowing the junior standout to extend his season. East Union as a team shot a 413 and will not advance.

The Lancers team score was good for second place, but Valley Oak League champion Oakdale High recorded a frighteningly low 402 to capture the Division-IV crown. Oakdale turned in a score card with five players with rounds in between 79 and 82, securing the division title by 11 strokes.

“I thought we could have won as a team this year,” Brink said. “In other years we have come close, but this year as a team I really thought we could have made it. I was just trying to shoot good enough for our team to move on.

“Oakdale got us again.”

Zac Couch and Jordan Duval each contributed a solid 81 for the Lancers. Jordan Lund’s 89 and Kyle Davis’ 90 rounded out the team’s score.

Sierra High’s Drew Allen closed out his season with a respectable round of 79 Tuesday, turning in the tournament’s sixth best round. Allens’s round was the second lowest of all the VOL individual qualifiers, finishing behind McLaughlin and ahead of Manteca High’s Justin Morrish.

Morrish shot an 85, completing a season where he made tremendous strides for the Buffaloes program. Morrish will undoubtedly be the foundation for a Manteca program looking to improve in the league standings.

Brink’s season will move to The Reserve at Spanos Park in Stockton. The par-72 course is known for its sometimes windy conditions and golfers looking to advance to the Nor Cal Tournament in Chico will have to manage their game and the conditions.

“I think I am going to go out there and play it once or twice before the tournament,” Brink said. “Hopefully, at least one of those days I will get a day that is sort of windy. I’ve been kind of lucky for the most part because every time I’ve played there it’s been kind of calm.

“I haven’t played there with a real big wind yet, so if I get some round in like that it would be nice.”