UTRGV Men’s Golf Isn’t Slowing Down

UTRGV Men’s Golf won the Southland Conference championship last spring.

Two tournaments into the new season, the Vaqueros aren’t playing like a team satisfied with what they already accomplished.

They’ve already broken a team record. Gabriel Dulon Villoslada has broken an individual record. Esteban Gonzalez has a top-three finish. Brock Porter has a top-10.

And UTRGV may still be figuring out exactly what its best lineup looks like.

That’s a pretty good place to be in September.

Dulon Villoslada Makes the First Statement

It didn’t take long for Dulon Villoslada to make his mark on the new season.

At the JT Poston Invitational, the junior fired 67-65-70 for a program-record 202, finishing third in the 100-player field. His second-round 65 also tied for the fifth-lowest individual round in program history.

That performance gave UTRGV an individual headliner.

But the bigger story may have been what happened around him.

The Vaqueros shot 835 as a team, breaking the previous 54-hole program record of 839 that had stood since the 1990 UTPA Golf Classic.

UTRGV finished sixth in a 17-team field that included South Carolina, NC State, Virginia Tech and Wisconsin.

One tournament.

Two program records.

Not a bad start.

Gonzalez Brings It Back to the Valley

Then Esteban Gonzalez took his turn.

The Edinburg native and McAllen Memorial graduate shot 68-71-69 for a 208 at the Bayou City Collegiate, finishing tied for third.

For us, this is one of the best stories on the roster.

Gonzalez is a Valley product playing a major role for the defending Southland champions, and he’s started his senior season with two strong performances.

He opened with a 209 and T21 finish at the JT Poston before improving to 208 and T3 at Bayou City.

That’s six tournament rounds to start the season, and Gonzalez has already put himself near the top of a leaderboard.

Porter Is Becoming Hard to Ignore

Then there’s Brock Porter.

The sophomore hasn’t had the same headline-grabbing round as Dulon Villoslada or Gonzalez.

He’s just been consistent.

Porter shot 210 in each of UTRGV’s first two tournaments. He finished T25 at the JT Poston and followed that with a T8 finish at Bayou City.

His opening tournament also included an albatross on the 530-yard par-5 10th, holing a 236-yard 4-iron after a 294-yard drive.

That’s the highlight.

The bigger development may be the top-10 that followed it.

Porter is only a sophomore, and two tournaments into Year 2, he’s giving UTRGV another player capable of getting near the top of a leaderboard.

And UTRGV Still Has Options

This is where the early start gets even more interesting.

The lineup isn’t settled.

Freshman Javier Domingo Calvo has played in both tournaments and opened his collegiate career with a 68 at the JT Poston.

Bogdan Sandrini made his UTRGV debut at Bayou City, shooting 219 and finishing T30. The Central Arkansas transfer brings NCAA Regional experience to an already experienced roster.

Senior Eddie Lai has competed in both tournaments, while freshman Pelayo Fernández Morteramade his collegiate debut as an individual at the JT Poston.

And UTRGV still has two current golfers we haven’t seen in competition this fall.

Rodolphe Cicala earned First Team All-Southland honors last season after posting a 72.6 scoring average and six top-20 finishes. He’s on the current roster but hasn’t competed in the first two tournaments.

Houston transfer Matt Pawly is also on the roster and hasn’t competed yet.

There may still be more lineup competition ahead.

Two Tournaments, Two Strong Results

The individual performances are getting attention, but UTRGV’s team results shouldn’t get lost.

The Vaqueros opened with a program-record 835 and sixth-place finish at the JT Poston.

They followed that by finishing fourth at the Bayou City Collegiate with an 855, just five strokes behind champion Rice and one behind third-place UT Arlington. UTRGV also finished ahead of the other Southland teams in the field — Lamar, Houston Christian and UIW.

That’s two tournaments with two different Vaqueros finishing third individually.

Add Porter’s top-10 and the team record, and there’s already plenty to like about the start.

Diamond DITV Final Word

We’re two tournaments into a long season.

Nobody is handing out another Southland championship in September.

But UTRGV has already given us something worth watching.

Dulon Villoslada is breaking records. Gonzalez is playing some of the best golf of his UTRGV career. Porter is emerging as another top-10 threat.

Meanwhile, Domingo Calvo is getting immediate experience, Sandrini has entered the lineup, and UTRGV hasn’t even used First Team All-Southland returner Cicala yet.

Last year’s championship established what this program can do.

This season is about what comes next.

And through two tournaments, UTRGV Men’s Golf isn’t slowing down.