Photo Courtesy UTRGV Athletics.
Senior men’s golfer Juan Luis de Bethencourt Duque and sophomore women’s golfer Natalia Rodriguez were named by the Southland Conference as golfers of the month for their outstanding performance.
Duque recorded a 70.3 scoring average in the previous month and claimed his first career win at the Monterrey Collegiate Classic, breaking the program record with a score of 203, surpassing the previous record of 204.
His journey began as a shared hobby with his dad in Spain, teaching him the basics of golf. Over time, Duque made friends and competed in local tournaments.
Duque discussed his transition from regional tournaments at a young age to playing at collegiate-level competitions.
“They were regionals, some of them were nationals as well, so I played some of them from 8 to 16,” he said. “When I got here, I focused a lot on my technique and my results more than trying to have an effective game plan. I think [I’ve] improved in golf and as a person as well.”
Duque also expressed his excitement at being named the Killer Golfer of the Week as well as SLC Golfer of the Month.
“It was a really good experience,” he said. “I said to myself to try to enjoy the event and I ended up winning. From there I got named Killer Student of the Week and then Southland Conference Golfer of the Month. It’s just incredible to see all the reclamations.”
In the women’s golf team, Rodriguez led the Vaqueros in their final tournament of the fall after tying for 25th out of 96 golfers at The Clash at Boulder Creek tournament in Nevada. This moved the Vaqueros onward to defeat the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders.
Rodriguez’s passion for golf also began in Spain. Motivated by her father and sister, she worked her way into competing at the college level.
She described her excitement about earning the title of Golfer of the Month.
“I was very happy when I got the notice,” Rodriguez said. “We were practicing a lot this month. We all played really good. I feel more confident, I had my game recognized and I’m very happy [with] what I accomplished.”
She also spoke about the outlook of the team’s performance and her expectations for future matches.
“I was looking [to] win conference and we have other tournaments,” Rodriquez said. “I’m happy to win more tournaments. For me individually, playing good, same as this last tournament, [and] be top 20. That’s what I’m looking for.”
The vaqueros gear up for upcoming spring tournaments.
