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Nicholls junior golfer Albert Badosa-Soler did not win the national championship this past week.
But he did pick up valuable experience competing in an NCAA Regional – three rounds of golf which he may be able to use next year as a senior.
After winning the 2017 Southland Conference Individual Champioship two weeks ago, Badosa-Soler earned a bid into the NCAA Regionals, which were held last week at the University Club in Baton Rouge.
The Colonels standout shot 24-over for his 54 holes, posting rounds of 80, 77 and 83.
He finished in a tie for 65th out of 75 eligible golfers.
Colonels golf coach James Schilling said it was a great learning experience for Badosa-Soler – something the entire Nicholls team can benefit from going into next season.
“This was a big stage for him and our university with it being the first time we competed here at this level,” Schilling said. “A lot of teams are going home, but this gives us something to work on this summer going into next year.”
Badosa-Soler had some bright moments at the NCAA Regional but overall didn’t play his best golf, which took him out of contention quickly for the overall title.
In the opening round, the native of Girona, Spain had a few nervous moments, bogeying two of his first three holes before settling in and carding a 3-over front nine.
The back nine was a grind. After a birdie on No. 10, Badosa-Soler carded bogeys on holes 11, 13 and 15 to slip to 5-over.
On No. 16, a Par 3, he hit his tee shot out of bounds twice, which led to a quadruple-bogey 7.
But he ended in style on the Par 5 17th hole.
After blistering a drive down the fairway, Badosa-Soler hit a low, cut two-iron from the fairway to within kick-in range, which resulted in an eagle — one of just three recorded throughout the day.
After the round, Badosa-Soler admitted he was nervous playing on such a large stage for the first time.
He said the two-iron shot is something he will remember for the rest of his career.
“I had the perfect yardage to hit a two iron,” Badosa-Soler said. “I talked with coach and he said it was good to land it just short of the green and let it roll up. I just hit it how I wanted and it just kept rolling. I almost made it. I was pretty happy.”
He carried some of that momentum over into the second round of the event.
Despite stiff winds, which made scores high, Badosa-Soler shot his best round of the NCAA Regionals in round two, posting a 5-over 77, thanks to three birdies – all on par 5’s.
A steady short game helped the Colonels junior throughout the round, which shaved several shots off the round and helped Badosa-Soler move up the leaderboard.
Badosa-Soler was 5-over through 11 holes in the round, but then played the final seven holes in even-par to cap the round with a bang.
Schilling said he was proud of how Badosa-Soler battled in the second round of the tournament, showing great poise against a fearsome course in Baton Rouge.
“The course was playing much more difficult than it was yesterday,” Schilling said. “They had forecasted 10 mph winds, but as you can hear right now, it’s gusting pretty good. … Albert did not hit the ball as well today as he did yesterday. He did not. But he scored three shots better grinding it out, and that’s what you have to do on a golf course like this because … it’s designed to put pressure on you from tee to green – especially on the greens.”
In the final round, Badosa-Soler struggled mightily, recording just one birdie to go along with nine bogeys and a triple bogey in an 11-over round of 83, which positioned him at 24-over for the three-day event.
Badosa-Soler really struggled throughout the round with his accuracy and his distance control, which often put him in problematic positions, which led to scrambles for pars and/or bogeys.
Schilling said even with the tough day, he’s proud of his player and the effort he gave throughout the tournament and season.
He said Badosa-Soler will learn from the event and will come back better than ever in 2018 for a Nicholls golf program that figures to be pretty strong.
The Colonels finished fourth in the Southland this season and lost just two seniors.
The coach believes the team can do even better next spring, if they have a productive offseason of work.
“Obviously, this was not the result that we wanted with the score, but I can’t fault Albert’s effort,” Schilling said. “This course is designed to be very difficult if you’re not hitting the ball well, and he did not hit it well enough to put himself in position to have good looks at birdies. But overall, it was an excellent year for Albert, and he’s just a junior, so he’ll have another year to progress.” •
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