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By Jay Leon Guerrero
Youth golfers from Guam continue to perform well in high caliber tournaments. After Devin Hua and Jayden Lizama posted headlines in their respective overseas tournaments, college standout Redge Camacho helped the New Mexico State Aggies win the PGA Golf Management Jones Cup.
The win is a major accomplishment for the Aggies after they beat out defending champion Campbell University by nine strokes. The team of Camacho, Nate LeBlanc, Cole Lorenz, Brett Walker, and Anthony Del Dotto helped the Aggies win the second title in school history (2006).
LeBlanc and Walker tied for the individual title shooting two day scores of 140 each. Camacho shot a 77 and 73, helping the team comeback to beat Campbell after trailing by a stroke going into the final day of competition.
“We were behind Campbell University after round one but we just kept telling ourselves to play solid and play the course. The just had to focus on playing the course and not worrying about the other teams,” said Camacho.
“The win was huge for our school. We haven’t won the Jones Cup in almost a decade. To pull out a win and get the Cup for our University was great.”
Camacho, 20, is one of Guam’s top prospects and was the 2012 IIAAG golf individual champion. He played in the Nomura Cup in Adu Dhadi, UAE last month and placed 26th out of 107 golfers and helped team Guam to a 14th place finish (with Hua).
Camacho’s parents, Reggie and Nette Camacho, said they are extremely proud of their son.
“He has really come a long way. Coming from junior golf till now and seeing his accomplishments makes us really proud of him. It shows that hard work and dedication pays off,” said Reggie Camacho.
“I remember when he was playing at just 9-years-old. I’m excited for him and happy he is doing well in golf and academics,” said Nette Camacho. Her son is now a junior at New Mexico State and is majoring in Marketing with a specialization in Golf Course Management.
“He went to Abu Dhabi to play in the Nomura Cup and came in 26th out 107 golfers. We were really happy that an island boy can perform so well against the best in Asia and the region,” said Nette Camacho.
After not making the Jones Cup squad last year as a sophomore, Camacho worked on his game and was happy to travel with the team. The team tackled a difficult Wanamaker Course in Port Lucie, Florida. “It was a tough, long course that had lots of water obstacles. It was also very windy which made the course even more difficult,” said Camacho.
Future plans
“My short term goals are to improve my game and prepare for the world amateur team championship qualifying tournament in December back home on Guam.”
He also intends to make the New Mexico State University team again as a senior and play division 1 golf. After accomplishing all his goals, he intends to play golf professionally on the PGA circuit.
