Raegan Saldana places fifth at Mountain Falls golf match

Raegan Saldana used Pahrump Valley’s first home tournament of the season to deliver the best round of her high school career.

The sophomore shot a 93 to finish fifth among 25 golfers during the Aug. 27 Class 3A Southern League match at Mountain Falls Golf Club.

The result continued a promising start to Saldana’s second season with the Trojans. One week earlier, she opened the season by shooting a 102 at Boulder Creek Golf Club.

Saldana completed the opening nine at Boulder Creek with a 51, clearing the tournament’s cut score by two strokes. She then played the second nine to finish the 18-hole round.

At Mountain Falls, Saldana lowered her full-round score by nine strokes while moving into the top five.

“Raegan Saldana played her best round,” Pahrump Valley coach Sierra McKillips said. “Her score put her in the top five overall.”

The early improvement follows a freshman season in which Saldana qualified for the NIAA Class 3A state championship. She shot rounds of 113 and 122 at Boulder Creek for a two-day total of 235, finishing 30th among 32 golfers.

Saldana said before this season that the experience taught her the importance of managing both the course and the mental side of her game.

“The biggest struggle was course management,” Saldana said. “The mental side of my game definitely needed some work.”

She also entered her sophomore season believing an improved swing and stronger iron play would help her lower her scores.

“The part of my game that I have worked on most since last season is my overall swing and ball striking,” Saldana said before the opener. “My iron game has gotten significantly better since last season, and I am confident in my abilities moving into this season.”

Her career-best round at Mountain Falls provided the latest evidence of that progress. Saldana also supplied one of the tournament’s memorable moments by sinking a long putt for birdie.

Senior Natalie Soto, the Trojans’ only other competitor, completed the Mountain Falls round with a 112.

Soto had been limited to nine holes in her first match back with the program at Boulder Creek, where she shot a 56 and missed the tournament cut by three strokes. At Mountain Falls, she completed all 18 holes and produced several strong recovery shots from the sand.

With only two golfers on the roster, Pahrump Valley does not have enough players to record a team score. Saldana and Soto instead compete for individual scores and placements.

“Due to only having two girls, we don’t qualify as a team for scoring,” McKillips said. “As individual players, the girls did amazing.”

The home-course familiarity did not make the afternoon easy.

McKillips said temperatures reached approximately 105 degrees as the golfers walked 18 holes while carrying or pushing bags weighing more than 35 pounds.

“The course was amazing,” McKillips said. “The only challenge was the heat. Playing in 105 is never fun. It takes a toll on the players.”

Despite the conditions, both golfers completed the round and left their coach encouraged by the result.

McKillips said the next step will be finding additional ways to lower their scores on the green.

“Overall, the tournament was great,” she said. “The takeaway for this match is to focus on cutting strokes from putting.”

For Saldana, the 93 provided an early milestone in a season she began with goals centered on qualification, scoring and tournament placement. Her fifth-place finish at Mountain Falls checked two of those boxes in the second match of the season.

Contact sports reporter Bill Evans at wevans@pvtimes.com