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In the swing of things

Vipers freshman feels at home on the golf course

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  • Paul Ebner •
  • Originally published January 23, 2009 at 1:53 a.m., updated January 23, 2009 at 1:53 a.m.

When Trevor Vega steps up to the first tee Friday, he will experience a slightly different feeling than he has in past Memorial Viper Classics.

The freshmen will be competing for the first time in the event as a member of the Vipers' varsity squad and will be the Vipers' No. 2 man as well.

But that doesn't seem to bother the young man who received his first set of golf clubs at the age of 4.

"I came in to the year and thought there was going to be so much pressure on me, but Sean (Hawes) and me had such a good fall and he helped relieve a lot of the pressure off of me and hopefully I've been able to do the same for him," Vega said.

Vega and Hawes, the Vipers' No. 1 player, will lead their team into the annual Viper Classic on Friday and Saturday as 15 schools vie for the title. Friday's opening round begins at 9 a.m. with progressive starts at Victoria Country Club, while Saturday's final round is a shotgun start at 9 a.m. at Colony Creek Country Club.

Vega's father, Adolph, passed his love for the game to his son Trevor, when he bought a tiny pair of golf shoes for his baptism back in 1994 and then at the age of 4 supplied him with his first set of clubs.

That is something Vipers coach Fred Neuman feels has played a key role in Vega's early success as a freshman.

"I think there were a couple of factors that contributed to a great fall for him," Neuman said. "First, Sean has taken him under his wing and helped him along and the two have become good friends. Secondly, his parents are as supportive as any parents I've encountered over my years in coaching.

"He has high expectations and high goals and has done a tremendous job so far of trying to accomplish those goals."

In his first four tournaments in the fall he compiled an 80.75 scoring average and posted four scores in the 70s. In fact, he has been able to cut strokes of his 36-hole total in each of the tournaments.

In his first tournament as a varsity player he posted an 81-89-170 and then closed out his fall season with a 79-78-157.

"The first couple of tournaments this past semester were good because I was helpful to the team and was a leader and hopefully I can continue that in the Victoria Classic and hopefully we can pull out a victory," Vega said.

What may have helped make the transition even that much easier for Vega is the fact that he has been playing competitively since he was 8.

His first major competition was the 2002 U.S. Kids Golf World Championship in Williamsburg, Va., where he was one of 700 boys and girls to compete in the four-day event, which included a one-day skills competition.

He has also competed regular on the Southern Texas PGA's junior tour and many other junior golf events where he has found success.

In 2005, he won the Pan American Golf Association's national boys title in the 10-11 age division and last year won the Transamerican Junior Golf Championships and competed as a member of the Texas squad in the Texas-Mexico Cup, a Ryder Cup type event for juniors.

But Vega doesn't hesitate to give a lot of credit to his early success on the high school level to his senior teammate Hawes.

"He's been like a mentor to me," Vega said. "We go out and play golf and hang out. He's a good leader on the golf course and a good all-around golfer and has helped me a lot."

Vega knows his team will have its hands full on Friday and Saturday with another stout field for this year's event but feels the Vipers have an opportunity to challenge for the title.

"We already have four tournaments under our belts and these next three or four are going to show us how we stand going into district," Vega said. "(Corpus Christi) King is here along with some other pretty good teams show we should get a pretty good indication on where we are at right now. I feel we can challenge them."

  • Memorial Viper Classic

    When/Where: Friday at Victoria Country Club, Saturday at Colony Creek Country Club, 9 a.m.

    The field: Memorial, St. Joseph, Yoakum, Corpus Christi King, C.C. Miller, C.C. Moody, C.C. Carroll, C.C. Ray, San Antonio East Central, C.C. Incarnate ...

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    • Memorial Viper Classic

    When/Where: Friday at Victoria Country Club, Saturday at Colony Creek Country Club, 9 a.m.

    The field: Memorial, St. Joseph, Yoakum, Corpus Christi King, C.C. Miller, C.C. Moody, C.C. Carroll, C.C. Ray, San Antonio East Central, C.C. Incarnate Word; Calallen, Gregory-Portland, San Antonio MacArthur, San Antonio Churchill, Alice.

    Defending champion: Corpus Christi Miller



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