It was an innocent mistake, but one that spoke to how young some of the talent is at the Royal Oaks Invitational.
When Union High School senior Eddie Abellar approached the tee box to start his second round, the official starter asked if he was a caddie.
The area’s best high school golfers might be the same age as those who toted the bags around Royal Oaks Country Club on Saturday. But their skills are good enough to carry them to the next level of golf.
So Saturday, a handful of those golfers got sneak peek at what they’ll face in the future. The Royal Oaks Invitational gathers the Northwest’s top amateur golfers, many of whom compete for NCAA Division I colleges.
For Abellar, it was quite an adjustment. He shot 10-over-par 82 in his opening round Friday.
“I wasn’t really prepared for what this course can do,” he said. “My butt got kicked.”
Hockinson senior Diego De La Torre explained how the Royal Oaks course compared to the one at the Class 2A high school state tournament, where he finished third.
“This is a lot harder,” he said. “The course is a lot firmer. The greens are ridiculously fast. It’s just flat-out tough.”
Golfers get into the Royal Oaks Invitational by applying or being invited, so it is the top of the local crop who are in the field this weekend.
Less than a week after winning the Northwest Junior PGA Championship in Tumwater, Fort Vancouver’s Spencer Tibbits is in the tournament.
So are Brian Humphreys of Camas and Trent Standard of Fort Vancouver.
De La Torre will play golf at San Jose State next year. For him, playing at Royal Oaks was less about competition than gathering experience against collegiate golfers.
“It’s great to see how your game compares to them.” De La Torre said. “Despite whatever I shoot, I know I’m going to learn a lot about my patience, experience, course management, et cetera.”
Abellar learned a month ago he would be part of the tournament. He too hoped to soak up experience before moving on to play at Bellevue College.
This is probably one of the hardest fields I’ve gotten to play in,” he said. “But that helps me prepare for going into college. It’s a good experience for me.”
Tim O’Neal, a Royal Oaks member for 30 years who is competing in this weekend’s tournament, said the golf course is everything an aspiring competitive golfer could ask for. It is tough enough to penalize poor shots, but rewards those who stay out of trouble.
“The golf course is in absolutely perfect condition,” he said. “so if you hit the ball well and put it in the right spot, you can shoot a good score.”
