Golf preview: Two individual state champs from South Florida return for final season
The COVID-19 pandemic helped make Alexander Weinberg a golf standout.
Weinberg, a 17-year-old senior at Pine Crest, was living in his native New York City – Manhattan to be exact – when COVID hit in 2020.
With New York mostly shut down, Weinberg and his family moved to South Florida, enrolling at Pine Crest in the fall of 2021.
At that time, Weinberg played a lot of sports. But social distancing is easier to achieve in golf, and that’s what he focused on at Pine Crest.
That has proven to a wise choice, and here’s why:
Last year, Weinberg, a 6-foot, 155-pounder, became Florida’s Class 1A individual state champion, the first Pine Crest boy ever to accomplish that feat.
With all his teammates watching and cheering him on, Weinberg sank a 25-foot putt to win by one stroke with a two-day total of one-under par 143.
“It was a moment I will never forget,” said Weinberg, who was mobbed by teammates and coaches, with hugs, high-fives and fist bumps all around.
“As a golfer, you always practice for those moments, trying to simulate what it would be like to make a long putt to win a championship. So, when it actually happened, it was electric -- an incredible feeling.”
Weinberg – a 17-year-old who is committed to play next season for Duke -- wasn’t the only South Florida boy to experience that feeling last year.
Belen’s Lorenzo Rodriguez, who is also a 17-year-old senior, won the 2023 Class 2A individual state golf championship.
He’s the first player from Miami-Dade to win an individual boys’ golf state title since James Vargas of Columbus won it for the third time in 2001.
Vargas, who went on to star as a three-time All-American at Florida, is now the associate head coach at Texas Tech.
Rodriguez, who has committed to follow in Vargas’ footsteps at Florida, beat Tampa Jesuit’s Drew Campbell in a one-hole playoff. Ironically, Campbell – who now plays for Eckerd College – had beaten Rodriguez in a playoff earlier last season.
At state, both had a two-day total of one-over par 145, but Rodriguez made par to prevail in the playoff.
“I’m super satisfied knowing that if I put in work it can pay off,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez has come a long way since the seventh grade, which is when he made state for the first time.
“I finished in last place,” said Rodriguez, who is interested in studying sports management or pre-law at Florida.
“But it was a learning experience. Everyone was older than I was, and they all hit the ball 50 yards longer.”
Rodriguez, a 5-11, 165-pounder, is now one of the those older and stronger players.
The key for him has been weight training. At first, he could only bench press 20 pounds. Now he lifts 140 pounds, not counting the bar.
Rodriguez is also fearless.
“I just love to compete,” he said. “I’m not afraid of who else is out there.”
Rodriguez is coached at Belen by his father, Carlos, a real estate attorney.
Carlos Rodriguez didn’t grow up as a golfer. But while studying at Florida State, Carlos took a one-credit golf course, and he fell in love with the sport.
This fall, Carlos will start his seventh season as Belen’s coach, and he’s grateful to have Lorenzo atop his roster.
“Lorenzo is very level-headed,” Carlos said. “That’s important because you are on an island in golf. There’s no hiding.
“Another factor in his success is his creativity. He can pull out of some tough spots.
“There have been plenty of times when I think he’s in trouble, and -- all of a sudden -- he’s back on the green because he did something like shooting the ball through a gap in the trees.”
As for the Belen program, it’s insanely healthy. The Wolverines, who finished tied for 10th at state last year, have roughly 100 kids in their golf program, from varsity to middle school.
Pine Crest has a smaller program with 27 total golfers, and that includes girls on varsity and middle-school rosters.
But Pine Crest can do more with less as evidenced by last year’s seventh-place finish at state.
Three of those 27 Pine Crest golfers are from the Weinberg family – Alexander, his brother Jonathan and their sister Stephanie, a freshman.
Jonathan, a junior, is listed as Pine Crest’s second-best golfer this year as he boasts a 74.5 average.
Alexander Weinberg’s average last year was a brilliant 72.3.
Pine Crest’s boys’ team also features junior Ryan Altschul (74.8 average); and freshman Haoting Zhou (79.2 average).
But make no mistake. Alexander Weinberg is the leader of this team – and not just because of his golfing talent.
“I don’t know of anyone that works harder than him,” Pine Crest coach Karl Nitowski said. “He wants to be the best at everything he does, including academics.”
Indeed, Weinberg had a 4.94 grade-point average last year, when Pine Crest won the academic state title for boys’ golf.
On the course, Weinberg is coming off a great summer. He played a national schedule of elite youth-level tournaments, competing in California, Michigan, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.
Of his 16 tournament rounds, he shot under par in 10 of them.
But, even with that busy schedule, Weinberg has found the time to face up to a challenge issued by Nitowski, who wanted him to hit at least 15,000 putts in 10 summer weeks.
Through nine weeks at the time of this report, Weinberg had attempted 14,115 putts, and several of his teammates are on a similar pace.
“Golfers that win tournaments usually have a hot week with their putter,” Weinberg said. “Beyond that, the 15,000-putt challenge was an initiative our coach thought of to keep everyone at Pine Crest focused on our mission to win state.”
Weinberg, who is interested in majoring in Business, also considered Princeton and Yale before deciding on Duke.
His favorite golfer is Rory McElroy, who shares Weinberg’s aggressive approach on the course.
“A difficult shot heightens your focus and leads you to execute better,” Weinberg said.
“Whether it’s trying a difficult shot over water or something else, I won’t back down. And when you pull off one of those difficult shots, it’s fun and rewarding.”
MORE BOYS’ GOLF
▪ Florida Christian (9-1) finished fifth at state in Class 1A. Junior Kalani Centeno made first-team All-Dade. Senior Mason Keisch made the second team, and junior Matthew Hernandez finished in a first-place tie before losing a playoff at the Dade County Youth Fair event.
▪ Columbus finished 13th at state last season and returns all five starters. The Explorers, who were state runners-up the previous season, will be led by senior Victor Herrera and sophomore Hector Perez-Sainz. Seniors Hubert Ramirez, Nicholas Shortal and Carl Tegel round out their top five.
▪ South Dade’s boys are led by juniors Cash Briand and Thomas Tietig.
▪ Ransom Everglades is led by senior Jesse Hellring, who finished sixth at state last year. He has power, finesse and a 72.0 average.
▪ Palmer Trinity will be led by senior Matias Saavedra (81.0) average. Juniors Jack Zeder and Michael Joseph are in Palmer’s top three.
▪ Divine Savior, hit hard by graduation after last season, will be led by juniors Guillermo Faria, Diego Alvarez and Nicholas Biundini.
GIRLS’ GOLF
▪ Pine Crest has a young squad led by freshman Morgan Cole; eighth-grader Madison Logan; sophomore Vanessa Georgescu; and freshman Stephanie Weinberg.
▪ St. Thomas Aquinas, after winning a district title, returns junior Alyssandra Estevez and freshman Phoebe Dixon.
▪ Divine Savior lost standout Nicole Sardinha and will rebuild around eighth-grader Stella Lind.
▪ Carrollton finished 13th at state last year. This season, freshman Fernanda Carrion and sophomore Petra Compton return after top-eight finishes in the 2023 Youth Fair event.
▪ Ransom Everglades is led by senior Kate Khvorostiana, freshman Ella Wester and junior Abby Pollak.
▪ South Dade’s girls are led by senior Anisleidy Chavez.
This story was originally published August 16, 2024 at 10:00 AM.