SALT LAKE CITY – “I remember I was really nervous.”
That’s what was going through Javier Barcos’ mind as he approached the 18th hole in the final round of the Oregon State Invitational. He entered that last hole in a tie for first place with OSU’s Mateo Fuenmayor and in search of the first collegiate victory of his career. Despite the pressure of the moment and with the tournament title nearly in his grasp, the junior from Estella, Spain did not let his composure escape him.
“I told myself to stay in the moment,” said Barcos, “that I have been here a lot and I just need to focus and be myself.”
For Barcos, having a chance to capture an event championship was not something he was unfamiliar with. As a sophomore, he’d earned three top 10 finishes, including a third-place performance at the Visit Stockton Invitational in Oct. of 2021, where he shot 13-under and posted a second-round 63. During the spring, his 11th place finish at NCAA Regionals helped the Utes punch their ticket to the NCAA Championships for the first time since 1988. Barcos also could claim his squad’s second-best stroke average during 2021-22.
Even after a season in which he accomplished so much, both as an individual and as part of a successful team, both Barcos and his coach knew he could be even better as a junior. “His game had come a long way and was improved,” said head coach Garrett Clegg “but he was still a little bit inconsistent. Javi is somebody who struggles to stay focused, and he’s somebody who moves really fast, so he needed to continue to work on slowing down. The message was to continue working on staying in the moment and really work on your putting.”
“Normally, I struggle to stay in the moment because I go too fast,” said Barcos, “so I’ve tried to calm down during practice. That’s helped me. Putting, I think my biggest problem was my speed. My speed was really bad, so I couldn’t read the greens very well and I worked on speed drills during the summer. I think that has helped me.”
The work Barcos had put in was evident in the offseason, as he helped Team Spain capture the European Amateur Team Championship in July. When he returned to campus for the start of his junior campaign, there was an obvious difference and it was apparent both in his play and in the role he played on the squad.
“He has been working a lot on his…
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