SOFIA YOUNG (center) shot a 1-over-par 73 at the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Golf Tournament on Monday and became the first golfer in Benicia High history to reach the Northern California Tournament.

Junior Sofia Young became the first Benicia High golfer ever to qualify for the NorCal Tournament after advancing past the Sac-Joaquin Section Masters Tournament on Monday at the Reserve at Spanos Park in Stockton.

Young shot a 1-over-par 73 and tied for the final NorCal qualifying spot for individuals with Beah Cruz of Christian Brothers. Young, Cruz, Marie Dean of Davis Senior High (70) and Noor Ahmed of Vista del Lago (72) each advanced to next Monday’s NorCal Tournament. Granite Bay (387), Oak Ridge (392) and St. Francis (421) advanced to NorCal as teams.

“She’s definitely excited to be moving on and is honored to be the first Benicia High golfer to reach NorCal,” Benicia golf coach Allan Frederick said of Young, a three-time Solano County Athletic Conference Player of the Year.

Young – who shot an 83 at Masters as a freshman in 2014 and an 81 last season as a sophomore – was only 1-over-par after nine holes Monday. She shot even par on the back nine and had only three three-putts during her round.

“She was a little disappointed with those three putts and felt she could have broken par,” Frederick said.

Young was Benicia High’s lone representative at Masters after the Lady Panthers failed to qualify as a team.

Hailey Reitz of Grante Bay shot a 3-under 69 for the best individual Masters score of the day.

The NorCal Tournament will be held at The Club at Crazy Horse Ranch in Salinas next Monday. Qualifiers from that tournament advance to the CIF State Tournament on Nov. 15 in Rancho Cucamonga.

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