Benicia High’s boys golf team was never in contention to win the 18-hole De La Salle Invitational on Monday, but the Panthers came home from Concord feeling OK about their day.

The Panthers shot a 441 as a team, nowhere near the tournament leaders in a field of 27 teams, but better than the 459 Benicia shot the year before. Nick Flores shot a 78, only seven strokes off the tournament co-champions. Evan Cuenco shot an 81, Zack McClure added an 85 and Connor Hatfield was right behind with an 86 to round out Benicia’s top four.

“They played really well,” Benicia coach Mike Prolo said of his Panthers. “The competition was good, the greens were fast and the course was in good shape. If a couple more putts drop here and there, they’re down in the mid-70s very easily. They weren’t disappointed with their rounds.”

Hatfield birdied two consecutive holes on the back nine, knocking in a 45-foot putt on a tough par 3 and adding a birdie on the following par 4.

Flores had a brilliant birdie in his round. The 14th hole was a short par 4 at less than 300 yards, tempting golfers to pull out their driver and attempt to reach a treacherous green in one. Many golfers tried and failed, finding the numerous traps surrounding the green. Flores took a different approach, pulling up with a 7-iron off the tee, following up with a pretty wedge shot and drilling the birdie putt.

“Other guys were hitting drivers and spraying it all over the place, scrambling for par or bogeys, and he just went right up the fairway and calmly got his birdie,” Prolo said.

The Panthers are scheduled to host Vanden on Tuesday and Fairfield on Thursday at the Mare Island Golf Course.

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