Ritzau Is Even Better in Return

There are some who may resent Ryan Ritzau for what he did. The Goleta Dos Pueblos senior chose at the beginning of the season to forgo his final year of high school golf, claiming he was “burned out” after six years playing the sport.

He would later change his mind.

“If it were up to me, that kid never would have been allowed to rejoin my team,” said a rival coach, who asked to remain anonymous. “You don’t do that to your teammates.”

But Ritzau’s reasoning is difficult to argue -- a sober reminder that this is, after all, a game.

“I wasn’t having fun anymore,” said Ritzau, who shot a one-under-par 71 at the Southern Section individual championships to qualify for the CIF-SCGA regional tournament today at the SCGA Members Club in Murrieta.

“I thought it was the right choice at the time. You’re supposed to have fun when you play golf. That’s why you play sports. I didn’t see the point in playing it if I wasn’t having fun.”

But two weeks into the season, the three-year varsity starter felt differently.

“I took six weeks off and it was good for me, but I started to miss it,” Ritzau said. “I missed practicing and playing with the team and I realized that I had only one chance to play my senior year. And I thought we would have a good team.

“[Coach Doug Mitchell] gave me the opportunity to come back. Luckily, I came back in time for the [Santa Barbara] San Marcos match.”

Lucky indeed.

In Ritzau’s first outing, he posted a three-under 68 to lead the Chargers to a 358-360 Channel League victory over San Marcos at Glen Annie Golf Club in Goleta on March 23. Not only did the Chargers set a school record for scoring in the victory, it was also the first time they had defeated the Royals in more than 10 years.

“It felt really good to finally play well against them,” Ritzau said.

For the remainder of the season, Ritzau shot under par and medaled in six of the Chargers’ 10 matches -- all victories -- including a school-record six-under 66 in helping the Chargers eclipse another school team scoring record in a 355-412 league victory over Santa Barbara at Montecito Country Club on April 13.

Ritzau finished the season with a 69 scoring average, down from 75 the previous year, and helped lead Dos Pueblos to its first Channel League title in Mitchell’s 11 years as head coach.

“My state of mind on the course is what changed this year,” Ritzau said of his improved play. “Last year, I was just really impatient, always trying to make birdies. But this year, I just kept telling myself, ‘birdies will come, just be patient. Let the game come to you.’ ”

And that has made all the difference.