Jasmine Daniel drives Vaqueros to runner-up finish

Glendale Community College freshman golfer Jasmine Daniel left the Canyon North Golf Course in Palm Springs after completing the first round of the two-day Desert Classic on Friday afternoon and made the long trek back to Burbank to participate in a dance recital.

She doubled back on Saturday morning to compete in the second round of the classic, in what amounted to an arduous two days of travel, but it was well worth the effort.

The Burroughs High graduate cut a remarkable nine strokes off her previous day’s score to fire an 81 on Saturday and help the Vaqueros capture second place in the 10-team tournament.

“[That] really helped us,” said Glendale college Coach Greg Osbourne, whose team moved up from third on Friday to finish with a two-round score of 651 to trail only Irvine Valley (641) and edge third-place Palomar (657). “That made the difference. She shot 90 [Friday] and she improved nine shots.”

The Vaqueros have some history with Palomar, which beat Glendale college by one shot at last year’s state tournament.

Glendale college also got a 75 from sophomore Pattraporn Silawanna on Saturday, as well as a 79 from Thanawan Sriratchaya.

“We didn’t play very well [on Friday] and we ended up finishing second, so I can’t complain,” Osbourne said. “It’s fantastic, it’s a good tournament for us to come in second. It’s phenomenal.”