LO senior eyes first trip to CCS
SAN JOSE — Paige Flores’ ability to refocus has carried her through her toughest moments on the golf course and in life. Five months ago, Live Oak High School’s top female golfer wondered if she would ever play again, let alone walk.
Around midnight on April 10 — her father Toby’s 43rd birthday — Flores, 17, fell asleep while driving her 2004 Honda Element and at 40 mph crashed into a cement barrier located near at southbound Highway 101 entrance off Tennant Avenue.
Flores spent the next three weeks in as many hospitals. Her spleen was crushed, a shoulder dislocated, and her back was initially thought to have been broken. She did not move until X-rays revealed her spinal cord was intact; doctors were afraid she might do further damage. Eventually, she was able to take short walks but with frequent stops to rest.
“It was the hardest thing I’ve ever gone through,” Flores said Thursday, after she shot 45 through nine holes at San Jose Municipal Golf Course to earn medalist honors in a league match against Lincoln. “When you’re in a hospital bed for that long, you go insane. I was worried about not golfing again, worried about everything.”
Flores was “surrounded by love” through the entire ordeal. Her room was frequently filled by parents, coaches, teammates and friends, plus golfers from neighboring high schools.
Flores persevered through intensive physical therapy and recovered fully. Despite her lengthy absence from class, she finished the school year with a 3.0 grade-point average.
“It’s been nothing short of a miracle really,” Flores’ mother Tracy said Monday. “She went from needing surgery to going home in a few weeks. Our prayers were answered.”
Watching Flores golf and smile brightly while retelling the harrowing accident that almost took her life, you would never guess anything had happened to her. She is stronger now thanks to an offseason spent golfing three times a week at Saratoga Country Club, where Tracy works, lifting weights and cross-training in mixed martial arts.
In uniform, Flores bears no visible scars. She does have a suction cup attached the back of her putter to retrieve balls easier. Flores’ season-best score is 39. She can drive the ball more than 300 yards.
“I’m surprised — impressed — she’s doing as well as she is. Paige is very lucky,” LOHS coach Mike Rubino said. “She’s really starting to grow as a golfer. The physical part is there. What she needs is the mental game now, the ability to play well when everyone’s watching her.”
Flores hasn’t short-changed her personal goals this fall. The senior wants to challenge for a Blossom Valley Athletic League title and finally earn a place in the Central Coast Section tournament.
Her drive and spirit has made her an exceptional teammate in an individual sport.
“Paige is the type of person you can go to for anything,” LOHS golfer Olivia Lastra said. “She never lets anything get her down.”
Echoing the words of her coach, Flores knows her biggest obstacle is staying focused and taking her game one shot at a time.
“If something’s wrong one day, it’s just for a day,” she said. “All you have to do is follow through the next time.”
Flores’ newfound passion for golf has led her to consider playing at the collegiate level if her talent and grades permit. No matter what the future holds, she plans to play as often as she can.
“I just want to keep doing it,” Flores said. “I never thought I would like it this much. Golf’s helped me through a lot.”
MAHARAJ LEADS SHS INTO SECOND SEASON: The Sobrato girls golf team enters its second year of varsity competition led by sophomore Jordan Maharaj, the top Bulldogs’ top scorer last fall.
Maharaj, who has been golfing for three years, averages in the low to mid-40s through nine holes.
“She’s doing everything you need to be a competitive golfer,” Sobrato coach Jeff Bernstein said. “She’ll make BVALs no problem. She could go to CCS.”
Maharaj hopes to break into the high 30s. She spent last summer playing on several youth tours.
“I did 18 holes almost every day,” she said. “If I improve my short game, I should have a good year.
