University Southern California Trojans
Player Spotlight -- Jonah Texeira
February 26, 2016 | Men's Golf
Jonah Texeira had won more than his share of events as a rising junior on increasingly bigger stages, but last May was different.
The freshman from Porter Ranch, Calif., was in the middle of the USC men's golf team's program-best run through the NCAA Tournament and the spotlight was the brightest he had seen.
"It had a big effect. I'd never been in that type of environment. I'd never had so many cameras around or the national title on the line," Texeira said of the Golf Channel-televised event. "It was great to part of a group of five players to make history for USC."
USC qualified for the match play with four strong rounds of golf, earning the fifth seed after 72 holes. But the endurance test was just getting started. What followed were three more rounds of intense, closely fought match play over the next 48 hours that saw USC defeat Texas and Illinois and take LSU to the wire before falling in the NCAA Championship final.
Texeira tied for 33rd in the stroke play portion at 5-over 294 before locking horns with Texas' No. 1 Beau Hossler in the quarterfinals. He led for most of the round but was tied on the 18th hole when USC clinched the win.
Texeira trailed most of his semifinal match against Illinois' Brian Campbell before erasing a three-hole deficit on 14 by winning the next three holes. He halved again as USC won its semifinal match while Texeira was on the 18th green.
In the NCAA final against LSU, Texeira never led, but he clawed to within one hole on 16 and was facing a long putt on 17 to stay alive when the Tigers clinched the match.
"We fell one match short but it was still the best ever here," Texeira said. "It put so much fire in our hearts and minds for this year."
While it's hard to describe the fresh-faced sophomore as a salty veteran just yet, the experience gave Texeira something to build on for this season.
As the Trojans get set to move through the heart of their spring schedule, Texeira is tied for second on the team in stroke average (72.06) and has already turned in three top 8 performances, including a tie for fifth at the Nike Golf Collegiate Invitational, a tie for eighth at the U.S. Collegiate Championship and a seventh at the Amer Ari Invitational.
Texeira was a Pac-12 All-Freshman performer last year as a full-time starter, playing 44 rounds in 14 tournaments not to mention his match play action. He was third on the team in stroke average (71.85) and finished with 11 rounds in the 60s and a trio of top 10 finishes, eight in the top 23,
"Jonah does everything well," USC Coach Chris Zambri said. "He has been playing high level golf for so long that his short game is extremely developed. He has a bunch of length off the tee which is very beneficial. His desire to play great golf has never been higher since he's been a Trojan. His fine play of late is directly related to his renewed dedication."
Texeira has always been a hard worker and a natural at the sport. His father, Johnny, put a golf club in his hands when he was 3. The tiny Texeira whacked his first driving range shot so well that his dad brought over his mother Terri, to see him try again. When Texeira proved it was not a fluke, they knew they were onto something.
By the time he was 8, Texeira was playing regularly and was soon winning the majority of the events he was playing in. The schedule was hectic, and he was dividing his time between his home-school assignments and time on the course. And, if he was ahead in his schoolwork, a few video games as well.
Texeira was initially committed to UCLA, but turned his eyes about 10 miles east after USC Coach Chris Zambri started recruiting him sophomore year. When the scholarship offer from the Trojans arrived, "it was an offer I couldn't refuse."
Now in his second year at Troy, he says he fine-tuned his focus as he strives to improve, managing his time better away from the course to make him more effective when he's on it.
"I always try and practice as much as I can on my own, on top of what we're doing," Texeira said. "We usually practice 3-4 hours in the morning, but when I have class late, I'll stay at the course extra and put on my headphones and stay in that zone, trying to get better and better and improve without any distractions."
If you listen closely, you might be able to hear Texeira's voice accompanying the soft EDM and R&B music on his headphones. Actually, you probably don't have to listen that closely, because Texeira sings a lot.
And he does it well. Of course, the singing is a bit of a family thing. One of five children, his oldest sister, Keana is a pop singer who had a major following in Japan, including a No. 1 hit ("Could You Be the One"), a few years back. As Texeira tells it, she sold more records there, that year, than "Lady Gaga, Beyonce or Miley Cyrus." She's now focusing on her stateside career.
Texeira, who is doing the same, is known to sing on the course, on the way to the course, on the way back. He has yet to choose a major but says it won't involve music. For him, it's a way to relax, not a career.
That, he hopes, will be in golf.
