After indoor practices and a scorching season opener, the girls golf team played a scramble Tuesday on a beautiful day that offered them a chance to reset and refocus on the season ahead.
Sophomore Brooklynn Akers and junior Marleigh Grant combined for a score of 73 at Village Greens Golf Course in Jefferson County. A pair of freshmen, Josie Vogts and Lilly Wright, teamed up to score 89. And seniors Brette Hayden and Reese Pattison finished with a score of 101.
A scramble in golf is a team event where a pair of golfers both take the same shot and play only the better of the two. The Cardinals rarely play scrambles, head coach Susan DeVoe said, but the unique style allows players to push their skills and try new things without worrying about costly strokes adding up.
“It’s nice to have a partner, especially early in the season like this,” DeVoe said.
Akers said it was helpful to play with a teammate. She said she was able to learn new strategies and experiment with different clubs.
“I think it will help prepare us for the challenges on the course and what to do,” she said. “We were in some hard situations today, but we learned how to get out of them and what to do better and improve on.”
She’s hoping the tournament will work to springboard her and the team into the rest of the season after a start derailed by heat.
“It was so nice of a day I felt like I could just breathe,” she said. “It feels awesome because we need more practice, and this is a great tournament to just practice, get the feel and get back into the grind of playing tournaments.”
Last week, the golf team kicked off its season in Hesston after battling intense heat that forced practices indoors. The heat hadn’t relented much for the Cardinals who spent most of the tournament melting with temperatures in the 90s.
Despite the heat, sophomore Akers finished 40th out of 90 with a score of 100. Grant wasn’t far behind with a 102. The Cardinals finished 13th out of 16 teams.
Tuesday’s scramble offered a slight reprieve from the intense heat, with temperatures sitting in the low 80s.
Pattison and Hayden said working together throughout the day helped them feel more comfortable and have a lot of fun.
“I felt like you’re able to be more positive,” Hayden said. “Like, keep a positive mindset and uplift each other.”
Both the team-focused scramble and lower temperatures helped the Cardinals readjust after the bumpy first few weeks and focus on the season ahead.
“It definitely built more confidence,” Grant said. “I know what I’m capable of, but this really helped me, and I really hope it helped the team build some confidence under us.”
Reach reporter Cuyler Dunn at [email protected]
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