JENNIFER FIERRO • PICAYUNE STAFF
Llano High School junior golfer Clayton Meyers studies the No. 9 hole during the last day of the Class 3A state tournament. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
LOST PINES — When members of the Llano High School boys golf team realized they would not win the Class 3A state championship April 29, they took solace in something else.
Two years ago, the Yellow Jackets simply wanted to be in contention for the District 8-3A championship. Last year, it was about qualifying for the Class 3A Region I tournament, where they were one stroke from advancing to the state tournament.
And, this year, they finally broke through, winning the district title, finishing second at regionals and qualifying for the state tournament.
“If you would have told me last week that we’d finish fourth at state,” Llano head coach Mike McIntosh said, “I would’ve taken it. But, when we had the start we started with, we had a different set of goals. So that’s disappointing.”
The Yellow Jackets shot a 313 on the first day to lead the field and a 339 on the second day for a 670 total. The five team members, all juniors, were led by Tyler McDonough’s 80-80–160. Andrews High School shot a 324-314 – 638 to capture the championship.
Fredericksburg was fifth with a 666, while District 8-3A member Lampasas shot a 670 for sixth.
Llano High School junior golfer Tyler McDonough places the ball on the green before he attempts a putt. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
“This is a disappointing day,” McIntosh said. “On the positive side, we realized all of our goals. There was extra adrenaline, nervousness and anxiety. We’ve not experienced that at this level before.”
In addition to dealing with the emotions of leading the other teams, McDonough said the second day had more wind. Clayton Meyers noted the greens were stronger on Day 2 when the boys played in the afternoon. On the first day, the tournament was in the morning, so the greens were softer because of moisture.
“Today, we couldn’t get anything to stop,” Meyers said. “I hit the ball great, even better than (the first round). I putted worse.”
“I left some shots over there, for sure,” McDonough said. “Putting is the main key. If you can put, you can play consistently.”
All three said they look forward to 2015.
Meyers said all five players returning next season is a positive.
“I look forward to it,” he added. “It’ll be exciting.”
“If we don’t get first at state next year, I’ll be disappointed,” McDonough said. “This was a great learning experience.”
“Just like last year made us hungry to make it to state,” McIntosh said, “our (outcome) would make us all hungry to take that step next year.”
jfierro@thepicayune.com
RESULTS: Clayton Meyers 75-82–157; Tyler McDonough 80-80–160; Chance Craig 79-86–165; Holden Simpson 79-91–170; Jai Bhakta 89-95–184
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