The Argyle boys’ and girls’ golf teams made several firsts in school history on April 27-28. For starters, the girls joined the boys for their first state appearance, and siblings Marisa and Lance Roden shared in the special bond of each competing with their respective Eagle teams, but the crowning achievement came with the boys’ first golf state championship on Tuesday.
In spite of the drastic switch from 87 degrees, full sun and 60 percent humidity on Monday to the harsh wind, no sun and 60 degrees temperatures for day two of the tournament, the boys golf team made school history by becoming the first team to win state on April 28.
“The first day, the course played about as easy as you can get,” head boys coach Brady Bell said. “The boys knew going into the second day, the course would be tough. The forecast with the wind being 25 miles an hour was tough. On any course it would be tough, and we knew we had a challenging day ahead of us.”
After the first day the boys were in 1st place by 6 shots over Fredericksburg, led by senior Lance Roden and junior Alex Isakson, who both shot 3 over par (73). Those rounds were followed by junior Tommy Parker’s 76, sophomore Parker Love’s 78, and senior Matt Garnett’s 82, giving the Eagles a first round score of 300.
“With the second day and the wind and cooler temperatures,” Bell said, “and very tough conditions for the final round of the state tournament, the Eagles battled to win their first golf state championship in school history.”
The second round was led by senior Matt Garnett (77), followed by senior Lance Roden and sophomore Parker Love, who each came in with 78, junior Alex Isakson (79) and junior Tommy Parker (83). The Eagles finished the second round with a total of 312 and a tournament total of 612, claiming the state title.
“It’s been a lot of hard work,” Bell said. “This is our fourth year in a row that we’ve come, and the guys that kinda led that the first year have passed down the torch of trying to get our first state championship.”
Hard work finally paid off; however,the ability to perform their best for both the boys and girls was hindered by the relentless power of Mother Nature.
“We’ve played four tournaments in the spring, and four tournaments in the fall, and we’ve practiced everyday,” Roden said. “We’ve done nothing but win tournaments.”
After the team shot one of their worst rounds all year, morale was hurt. The team had to regroup and find a new strategy to attack day two of the state tournament. After repeatedly taking first place at local tournaments, the team knew they had to be able to pull their own weight.
“It was kinda worrisome coming on the back nine and hearing that everyone is four or five over par,” senior Matt Garnett said. “I’m just sitting here thinking that I need to just keep doing what I’m doing as far as I can.”
The five boys that make up the varsity team have put several years of their lives into their golf game, all in the hope of bringing back the first golf state title for Argyle High School. The past three years have been spent making attempts at the state title, finishing second place two of the last three years.
“We’ve all been playing golf for years,” Garnett said. “I played golf since I could basically walk. So, basically the last four years it’s been my only goal. I’m not gonna go play college golf; my only goal has been to win a state championship.”
The weather literally whipped the players through the windy, chilly conditions present during day two of the UIL State Golf Tournament. Fighting through the this, however, was the only way to achieve the state title.
“Second day, the wind was definitely a problem for our team,” Roden said. “We didn’t play very well either round. To come out here and shoot our two worst rounds of the spring, but still win a state championship, is pretty awesome.”
The boys ended on a great note as they took the gold, but the girls made their first show at state this year as well, and they are also looking forward to earning their own hardware someday.
Written by Caleb Miles
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