Lady Titan golfer Haley Hughes ended her senior golf season by competing at the State tournament, an achievement she aspired to all year. She entered the tournament with confidence, ready to play her best against the top golfers in the state.
“Going into the tournament, I was honestly not stressed,” Hughes said. “I knew my game was great, so I just wanted to have a relaxed tournament. I was just glad I made it to State.”
On the tournament’s first day, Hughes shot an 83, 11 strokes over par. This score put her in a tie for 38th place out of 111 players.
According to Hughes, one of the biggest challenges of the tournament was playing with such talented golfers.
“One of the challenges was the people I had to play with,” Hughes said. “The top 50 girls all had the same type of skill, so it was just who had the best focus. I overcame it by just telling myself it was a normal match, just for fun.”
On the second day, Hughes improved her score from the first day, shooting an 82, ten strokes over par. This boosted her score, and she finished the tournament tied 34th.
Another challenge Hughes faced was the course itself. With sand traps making a few shots tricky, she had to plan carefully to avoid those bunkers.
“There were lots of sand traps, to avoid it I honestly just switched up clubs to make sure I covered the bunker,” Hughes said.
According to Hughes, her ability to stay calm and adjust her game during the tournament helped her finish strong. She reflected on her experience with pride, knowing that reaching the State tournament was a big achievement.
Coach Kristen Harpenau praised Hughes’s strong mental game, sharing how she helped Hughes manage the mental side of competing at such a high level.
“Haley has a very strong mental game to begin with,” Harpenau said. “However, every golfer sometimes needs to be reminded to step back and analyze each shot. Each shot is a new opportunity to play it better than the last, so it is essential to keep that in mind and not get down on yourself or get frustrated. Like I said, Haley has a wonderful mental game and can go from hitting a not-so-great shot to birding the hole on the next.”
Harpenau was proud of Hughes and wanted her to enjoy the State rounds and have fun.
“I told her to play her game and not worry about other girls’ scores,” Harpenau said. “I told her to enjoy the State rounds and have fun. We were proud of her no matter what the outcome of the tournament was. She played very well and seemed to enjoy her time at State.”
