The Tioga Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs golf teams found the dance floor, with a member of both teams taking first place at the 2A Region 2 District 13 Golf Tournament on April 1.
The Bulldogs finished fourth out of 11 teams, while the Lady Bulldogs were represented by three individual golfers on the Gainesville Municipal Golf Course.
“The boys placed fourth as a team, and we have a few kids that had never swung a golf club until this year, so I was pleased with how they played,” Tioga head golf coach Ragan Smith said. “Overall, the kids found out that golf is a good game. It’s fun, and they have even started to play it on their own time, so I think when they come back next year they’ll fill in a few gaps, and we’ll have an even better showing.”
The Bulldogs were represented at the event by Zander Zafar, Kyson Kirkland, Grayson Hurst, Nathan King and Hudson Vining, with Zafar leading the way as the team’s top performer.
Zafar finished the oneday tournament one over par with a score of 72, taking first place at the event.
“I finished second last year, and this year I just tried to play a lot smarter, hit the fairway and hit the greens,” he said. “I’ve made regionals all four years that I’ve played, and it makes me want to work harder every year, and hopefully I’ll play well there and go back to State.” On the girls side of the event, the Lady Bulldogs fielded three individual golfers—Emerson Moore, Timber Johnson and Chloe Lange—with Moore finishing as the trio’s top performer.
Moore took first place in the tournament, with a score of 82.
“Last year I shot an 89 and this year I shot an 82, and I feel like the difference was I had more confi dence in my hitting and more control of the ball than last year,” she said. “… I’m hoping I can do well at Regionals so I can go to State for the first time. Winning district was great, but I hope I can play even better and get my score into the 70s.”
Smith said that Zafar and Moore plan to play a practice round at the site of the regional tournament this weekend to prepare for the challenges they could face during the competition.
“The biggest thing for them is getting knowledge of the course and getting comfortable,” she said. “… Old Brickyard is a hard course. It has lots of hills, big water [hazards] and lots of dense trees, so we want to make sure that we know the best places for their style of play and where to hit the ball.”
Zafar and Moore are scheduled to compete in the 2A Region 2 Regional Golf Tournament hosted at the Old Brickyard Golf Course in Ferris next week, with the boys competing Monday and Tuesday and the girls competing Wednesday and Thursday.
