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Niceville girls, Fort Walton Beach boys tee off at state tournament
“Everything just felt wrong when I was trying to swing a golf club,” Jordan recalled. “It was like it was all new.”
Jordan is now a seasoned veteran when it comes to the state tournament. Today will mark her fourth appearance and, as the only upperclassman on the Eagles, it’s been her job to try to relay the magnitude of the situation to her younger teammates while also making sure to calm the nerves that once overwhelmed her.
Sophomore Rebekah Pruett also played last year at state for Niceville, but sophomore Ivey Kelley was an alternate and freshmen Kayla Bloor and Rachel Butterfield will be making their first trips. Jordan said one of the biggest keys for each Eagle is to avoid studying the leader board, noting that the individual tourney leader will likely post an intimidating score but the thing to remember is the team result.
“It’s definitely a different level of golf,” Jordan said. “They can’t let (low scores by other golfers) get to them. They have to play their own game.
“I don’t want anyone to come out of the first day surprised.”
Class 2A Niceville will be making its 12th straight appearance at the two-day state tournament today when the Eagles tee off at Ocala Golf Club in Ocala facing a par-72, 5,329-yard course.
Also teeing off in Ocala today will be the Class 2A Fort Walton Beach boys, who will look to make an impression at the The Country Club at Silver Springs Shores on a par-72, 6,706-yard course.
“I think they’re enthusiastic and excited about going out and playing,” Fort Walton Beach coach John Lavin said. “ … We’re playing as well as we have all year. Our seniors are not just happy to be here; they want to take it a little further.”
Those seniors are Region 1-2A medalist Brett Ochsenreiter, Kyle Andre, Duncan Conroy and Andrew Snyder. Joining them is freshman Davis Bowyer.
While no current player from Fort Walton Beach has ever been to state, that doesn’t mean expectations are minimal. The Vikings were just three shots shy of capturing the regional championship and have been on a postseason tear.
“We’ve been playing well and to win would be great, but we’ve talked about it and with a top-five finish we’d be as happy as can be,” Andre said.
After the team’s practice round on Monday, Lavin said The Country Club at Silver Springs Shores’ course didn’t have many danger zones and certainly nothing that caught the Vikings off guard. Andre added that he believes the course will favor teams with good short games, which Fort Walton Beach does possess.
“We peaked at the right day,” Andre said, referring to regionals, “and hopefully that peak can go up.”
Niceville coach Mitch Inness believes the girls tournament is fairly wide open. He thinks a realistic score per day for the Eagles would be 320 or 80 apiece, which likely would put them in the top five and in the running for a state title.
“I’m going in with the attitude that anything can happen,” Inness said. “If we can catch lightning in a bottle, the next thing you know we can be at the top of the leader board.”
