Photo by Daniel Mohrmann
With one of the more daunting tee shots ahead of him, Davis Mack just tried to keep every bad thought out of his head.
It wasn’t necessarily working. Mack later said he had no desire to share the nightmare scenarios flashing through his mind before he swung his driver and blasted his ball off the 14th tee box and toward the green.
He got his ball up and down for one of his two birdies on the day, but that specific hole was a testament to his ability and what he hopes to show off at the Class 3A boys golf tournament.
Mack shot a 6-over-par 78 to finish fourth at the 3A Region 2 tournament at Murphy Creek in Aurora, earning him a state berth for the second consecutive year.
Making state again was one of Mack’s goals heading into the season and, as qualifying began to sink in, he started to realize that he had spent most of the season accomplishing a lot of goals on his list.
“The first tournament came and I shot 89, then just told myself to get under 89,” he said. “The second tournament I shot 86 and from there are on out I just kept telling myself to go lower with every round.”
He also wanted to win a Tri-Peaks League tournament, something he did Sept. 17 when he bested the league field at Hollydot Golf Course in Colorado City.
That win led him to a second-place overall finish in the Tri-Peaks league standings. Then it was on to regionals, where a trip to state was just one round away.
“Going in, I just wanted to qualify,” Mack said. “I didn’t care about top five but I’m glad I could get under top five and I’m glad I could shoot under 80.”
He wants to better his standing from last year’s state tournament at Dos Rios in Gunnison. He shot 98 the first day and 94 the second.
With a more polished game a year later, his goal is centered on getting closer to the top of the leaderboard.