Clifford punches his ticket to state golf tournament

If there is any athlete in the Manitou Springs High School building that can handle the mental rigors of qualifying for state golf, it might just be the one who qualified for state golf.

Jack Clifford saw Common Ground Golf Course for the first time on Oct. 21 and shot an 11-over-par 82 to punch his ticket to the Class 3A state tournament at Pinehurst Country Club in Denver. Perhaps the most impressive part of his round is that he was 5-over through four holes and didn’t let himself get discouraged.

“He doesn’t punish himself over bad shots,” coach Ken Vecchio said. “Walking off the No. 1 green he made double-bogey and just said that he’d bounce back from that and that’s exactly what he did.”

Clifford shot 44 on the front nine before making the turn and playing the back in just 3-over. He finished in a tie for 12th.

The state field takes the top two teams from each region along with the 13 top individuals who aren’t on one of those teams. Clifford was safely inside the cutline.

Now he has the task of taking on Pinehurst, another course he has never played, and trying to replicate that effort.

“We’ll go over what to expect up there,” Vecchio said.

“I’ve been to that course before and he’s going to play (in a practice round) on Sunday, so we’ll get a chance to look at the holes and get an idea of where to hit it. But I don’t think it’s always bad to just tee it up and let it go.”

Clifford will compete at the 3A state tournament on Oct. 3 and 4 at Pinehurst Country Club.