Based on the results of the season’s first Tri-Peaks tournament, the Manitou Springs girls golf team will be competitive this season.
Three Mustangs finished in the top 10 of the individual leaderboard and Manitou finished second as a team at Hollydot Golf Course on April 13.
Tyler Parratt was the best finisher on the team, shooting a 21-over-par 92 to finish in a tie for second. Right behind her, freshman Madison Sharon finished with a 101. Anna Apotheker shot 115 to crack the top 10.
It was a welcome result for the Mustangs as they’ve been working to lower their scores across the board.
“They’ve shown some improvement,” coach Ken Vecchio said. “Some of them are trying to do some individual stuff to get a little better. A couple of them told me they went out and played some golf on Sunday. They’re putting in some time outside of practice.”
Parratt finishing where she did wasn’t as much of a surprise. Sharon working her way into the top five was unexpected, in her mind, and she didn’t even realize where her score put her for a few days.
“I had no idea,” she said. “My whole mindset is to go out there, try my best and have fun. My goal is to get into the 90s by the end of the year. I’ve never shot in the 90s and it’s really encouraging to hit a better score.”
The girls will keep working to take strokes off their round as they approach the next league tournament on May 3 in La Junta. The key to making improvements isn’t necessarily what they’re doing off the tee or on their approach to the green, but rather their work around and on the greens.
“What they’re figuring out is that chipping and putting is where the strokes will start falling off,” Vecchio said. “You can drop 10 shots off your round if you’re chipping and putting pretty good.”
As the weather warms up, golf course conditions will improve, which will make chipping and putting much more important. They got a taste of warm golf weather on April 20 at the Pueblo East Invite at Walking Stick, but results were not available at press time.