Two years ago, I was walking down the first fairway at Fox Den watching one of the most thrilling high school golf playoffs of all time. But at the same time, it was one of the most difficult things to watch. Four players were playing for three spots into the District Tournament. There were three seniors, and three of the four players were from the same school. Two of them were sisters. It was going to be heartbreaking for someone. The coach with three players was in a brutal situation to begin with, and that’s before I mention that the two sisters on the same team were also his daughters. In the end, the three seniors ended up taking the qualifying spots, and the sophomore sister missed out on going to Districts. The happy ending is that her team made it to Districts, and nearly States, last year when she was a junior and made another run to Districts this season. But I really felt for that coach in that situation.

I found myself in a similar position yesterday. My team played well and I knew there was a chance we would make it out. We waited a really long time. As scores came in, we began to realize that we weren’t going to get the fourth spot to go to States, but we also started to see that Elena, our number one player, had a chance as an individual. She played a quality round of golf and ended up with a score of 78. So the attention turned to the individual scores. When all the dust cleared, Elena found herself in a playoff, and we were really excited for her to have the chance to move on.

The hard part was when we found out who Elena’s opponent in the playoff was going to be: Polly. One of the things I have learned about high school girls golf over the years is how close of friends players and teams become. I remember watching Polly play when she was in 8th grade and I have seen her develop into one of the top players in the area over the last four years. Our team always loves playing with and against Nordonia. Polly, her coach Greg Harris, and her family have become pretty close with our team. She had played the best round of her career and tied Elena. Either Elena or Polly was going to go to State. But not both.

I obviously was rooting for Elena with all my resolve. I’ve seen her put in the work, from the sixth grader who swung so hard she literally left the ground during her downswing, to the freshman who helped our team go to States in 2023, to the senior who had one last goal and she was right on the precipice. She deserved it. I was convinced of that. But in the back of my mind, I knew that it was going to be very difficult emotionally for everyone involved.

After what seemed like three weeks, but was only an hour or so, the playoff commenced on the first hole at Tanglewood. Elena and Polly drew cards, which determined Elena would tee off first. She stepped to the tee and hit her signature low draw right into the middle of the fairway. Polly waited for an oblivious patron in a golf cart to speed right through the teeing area and hit a majestic drive right behind Elena’s ball. Polly got to her ball, consulted with Coach Harris, and hit an iron to about 12 feet. A spectacular golf shot. I kept my distance, knowing Elena likes to play very independently. She was 89 yards out and took out a wedge. She put the ball up in the air and for a split second I didn’t like the ball flight. But then it leveled out and straightened out. It was tracking. I ran up a hill to get a better view. The ball hit, stuck, spun, and ended up about three feet directly behind the flagstick. It was one of the most clutch shots I’ve witnessed in my coaching career. Polly had a good look at birdie but left her putt just a little on the low side of the hole. She made a really good par. Elena got over the ball. My heart stopped beating. She calmly drained the short putt. There wasn’t a huge fanfare, nobody stormed the green, nobody shouted. But Elena had made it. I was so proud of her.

It’s crazy how two completely opposite emotions can both dominate you at the same time. I was elated for Elena but devastated for Polly. It made me think back to the playoff I witnessed two years ago. Ironically, that coach was there watching just as I had been for his. I always empathized with him, but fully felt it now. I don’t know what the moral of the story is, but I do know that golf is a sport that can bring out a ton of emotion, and a lot of the time it needs to be internalized. That’s why I believe it is the sport that truly epitomizes and best represents life as a whole. Yesterday was a great experience and I was super proud of my team: Elena, Rachel, Molly, Elizabeth, and Mya. There was some excellent golf that I got to witness from our girls and the rest of the field. And it truly reminded me of why I do this and rekindled the passion I have for coaching and covering this wonderful game.

I wanted to offer a huge congratulations to the following teams from the Division 1 District Tournament. First, Magnificat, possibly the best team in the state of Ohio, for easily winning the tournament. We will see if they can bring home the title in a few short days. Walsh Jesuit played excellent and captured the runner up finish. We played with Canfield and they were locked in throughout the day. They ended up in third place. Finally, another great round from Hoover, who took the final team spot. Orange played great and missed out by a couple strokes, and we finished right behind them. Individuals qualifying were Ellie Gonzalez-Ribble from Brunswick, Anuja Patel from Orange, Saijal Jawa from Hathaway Brown, and Elena Varga from Hudson.

In Division 2, Southeast had a memorable day with a great score of 338 to win at Good Park. They will be joined by Chagrin Falls and Keystone. Individuals going to Firestone will be Avery Robinette from Champion, Olivia Norris from Lakeview, and Savannah Turek from Mineral Ridge, who won in a playoff of her own. I hope it was as exciting as the one I witnessed, but I can’t speak to that one.

District Results can also be seen on this page and on Baumspage.

Best of luck to all of our qualifying teams and individuals!