Worland golf looks to carry momentum from conference into state tournament

WORLAND - The 3A East Conference golf tournament was the site for Worland High School's best showing of the season. Both the Warriors and Lady Warriors had strong performances and look to carry that into the 3A State tournament today and tomorrow.

The Warriors as a team placed second shooting a 684 for the tournament and were 11 strokes shy from conference champion, the Douglas Bearcats.

"At the end of the round, as they watched the board, you could see by the look on their faces that they realized they were three strokes per player over 36 holes away from being conference champions. They were internalizing that thought, and trying to find out where they could make up those strokes," said WHS golf coach Chad Rose.

While the Lady Warriors finished third, with a 618, behind Buffalo 589, and conference champions Torrington 588. The Lady Warriors did shoot 297 on the first day of the tournament their first sub-300 score since the state tournament in 2012.

Individually, Worland had two golfers finish as runner-up, Lady Warrior senior Katelin Scheuerman shot an 84, 91-175 to finish second, and Warrior sophomore Logan Foote shot an 81, 80 – 161, both personal records, to edge out Torrington's Jordan Malm for second, who shot a 162.

"Katelin has been working very hard on keeping her swing plane inside her shoulder line. She made a lot of progress this weekend. Truthfully her short game is her strength, and she made a lot of fours this weekend. Logan drove the ball incredibly well. He may be the longest and straightest off the tee in the conference. That allows him to hit a shorter iron into the greens, or even put the driver away and make a smarter choice off the tee. He had enough birdies to balance out any rough holes, and shot two rounds that were his PR [personal record]," said Rose about Scheuerman and Foote.

Today Worland competes in the 3A State golf tournament in Douglas at the Douglas Community Golf Club.

"Wind, wind, wind, and lots of short holes made tight with in-course out of bounds. Driving will be a premium, and being able to scramble with your wedge and putter will also be crucial," said Rose about the challenges the Douglas course will offer.

Scheuerman will be among the contenders for a 3A state championship after finishing as runner-up in 2016. As she competes in her final state tournament Rose listed a few keys to success for her over the next few days.

"Maintenance and confidence. We are trying to maintain her golf swing so that she can play her best, but also trying to remain in a state of mind where shooting an 84 is commonplace, and nothing to get excited about," said Rose.

After placing second at conference the Warriors will be eager to challenge for a state championship. There will be plenty of talented teams in the way but Lander will be among the toughest as they shot a 641 during the 3A West Conference tourney.

For the Warriors to keep pace with the Tigers their game will have to be sharp especially with the weather forecasted to be unpleasant.

"We need the weather to bring the 72-78 rounds of LVHS down to something we can catch, like 82s. We believe that if the score is around 330 per day, we have a chance," said Rose.

Originally the 3A State tournament was to take place on the Friday and Saturday but was moved up to today and Friday due to weather.