Bobcats storm back in second round to win 2A State title

THERMOPOLIS - 'Grit and Grind' is the slogan for the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies team, but after their 2A State golf tournament performance in Newcastle, the Hot Springs County High School boys golf team could borrow that slogan too.

After the first round, the Bobcats (418) trailed the Kemmerer Rangers (407), 2017's runners-up, by 11 strokes. They were also tied in second place with Tongue River and Wright. But, on the second and final round of the tournament, the Bobcats kept at it and kept grinding and by the end of the round, they shot a 384.

The Bobcats red-hot second round put them ahead of the Rangers by two strokes, giving them their first 2A State title since 2015. For the tournament, the Bobcats shot a 418, 384-802, while Kemmerer shot a 407, 397-804.

"They all just realized that they needed to dig down and make a better score," said HSCHS golf coach Joey Johnson. "They did better the last time they were at that course three weeks earlier. They knew they could do it. They kept their heads down, went to work and did it.

"It was close and I knew it was going to be because the week before Kemmerer was here in Thermop for our home tournament. They beat us by eight strokes and I figured it was going to be between us and them."

Adding to the Bobcats tremendous accomplishment was Hardy Johnson. The freshman cruised to his first individual championship shooting a 79, 77-156 and winning the tournament by 21 strokes. The last Bobcat to win an individual state championship was Hudson Roling's 3A title in 2016.

Leaving the state tournament with a team championship and individual champion capped off an excellent season for Johnson, as a coach and a father. The team responded well to his first season as the Bobcat's coach and he got to see his son, Hardy, bring home a state title.

"It was pretty awesome. I don't know many kids that put in the work and time he has. He'll spend 40 to 60 hours a week working on his golf game. There have been times this year where his golf game has been hard for him because he's grown about five inches since April," said Johnson. "It seemed like, we'll get out there and every other week he's hitting his irons a different distance and the putting is different for him.

"It's been a struggle for him but that's what I'm most proud of. He had a hard couple of days and he held on and still won by 21 strokes. He doesn't give up and that's what I really like, not just because he's my son, but I like that trait in a person."

The week leading up to the state tournament the Bobcats worked on chipping from tough lies and other weak points of their game. The big focus was to just to find ways to shave a stroke on every hole.

"The week before I asked them what they felt like they needed to work on individually or what part of the game was bothering them. Instead of having everyone working on chipping and putting, I know Harvey needed to work on his long irons and he spent a lot of time working on them. A lot of the kids needed to work on their chipping so we spent time on the greens and making sure they were playing from harder lies. We did that for three days and I really feel like that helped them a lot," said Johnson.

It's clear the practice plan heading into state worked, the Bobcats improved by 34 strokes from round one to round two. A big part of that improvement was due to the Clark brothers, Jeffrey and Will. Jeffery Clark shot a 108, 93-201, a 15 stroke improvement from Day 1 to Day 2. And Will Clark went 108, 99-207, his 99 was a tournament-best round, which he set the day before when he shot a 108.

"Jeffery improved 15 strokes and his little brother Will shot his tournament-best 108 on the first day. Then he followed that up with another tournament best 99 on the second day. I saw a huge improvement from Will. He'd been averaging 115 to 118 and that was really fun for him. I kept telling him that he could do it and he finally did. All of those kids are capable and if we can get some work in during the spring and summer I really believe they can all shoot in the 80s and 90s," said Johnson.

Not to be outdone, Thermopolis' lone girl golfer, sophomore Maddie Stam went 120, 121-241 to finish ninth earning her All-State honors for finishing in the top 10. Stam and Johnson were the only Thermopolis golfers to earn All-State selections.

"She's started out in the 130s and now we've got her in the 108 to 115 range. Things were a little tougher at state, but it was tougher for everyone at state. The course had dried up a little bit and things were rolling a lot faster. Her consistency has been really good and I was really happy to see her get in the top 10 and get that All-State certificate. She's just going to keep getting better and better," said Johnson.

The 2018 season started with modest expectations for the Thermopolis golfers and by the end of the season their hard work and determination paid off with hardware and postseason accolades.

Next season the Bobcats and Stam won't be able to sneak up on teams as they'll have the targets on their backs. It'll be important to get in the necessary offseason work in order to stay on top and Johnson believes this group will do just that.

"We'll do some work on spring golf and we'll have a few tournaments through the Wyoming Junior Golf Association, at least the ones in our area. We don't hold summer practices but if kids want to go to a tournament I'll gladly take them. There's also the University of Wyoming golf camp in the summer, I think that would be a big help to them," said Johnson.