Bobcat Golf Team off to a great start at first tourney in Cody

The Bobcat Golf Team started their fall season under new coach Joey Johnson last weekend with a two-day tournament in Cody and Powell.

According to Johnson, this is the first of six meets the Cats will have this fall and while they placed 10th, they were up against schools like Natrona County, Kelly Walsh, Sheridan, Gillette and several other schools much larger than we are. There was only one other 2A school at the tournament.

On day one in Cody, Hardy Johnson left the turf tied for first place with a 71.

He was followed by Will Clark with a 115, Kyle Roessing with 119, Jeffry Clark with 123 and Lee Grimm with a 132.

Day two, in Powell, showed some good scores, too, with Johnson putting in a fourth place finish with 75, Jeffry Clark shot a 103 followed by Will Clark at 118, and Roessing and Grimm tied at 123.

Our lone Lady Cat golfer, Maddie Stam, shot a 118 on day one and a 120 on day two.

Jean Luc Willson also played in the JV Division. This is his first year in golf and he has made vast improvement from the summer tournament he played in Thermopolis, and has improved another 15 strokes since then. He put up the same score both days of tournament play and has been very consistent.

“Jean-Luc has great work ethic and I expect him to keep improving this season,” Coach Johnson said. “I think he will be a real asset to our team.”

Stam also put in practice this summer and played in a couple of tournaments. She has been consistently getting better with each tournament and has improved her scores from the summer by over 20 strokes.

“Maddie (Stam) is a super hard worker and she is always up at the golf course putting in extra time on her game.” Johnson said. “She has scored her personal best this summer and I expect to see her just keep on improving.”

Jeffry Clark is a returning member of the team and is one of the hardest workers on the course.

“I continually found Jeffry (Clark) up at the course practicing this summer,” Johnson said, “and he exhibits a very good work ethic.”

Although his score did not reflect the hard work he puts in to the game in Cody, he was determined to post a better score on Friday in Powell and did just that, improving by 20 strokes on the second day.

“I would expect to see Jeffry’s scores to keep improving over the season and look forward to what he has to offer this year at the State Tournament in Newcastle,” said Johnson.

Will Clark is one of four incoming freshmen on the team and is extremely consistent in his scoring according to Johnson.

“He keeps making strides in his putting and chipping and has worked extremely hard on his game this summer,” he said. “I think once he works out some of his nervousness during the tournaments he will just keep getting consistently better on the course. He is very conscientious of his game and he has the desire and determination to keep getting better.”

Kyle Roessing is in his second year as a Bobcat Golfer.

“I have not had the chance to work with Kyle (Roessing) much over the summer season,” Johnson said, “but I see a lot of potential in his golf game. He is committed to getting better on the course and his scores have improved from what he posted last spring during the season. I believe that Kyle will really start improving this season and I’m excited to see what he will do come State.”

Another incoming freshman, Lee Grimm, played spring golf as an 8th grader and he has made some improvements in scoring.

“His scores are considerably better than they were this spring and he made a nine stroke improvement in his tournament play this past week which is pretty impressive,” Coach Johnson said. “I expect Lee will keep improving over the season and I look forward to seeing how his game progresses.”

Hardy Johnson is also an incoming freshman this year and was tied for first on day one in Cody with a score of 1 under 71, and was fourth overall after scoring a 75 on day two.

“Hardy’s ball striking was excellent both days of tournament play,” Johnson said. “He’s in a bit of a slump with his putting right now and he is working hard to get it back to speed. He indicated that he left a lot of birdie opportunities from the 5-10 ft. range get by without converting them.

“The season is early though and with his work ethic, I’m sure he will post several under par scores this season.”

The team will get a chance to play in Newcastle in a few weeks, and Johnson said that will be their first opportunity to see what the team is up against. They will then have just three weeks to improve their games before heading back to Newcastle for the 2A Championships Sept. 14-15.

“I am excited to have the opportunity to coach these great young men and women, and look forward to see what happens at State in a few weeks,” Coach Johnson said.