Leland girls golf is swinging to have one of the best seasons in school history as the Comets hit the home stretch of the regular season before regionals.
The Comets battled Manistee in a home match as of press time Wednesday.
Leland has played in five 18-hole invitationals throughout the season placing second three times, fifth and seventh. The TC West Invite at Crystal Lake Golf Course was Leland’s best finish at second place overall, just two shots from first.
Comet senior Elyse Atha took first out of 45 golfers, shooting an impressive 95.
“When I see myself up there, I remind myself to keep doing what you’re doing. Everything happens for a reason and it’ll be whatever it’s meant to be,” Atha said. “I can’t change my score and make it better, so I just have to focus and stay in the game.”
Leland golfers Hannah Hamlin, Alyssa Korson, and Ariah Amin all finished in the top 20 of the TC West Invite.
Some of the favorite moments for the young women include spending time with their teammates. Atha’s favorite moment so far this season is getting mac and cheese with the girls after a tournament in Elk Rapids.
“It’s nice to make new connections and then you see each other in the halls and you build those friendships,” she said. “The same thing happens for everyone else. We rush and it doesn’t help anybody. The team is focused by just doing their best. It’s going to make us thrive and not worry about scores.”
At the Grayling Invitational earlier this month, Leland finished fifth as Atha, Emerie Burda, Amin all placed in top 20.
“Coaches and Teammates have helped me work on my swing and I feel like that’s helped me gain confidence enough to play in these matches,” Amin said.
Amin is in her second year which has brought consistency to her game.
“Some of my favorite moments are having our exchange student, Yaya, here. It’s really fun to get to know her and I feel like that’s helped bond our team together,” She said.
Leland split two home matches with one win and one loss.
In the win, the newer golfers were all able to complete in their first nine-hole match with all scores below 59, which is impressive for newer golfers.
Leland sophomore Lily Connor is in her first year of golf and after a late start she is finding her stroke on the course thanks to coaches and teammate support.
“I did start a week late, but with the help of my coaches and the amazing team we have and support from everyone, on my first practice I was able to hit a ball, which was just amazing. I’m figuring out the distance and how to hit. It was a little challenging but with the help of my team and everything I got, I was able to do that,” Connor said. “I am focusing on getting better, just being able to hit my clubs better.”
Connor confirmed she would love to play next year.
The Comets had several matches where they were competing against six players compared to only four Comets. Now, they are fielding a team of five consistently.
Leland senior Hannah Hamlin has also had an impressive season so far.
“I like hanging out with the team. That’s my favorite thing… just getting to know everybody, and my coaches are great. It sounds like they told me to say that, but they didn’t,” Hamlin said.
Leland coach Grace Keeble started with 12 golfers and she wants to finish with 12, which represents the biggest team in recent memory.
“We have two weeks left, but that just means we’ve got two weeks of hard work to put together … My goal for these girls is feeling more comfortable in a match situation. They’re all going to be playing in two matches this week, which will be great for all of them,” Keeble said. “ Our goal right now is trying to support one another and let the bad shots go and move forward and stay as a unit and cheer one another on … you gotta dig deep, it’s time as a team we’ve gotta pull together.”
The Comets thrived at a small school event earlier this month, conquering the 5500-yard course at the Belveder Club in Charlevoix.
“Even though these courses are hard and challenging, it’s fun to watch the light bulb or the excitement in them of go,” Keeble said.
