Mental stress and pressure.
That’s what the state golf competition in Illinois can be, but senior Hayley Guyton didn’t let that stress or pressure get to her.
Guyton hit the course the past two years at state, finishing second last year and ended her golf career at Kaneland with an eighth place finish this year.
“I learned that golf is a mental game and both of the tournaments gave me a lot of confidence,” she said.
With the confidence that she gained after finishing second in the state last year, Guyton led the team in scoring average with a 76.6 and qualified for state again this season.
Guyton said she went into the competition with a lot of confidence from last year’s performance, and that motivated her.
“I was just trying to beat last year and remembering how I finished second last year and how amazing that felt,” she said.
Although Guyton would have liked to take first, she said she is not disappointed in her back-to-back top-10 finishes.
“I mean, I don’t know, it put pressure on me. If I did win state, it would’ve been amazing,” she said.
Guyton was one of the senior captains of the team this season.
“Obviously, her low scores helped the team the most, but also, her strong practice routine set an example for the rest of the team,” Coach Mark Meyer said.
Guyton made an effort to make the people around her better, too.
People also watched her play and tried to do some to pick up on some things that would make them better golfers themselves said junior Zach Douglas. He also said that she taught him and others things.
“You don’t need to hit the ball far as everyone else and to just play your own game,” Douglas said.
Douglas also said that she made golfers she was playing with do well and that she raised the standard.
With Guyton’s high school career all wrapped up, she knows that it’s time to look toward the future.
She plans on bringing her golf game to the college level. She said she is currently considering Illinois State, Loyola, Minnesota and UIC.