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SPORTS
Teigan Avery practices at Northern Pines Golf Club. GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON
PCONTINUED FROM BACK PAGE
LAYING GOLF WITH TEIGAN Avery can shed light on how the Kalispell teenager developed into
one of Montana’s great junior golfers. Before each shot, she quietly reads the blades of grass beneath her ball, examin- ing which direction they are pointing. Pre- paring her swing, she factors in the ele- ments around her and within, including her natural draw. And after the ball soars toward the pin, regardless of the outcome she likes to tell a joke or sing a song in her
head or chat with her opponents.
This disciplined approach and hap- py-go-lucky demeanor are among the contrasting yet defining characteristics that make Avery a unique athlete with a
remarkable legacy firmly intact.
A senior at Glacier High School, she tees off at her final Class AA state tourna- ment in Helena this week. Avery will try to win her third individual state champi- onship, a rare feat only 10 other girls have accomplished in state history, according to the Montana High School Association
record books.
Avery is leading a talented Glacier
girls squad into the state tournament at Bill Roberts Golf Course Oct. 1-2.
In the weeks leading up to the season finale, Avery’s mental and physical gifts were on full display. At the two-day Kalis- pell Invitational two weeks ago, she was a wire-to-wire winner, carding her best score all season — a 2-under 70 at North- ern Pines Golf Club — and finishing with
a 73 on Friday at Buffalo Hill Golf Club to win by 12 strokes.
Avery’s longtime friend and talented opponent, Whitefish senior Coral Schulz, placed second with 75-80— 155. Schulz will try to defend her Class A champion- ship at the state meet in Sidney, Oct. 2-3.
The two girls have known each other since they were talented 10-year-olds succeeding in junior tournaments across the region. Now they are considered two of the best in Montana.
“It’s been awesome having someone that is close to me who I can compete against and we go back and forth,” Schulz said.
“It’s so much fun. I’ve learned a lot from (Avery). She is just super consistent. I try to play smart like she does. And she is one of the nicest people I’ve met and super funny.”
This Zen-like approach is the latest skill that Avery has fine-tuned on the course.
As recently as this summer, she was struggling with the mental side of golf, which is about 90 percent of the game, as the old saying goes. The pressure of suc- cess can weigh heavily sometimes, espe- cially when expectations build up.
And then right when her final high school season started in August she was diagnosed with mononucleosis, a virus that causes fatigue and lingers for months.
At a tournament at Old Works in Ana- conda, Avery shot a 10 on a par 5.
“It probably would’ve been a 13 if there wasn’t a 10-stroke rule,” she said.
It was her worst score in a golf round since she was a freshman. She finished the day with an 81, well out of first place.
Oftentimes, that’s when a player spi- rals out of control. But that’s when it clicked for Avery.
“I’ve read all the books about the men- tal game and they all pretty much say the same thing — you have to be focused over the shot but afterward you just have to accept it,” she said. “For me, if I stay angry, it turns into another bad shot and then another bad shot. I just have to let it go and accept it.”
The next day, Avery fired a 72 and won the tournament by seven strokes.
“I’ve really turned a corner these last few weeks and realized that what hap- pens, happens,” she said.
Advanced wisdom for any golfer, let alone a teenager.
Since she first picked up a set of clubs at age 9 and quickly began outshooting opponents both young and old, Avery has dominated the game in remarkable fashion.
At 12, she stunned the talented field of adults and won the Labor Day Golf Tour- nament at the Buffalo Hill Golf Club.
“I remember reading about her win- ning the tournament and thinking, ‘Wow. This kid must be really good,’” said Alice Ritzman, a Kalispell native who played on the LPGA Tour for 20 years and helped instruct Avery in recent years.
“She has figured out how to play all positions in the game pretty well.”
At 13, she achieved two of the game’s
hardest tasks in a matter of months, hitting the ball into the hole from 200 yards out on her second shot on a par 5 for an alba- tross and then nailing a hole-in-one from 125 yards after blading her pitching wedge.
At 14, she shot under par for the first time, carding 71 at Eagle Bend.
At 16, she won her first of two Class AA state championships with a record-set- ting performance, 72-73—145, breaking the all-time low score for AA.
The last two summers she has com- peted at the Big I National Championship Tournament against the best junior golf- ers in the U.S.
All of this while maintaining a 4.0 GPA and participation in several organi- zations and activities, including being a state officer in DECA, a student leader- ship group.
Her college plans are already settled — she plans to attend the University of Mon- tana on a golf scholarship. Her education goals are also set in front of her — attend law school someday and study to be a for- eign diplomat or judge.
Approaching the final rounds of her high school career, Avery is comfortable on the course, training with a distinct smile and disciplined nature.
“I have nothing left to prove to any- one,” she said. “I just want to shoot a good score for myself, and do as well as I know I can do. Even if that’s not enough and someone else has a great round, then they won it. I just want to do as well as I can do.”
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SEPTEMBER 30, 2015 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
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