The preparation paid off for sophomore Anna Cafferty as she made it to the state golf tournament for the second year in a row. Cafferty strove for nothing but greatness and put in the work all year long to improve her game.
“In the offseason, I went to the range or played holes every single day,” Cafferty said.
These habits continued into the season when Anna and her father, Jason Cafferty, rigorously trained for districts. No one has a better understanding of her hard work than her brother, freshman J.T. Cafferty.
“They went to York because that’s where districts were, and that’s a hard course, so they went there every Sunday for three straight weeks,” J.T. said.
Cafferty tried many strategies over the course of the season, including using what she learned from her experiences last year.
“I worked on my putting a lot more than last year,” Cafferty said.
When it came to the post-season tournaments, the competition got challenging, but that didn’t phase Cafferty who found it enjoyable.
“The teams in districts are pretty much even so there’s not one team outscoring everyone else,” Cafferty said.
She qualified for state at districts with a 5th place finish and a score of 89. The state competition took place over two days. After the first round on Monday, Cafferty was tied for 15th – putting her on the bubble for placement. The competitors played another eighteen holes on Tuesday. Cafferty earned a score of 280. This landed her in 16th place, which is one spot from medaling.
Her preparation proved to be most helpful on the pressure-filled two days of state. The conditions for the first day of state were not ideal. The wind and cold can affect golfers a lot, but Cafferty didn’t let this get to her and used her strong mental game to overcome.
“I scrambled really well to recover when I had a bad shot,” Cafferty said. “It was awesome to go to state for the second year in a row. I was pleased with how I did, but always wish I could have done better. One place away from medaling isn’t too bad as a sophomore, I guess,”
Looking forward to next season, the one thing Cafferty wants more than anything is for her team to join her on the state course. This year they were two spots away from qualifying as a team.
“Hopefully the team will improve too so we can all go next year,” Cafferty said.
Despite the disappointing team finish Cafferty always supports her fellow Tiger golfers. She uses her strong mental game to help bring her teammates up when they’re feeling down.
“Anna is really good at supporting people and she’s also good at at telling you when you’re being too much, and when you need to get your head together so you will golf better,” junior Ellie Moncrief said.
One thing is for sure: we can be expecting great things from this Tiger and her team in the future.
