“I’m not playing college, but I’m going to keep playing until I can’t anymore,” Lingleville senior Brody Hurt said of golf after competing in the state tournament at Crystal Falls in Leander April 27 - 28.
Hurt had an all-around successful season, posting a second place finish in an early tournament before taking first at the district tournament in Glen Rose.
Hurt then advanced to Regionals at a ‘very difficult’ course in Mount Pleasant, posting an 84 on his first day.
“On the first day, I was 7 or 8 shots behind going to state,” the LHS senior admitted. “I had it in my mind I wouldn’t qualify.” Hurt focused on just playing well and enjoying the course, but he noticed that state wasn’t out of reach in the back 9.
“On the 12th hole on the second day, I saw I was three shots off the leaderboard,” he recalled.
He posted an 89 on day 2 but with other golfers falling down the ranks, it was enough to get Hurt a ticket to state.
Hurt placed in the top 50 for 1A in state tournament when competing in Leander and said he enjoyed getting to meet the other players who were very nice and skilled in the game. He also enjoyed getting to play at such a “pretty course in the Hill Country” and missing a couple of days at school to do it.
Brody hasn’t always loved golf but when Tori Branch (the owner of the new driving range/course being built near Camel Stop on Hwy. 377) started training his younger brother, he thought he’d give it a try.
“I tried it and realized I could hit the ball kind of far,” he said. “ I started enjoying the game.”
Hurt praised the game as a sport that makes you think through everything.
“I always parallel it to life,” said Hurt. “Golf is a lot like life. You can’t control the breaks and you can’t control the weather, but how you go about it defines the golfer you are.”