Prep Golf: Trophy Time
Anyone who has played the game of golf knows that a tournament or event can't be won on the first day.
It can however, be lost.
The Eldorado High School girls' golf team wasn't going to let that happen.
Not this year.
Eldorado has been at Red Tail Run Golf Course before, but not with the return on investment they had been hoping for.
Two years ago, the Eagles placed fifth. Last year, fourth.
"The girls talked about how this year, they weren't going up there and coming back empty handed," EHS head coach Greg Goodley said.
Eldorado, indeed did not come back empty handed and to boot, what they did come back with requires two hands.
The Eldorado High School girls' golf team finished second overall at the IHSA Class A State Tournament over the weekend, shooting a 677, three strokes off the lead set by Belleville Althoff, who finished first with a 674.
Eldorado sat in first place after Day 1 at +53, two strokes better than Rochester who sat in second place and seven strokes better than Althoff who was in third place at +59.
It wasn't until dinner time at Olive Garden Friday night that the girls learned of their standing.
"We were eating and watching the scores, while we were waiting for our food the girls found out we were in first place," Goodley said. "When they found out they were leading, they pumped up. Not one face, did I see, look like they were afraid. In unison, it was, 'lets go out there and keep being aggressive and shoot a better score,'" Goodley said. "It was awesome to see as a coach because you can be leary of what you tell them. They come out and shoot 11 strokes better so they definitely didn't fold. They came out and gave themselves a chance. They gave themselves a chance, you can't complain.
Goodley's two daughters and twin sisters Taylor and Ashton, end their high school careers with thee times All-State honors as they will continue their playing careers at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tenn., next fall.
This season, Taylor finished third overall, shooting a two-day total of 152, while Ashton was seventh with a 156.
"To me, finishing second is the icing on the cake," Taylor Goodley said. "Everything we accomplished this year has been a goal of ours since freshman year. We started out as young freshmen with a dream that seemed impossible and we finished as seniors with four conference trophies, a regional championships and a runner-up at state."
Taylor shot a pair of 76's on back-to-back days, finishing with a 39-37 on Saturday and shooting 38-38 on Friday.
Ashton shot a 38-43 on Friday and rebounded with a 37-38 on Saturday.
"Winning second at state was a great way to end my senior year," Ashton Goodley said. "We have accomplished more than I could ever dream of. First at regionals and runner up at state, I couldn't be more proud of my team."
As not only a father, but golf coach, Goodley took pride in watching his daughters one last time, adding that it was fun to watch with the two in their "game mode."
"In their mind they knew they had to shoot a low number and to handle the pressure pretty good and go out and play well, take care of business says a lot about their character," Goodley said. "Taylor and Ashton had separate days. The first day, Taylor was pretty spot on and didn't get some putts to fall, but played solid. The second day, she had some balls in the rough and was able to scramble around for her to be able to do that and post two 76's, that's pretty impressive.
She just kept herself in the match and she knew what was going on. She didn't get uptight, she just went up and played the next shot. I think that attitude really helped out. Ashton shoots 81 the first day and gets some of the worst bounces/breaks you have ever seen and then comes out the second day, makes birdies, covers some of her bogeys with birdies and played solid."
Taylor Aldridge finished in the Top-50 in the field, shooting a 179 with a 48-46 94 on Friday and finishing with the lowest 18-hole round of her career with a 43-42 85 on Saturday.
"It's an amazing feeling," Aldridge said afterwards. "We've worked so hard for so long and we finally got to show the state of Illinois what we are made of. I love my team so much and I couldn't have asked for a better senior season."
Jacqlyn Artman, as junior and one of three that could return next year, finished with a 190, shooting a 42-48 90 Friday and 46-54 100 Saturday, while Kileah Lowery shot a 54-56 110 on Friday and Sydney Tate finished with a 218 total, shooting a 59-55 114 on Friday and adding a 49-55 104 on Saturday.
Keeley Tate replaced Lowry on Saturday as the freshman shot a pair of 59's for a 118.
"This is something that our seniors have been striving for since they were freshmen," Goodley said. "To make it up there three years in a row and every year do essentially one place better than the year before says a lot. We went from fifth to fourth and then turn around a get second this year, how can you not be excited? It's nice to see that if you work hard and keep plugging away you can have success."
Goodley was glad to see that while course conditions didn't improve by much on Saturday, his team's score did.
"We have a lot of kids that have improved over the years, but never have I seen more improvement from a team than I saw from our girls. For us to come out and shoot 11 strokes better the second day after knowing we were in first place Friday
I'm not the guru of golf coaches, but if you shoot 11 strokes better from Day 1 to Day 2, you have to be pretty happy. From the outside looking in, third place is probably what we had a chance to do. So to see the girls step it up and get a second is a compliment to them. I couldn't have asked for a better team effort."
Red Tail Run played more like Royal St. George or Carnoustie with Ireland type conditions as far as whipping wind and rough as thick as molasses.
The course played close to 6,164 yards and despite two different trips to Decatur in year's past, the thick fescue rough was something Eldorado wasn't accustomed too.
"The superintendent of the course said this was the best shape the course has been for this tournament. It was legit rough and the greens were firm and fast. If you missed the fairway, you were almost penalized a stroke, just because of how hard it was to get the ball out of the rough."
With tongue firmly planted in cheek, Goodley added that he has multiple text messages from fellow coaches who wanted to remind him that Eldorado is still the public school champion.
"It's all unbelievable," Goodley said. "I think I've had upwards of 40 texts and my phone has just been blowing up with phone calls. It's nice to see people think that much of the girls and that they have made that kind of impression on people. Its awesome to see how many people actually follow the girls and what they are doing, reach out and congratulate you. I've heard from basketball, baseball, football coaches, it's all really neat."
The state trophy now joins the like of the boys' track and field team trophy that placed first place title in 1927 and the 1986 baseball team that took second, among the third and fourth place trophies from the Eagle boys' basketball program and a third place finish by the girls' basketball program.
"It's been a while," Goodley acknowledged. "One thing we talked about in our team meeting before we hit the driving range was good attitude, positive approach and then just play. I think every one of them played like that. We also talked about taking care of the process and not worrying about the result. I think they did that very well."
Michael Dann covers prep and college sports for the Harrisburg Daily Register. Follow him on Twitter: @spydieshooter.