Snyder High School varsity golfers will start the season at the State Preview Tournament in Marble Falls while the JV golfers will compete at the Tiger Invitational.
The girls’ and boys’ varsity teams will tee off at the State Preview Tournament at Hurricane Harbor Resort Friday and Saturday. Tee times were set to be announced today.
The first round of the Tiger Invitational will be played at the Scurry County Golf Club Friday and the final 18 holes will be held at the Sammy Baugh Golf Course Saturday. Both rounds will start at 10 a.,m.
“Competition will be tough and teams there are the best in the state,” Snyder head coach Ricky Hunter said of the State Preview Tournament. “You can finish in the bottom of the field and still be a quality team.”
All five golfers return for the Lady Tigers. They are Courtney Velasquez, Cylie Velasquez, Claire Triegar, AmyAnn Villanueva and Savanna Porter.
“It’s been a long time since the girls played a tournament (October),” Hunter said. “I’m excited about starting back and seeing where we are at. Courtney is playing well and has a lot of varsity experience. She is the leader of the team and sets the pace. Cylie has played well and is starting to click as a golfer. Everything is coming together for Cylie and I look for her to make progress. Claire is our other senior and coming around.”
Hunter said Villanueva are Porter could compete to make the top five.
Courtney Velasquez, who is also a senior, was the team’s only player with experience at the start of 2016. Hunter noticed a change with the team around midseason.
“If you look at the beginning of last year to the end, there is no comparison,” Hunter said. “I never saw a team make that much progress in one season. We are starting at a better position, but still behind where we need to be.”
Jake Leatherwood, who qualified for the state tournament, and Kyle Shrum are the returning golfers on the boys’ team that won the district championship. Alex Luecke and Delvin Bynum played for the varsity late last season. Jax Weaver is playing on the varsity for the first time, along with Kade Hunter.
“Jax Weaver made a lot of progress,” Hunter said. “He will be an important part of our success. Alex and Devlin have some varsity experience.”
Hunter said this weekend’s tournaments are the first step in preparing for the District 5-4A Tournament. Snyder remains in a district with Big Spring and Sweetwater, and joined by Wylie and Brownwood.
“We’re working to get ready for district,” Hunter said. “Both teams have chances at winning a district championship, but they must play well. It’s not going to be easy.”
Meanwhile, the golf indoor workout facility has opened at the former Stanfield Elementary School.
“The junior high school team practices there every morning,” Hunter said. “We still have one small project to complete, but the facility is available for use. The high school golfers want to go there some, but we want to be outside when it’s nice.”
Hunter said golfers have prepared for this weekend and ready to play.
“It’s the first weekend of competitive golf,” Hunter said. “It seemed like a long wait for golf season to get here. It will become more fun for the golfers because of the weekend tournaments. They will see the fruit of their hard work.”