The Park City High School girls’ golf team finished sixth in the 3A state tournament last Wednesday at Mountain View Golf Course in South Salt Lake.
In the four years that girls’ golf has been an official high school sport in Utah, the Miners have finished second at state twice and third once.
Head coach George Murphy said saying goodbye to a group of seniors who have been with the program since its inception is tough.
“We’ll miss the girls that are leaving,” he said. “It’s been fun watching those girls progress. They’ve been the whole four years with the program. They’re sort of the pioneers of girls’ golf.”
Senior Lexi Malone, one of seven seniors leaving the program, earned first-team all-state honors and shot a team-best 91 at the state tournament.
“We had, probably, a real shot to finish a lot higher,” Murphy said. “They tried hard, and some days with golf, you don’t have it.”
Murphy said while the program will no doubt get much younger next year, he sees a lot of talent in the underclasses.
He also said, in his four years as girls’ head coach, the team has yet to be able to host a tournament at its home course, Park City Golf Course. He just hopes he can convince girls with potential to come out for the team.
“It’s really hard to get girls excited for golf where we live, having it as a spring sport,” he said.
While his pioneers leave, he must rebuild for the future.
“We’re losing a big chunk of our team,” he said.