In the early stages of her senior campaign for the Oak Hill Golden Eagles, Hope Mygrant’s has taken her play to another level.
Coming off shooting a 37 against Frankton, Mygrant put together another terrific performance against Marion at Meshingomesia on Wednesday evening, medaling for the second straight match and playing a significant role in Oak Hill’s second win of the young season.
Playing on a tough course, Mygrant fired a 41, marking the fourth straight contest where she finished as Oak Hill’s low scorer, despite some struggles on the final few holes.
“She likes the game of golf, and she knows that she can perform at a high level or even a higher level,” Oak Hill Head Coach Steve Nelson said. “She likes to work at the game. She practices hard at it. That tells you a lot about her makeup, and I think that she just wants to have a good senior year.”
Despite her strong score, Mygrant felt she left several shots out on the course, particularly during the final five holes. After hitting for birdie on hole five, Mygrant hit for bogey on each of the next four holes, including back-to-back double bogeys on holes nine and one.
“I actually didn’t feel that good about it,” Mygrant said. “At the beginning, I had [several] fours, and one of the fours was on a par-five, so I was feeling pretty strong. Then, I hit hole nine, and I had a bad hole. Then, I went to hole one and had another bad hole, and that kind of messed up my game.”
However, her first four holes were spectacular, which helped propel her to another first place finish for Oak Hill. She started the match with three straight pars before collecting her birdie on hole five, and then, ended her round on a high note, hitting for par on hole two.
In her first four matches, Mygrant has been locked in. She hit 83 and 85 in the Harrison Invitational and Huntington North Invitational, respectively, before turning in her brilliant performance against Frankton in the Golden Eagles’ first dual match.
Wednesday night’s performance was just another example of her growth and development as a golfer.
“My past years, I had a huge problem with confidence,” Mygrant said. “The game has always been there, but ever since I’ve gotten together with my swing coach, we’ve worked basically on the mental [aspect of] the game, because that’s all I need, really.”
The Giants only had three golfers compete on Wednesday, but each one performed well. Savannah Grieve finished with a 58, collecting a birdie on hole three, while her sister, Bayley, fired a 62. New golfer Jessica Wilson shot 71, one of her best scores of the season so far.
“I can assess that we have been playing well,” Marion Head Coach Jerry Freshwater said. “Bayley and Savanah have been improving and then our number three, Jessica, improved tonight. They’re great girls, they’re great girls to be around, and they’re constantly trying to improve and get themselves in a situation that they can do better every round.”
Oak Hill’s No. 2 golfer, Holly Gillespie, finished with a 52, while Bailey Dewitt and Abby Malott each finished with a 55.
After four golf matches, Nelson is so far pleased with the performance of his entire lineup and hopes that their success will continue as the season progresses.
“I think they are doing well,” Nelson said. “We’ve gotten off to a good start, and I am happy with the way they’ve played. They are showing up to practice every night. They are happy to be there, they work hard while they’re there, and they get along pretty well. It’s a great thing to have. They hold each other accountable. They work well together, and they motivate each other. They just truly enjoy being around each other, and I think that’s the definition of the team.”