JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas –
Where one Randolph High School golfer's season ended at the Texas Region IV-AA tournament April 15-16 at the Quail Creek Golf Club in San Marcos, another's is set for a final match after defeating every boy at the two-day event.
Mike Meyers, a Randolph senior, won the tournament at the par 72 golf course with a score of 73 the first day and 79 the second day, advancing to the state tournament Thursday and May 3 at Roy Kizer Golf Course in Austin.
Ro-Hawk junior, Tina Wells, shot a 103 and 100 at the regional tournament in the individual category, since only three girls filled the RHS golf roster this year - not meeting the requirement of four members needed to compete as a team.
More importantly, Meyers and Wells sustained a 15-year tradition of representing Randolph at the region level in golf, Mike Miller, RHS golf coach, said.
"They're extremely coachable and are leaders in the classroom," Miller, who values academic achievement above golfing prowess, said. "They're just really good kids who understand what it means to be student athletes, with emphasis on student."
Practice, practice and more practice is what Miller said made the two golfers standout during the post season.
"We practice Monday through Thursday for about two hours a day," Miller said. "I let them play on Thursday, but the main goal was to work on their shots and do a whole lot of chipping and putting."
Chipping and putting, Meyers said, are usually a younger player's weakest skills because "it's boring and slow, but it's also the part that affects scoring the most."
"A lot of people want to just drive the ball 300 yards," he said. "But that won't do them any good if they don't have the technical aspects right."
Meyers, who had golf clubs in his hands at age 2, said he also hones his game on Friday and Saturday, when he plays 18 holes at various courses around San Antonio.
Wells, on the other hand, splits her tee time with her swing time - tennis swing, that is.
Wells, a double-athlete, advanced to a tennis region tournament at Texas State University in San Marcos the day after her golf showing.
"I don't practice as much as Mike (Meyers) does, but I maximize my time on the course," she said. "My goal is to shoot below 90, but I want to have fun as well."
Having fun translated into successful seasons for Meyers and Wells, whose averaged scores of 77 and 95 for the year, respectively, were on par to contend with other talented male and female golf programs, Miller said.
Being consistent in their sport was also as good as gold for them on the green.
"Shot routine - doing the same thing for every swing - was important," Miller said. "It kept their nerves down and kept them focused."
While Meyers will soon log his last golf performance as a Ro-Hawk, Wells intends to continue golf and tennis during her senior year.
She's also thinking about life beyond high school.
"I probably won't play sports in college," she said. "I want to focus on my education."
Wells said she will apply to Johns Hopkins University in Maryland to pursue a career in the medical field.
Meyers will try out for the golf team at the University of Texas at San Antonio, where he plans to major in graphic design, but is open to see where his true passion could take him.
"My dream is to become a professional golfer," he said.