Last-minute changes don’t slow Dragons

The Holyoke golf team’s bus to the Yuma Invite wasn’t quite as full as planned Friday, April 22, after organizers decided to try to get the invite in before the wind hit.

Yuma officials elected to cancel the JV meet and hold only varsity competition. The start time was also moved from 10 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.

The plan worked well as golfers teed off at Indian Hills Golf Course in nice weather and got in an hour and a half of competition before the wind started to come up.

The Dragons adjusted well to the changes and claimed the team title. Holyoke finished with a four-stroke advantage over second-place Brush, 315-319. Washington County was close behind with a team score of 320.

Head coach Nick Flaa said the team went into the day knowing what the conditions were going to offer, 90 F and 30-60 mph winds, and the mindset was to not make any excuses and grind the invite out.

“It wasn’t about hitting home runs, it was about minimizing the mistakes and being the most mentally tough players out there,” Flaa added.

The tournament was tight at the top.

Holyoke’s Emma Thompson claimed another tournament win with a final score of 96.

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