Dragons cap golf season with state

The Holyoke girls golf team wrapped up its successful season Wednesday, June 1, at the 3A State Golf Championships at The Broadlands Golf Course in Broomfield.

The Dragons took plenty of momentum into the tournament. Holyoke won five of its seven league tournaments and was league champion.

Emma Thompson led the Dragons at state. A 2021 state qualifier, Thompson shot 91 Tuesday, May 31, during the tournament’s opening round, then 95 on Wednesday. Overall, Thompson finished 23rd, moving up 33 spots from her 2021 finish.

Holyoke head coach Nick Flaa said Thompson played some of her best golf of the season in the biggest moment.

“She was smart off the tee box, opting for accuracy and sacrificing distance. That gave her some great opportunities to be aggressive coming into some of the greens with her scoring clubs,” Flaa said.

Thompson made par on five holes Tuesday and stayed within a stroke of par on eight holes. On Wednesday, Thompson played par on five holes and bogeyed seven holes.

There were several holes Flaa said Thompson would like back, but that’s typical for golf.

 “The Broadlands has some very large greens, so she was able to hit some greens in regulation and rely on the putter. We talk about just giving yourself a chance, playing the high percentage shots by picking conservative targets and making aggressive swings,” Flaa said.

 There were risk-reward opportunities out there, he added.

 “Emma took advantage of several of those moments, but what was really impressive was avoiding the big numbers,” Flaa said.

“She has done a phenomenal job staying in the moment, sticking to her game plan and phasing out the others by just playing the course.”

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