Senior Jessica Pyatt finished in third place at the UHSAA Utah State 2A Girls Golf Championship on Tuesday, May 14 in Richfield, shooting an 82, four shots out of first place, which went to Richfield’s Carly Jorgenson with a 78. South Summit’s Ashley Stubbs narrowly edged Pyatt for second place by shooting an 81.
The Red Devils finished fifth as a team with 194 Stableford points, which are awarded on a scale of 0 points for double bogey, one point for bogey, two points for par and so on. Sophomore Brooke Schultz was the next Grand finisher in 25thplace, shooting a 110. Fellow sophomore Zoe Wuthrich shot 122 for 36th place and sophomores Molly Hines and Cora Johnston tied for 40th, each shooting 132. Richfield won the team championship behind an individual medal from Jorgenson for a second consecutive year as Jorgenson and Stubbs finished first and second in 2012 as well.
Pyatt, Grand County High’s Visual Arts Sterling Scholar, is the daughter of Daniel and Yolanda Pyatt. She tied for fifth place in 2012, placed eighth in 2011 and placed sixth in 2010. She said she plans to walk on to golf team at Southern Utah University, where she wants to major in Criminal Justice and minor in Art.
Pyatt said she was disappointed that she didn’t win, but over all she was okay with her performance.
“My putts weren’t falling in like they should’ve been. It was a decent game,” she said. “The girl that won deserved it. She shot a really good score. Even on my best day I don’t know if I could have beaten that score.”
Red Devil girls golf co-head coach Rob Jones said he was proud of Pyatt’s performance.
“It was just another solid performance,” Jones said. “She’s done it all four years of her high school career. I’m proud of the work she’s put in… being a four-time all-stater is an impressive feat.”
Jones said Pyatt handled defeat with class and sportsmanship and had the Red Devils been seeded higher, Tuesdaycould have had a different outcome.
“The way we were seeded, we didn’t get to play with the top performers and I think that affected her. The best players push each other to make the best score,” Jones said. “She has the will of a competitor and wants to win. Even though she didn’t win, she handled it gracefully.”
Jones said it will hurt to lose a player of Pyatt’s caliber to graduation, but he feels good about the up-and-comers.
“We had four sophomores all competing in their first state tournament and they all contributed,” Jones said. “They all kept getting better throughout the year. That’s what I look for as a coach… I think we’ll be okay, it’s just a matter of how much work the girls put in during the summer to keep getting better.”
Pyatt said she greatly improved her game over the course of her high school career thanks in large part to Jones’ coaching and offered this tidbit of advice for the returning players:
“Keep at it and don’t skip out on practice. Every practice makes a difference,” she said. “Get in as many games as you can and you’ll keep getting better.”
