Photo by Bryce Owen ’17 | Tony Hendricks ’19 tees off at team practice at Phoenix Country Club.

By Ethan Winkler ’17
THE ROUNDUP

After finishing second in the state last year by one stroke, Brophy’s golf team is looking forward to another opportunity to contend this season.

The team’s first big tournament was the Brophy Invitational on the weekend of Aug. 27-28.

Head coach Mr. Jon Shores saw it as a fantastic opportunity to evaluate the team.

“This is going to be a good test to see where we are at in comparison to the rest of the teams in the state,” Mr. Shores said a few days before the tournament.

This assessment was very necessary due to the large amount of changes the team has undergone this season.

While graduation is a normal occurrence for any high school team, Brophy lost four of its top five golfers from last year.

With this loss, Mr. Shores said he may resort to something “unusual” for the team.

“[The top five] is going to be probably changing every match and every tournament we play,” Mr. Shores said.

Another void that the head coach must fill with the departure of the old seniors is the need for leadership on the team.

One of the names he mentioned as someone he expects to step up is Jack Geurtz ’17.

“I feel like I sort of have a sense of leadership that I have to take up and lead the younger guys,” Geurtz said. “Since I’ve been on the team the longest, I sort of know what I’m doing more than them.”

Both Geurtz and Mr. Shores also said some high schools they will play will provide a good challenge for the team, such as Desert Vista and Chaparral.

But the one team they both pointed out is Hamilton.

“Hamilton’s always good,” Geurtz said. “They have two very good players there, some of the best in the country.”