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May 22—STEWARTVILLE — Austin Walker is the reigning Hiawatha Valley League champion.
He is zeroing in on his second consecutive trip to the Class 2A boys golf state meet.
The Stewartville senior has finished in the top 16 in the Section 1, Class 2A meet three straight years.
He's also well on his way to a fourth consecutive varsity season with a scoring average in the 70s.
In the fall, he'll head to North Iowa Area Community College to play for coach Chris Frenz, who has twice led teams to the NJCAA Division II national meet in the past seven years.
So, when the Tigers star steps up to the first tee at big meets — say, for example, the final round of the four-round HVL championships this past Monday — he must be cool as a cucumber, right? ... Right?
"Oh, I was terrified," Walker said with a laugh.
The 73 on his scorecard at the end of his round at Northern Hills Golf Course in Rochester that day would say otherwise. As would his 76.75 scoring average this season.
From a young age, Walker learned to play through those nerves. And he possesses that rare ability that only the best golfers tend to have: His actions, play and outward appearance belie any internal mental or physical chaos.
"He definitely has played in some very big events," Stewartville coach David Honsey said. "He has played in State Ams and State Am qualifiers, and he's done some Junior Golf that's really epic. So he's ready to be nervous. He's comfortable being nervous. It's a place he's been before and he handles it very well."
"It's kind of fun to have those nerves," Walker added. "It's a feeling you miss when you don't have them. Pressure is good sometimes."
Walker has, coincidentally, become a calming presence for his teammates on a deep Tigers team. Though teams can only field six players in a varsity lineup, Stewartville has had 10 different golfers earn a spot in the lineup at various points this season.
"First, he's just absolutely a great person and a great leader for us," Honsey said. "He's the definition of a great captain. And on the course, he can go really low on any day. He's a very, very good golfer, dedicated. He's mostly working on his consistency right now. He's worked to bring that back together the last couple of weeks.
"But as a player, he's superb, and as a young man, he's superb."
Walker has a strong short game, strong around the greens. Those abilities are enhanced by what he says has been the most consistent part of his game this season — his driver.
He shot a season-low 67 at Lake City on April 28 and has finished in the 60s or 70s in eight of his 12 rounds this spring. That consistency he's sought all spring appears to be showing up at the right time — his past three rounds have resulted in scores of 74, 73 and 73.
That last 73 — in a quadrangular against Albert Lea, Cannon Falls and Byron at Willow Creek Golf Course on Wednesday — came on a day when Walker said he wasn't necessarily pleased with his all-around game.
It's days like that when his focus on playing one shot at a time pays off.
"I hit 14 greens (in regulation), though, so that was fun," he said, "and my chipping was bad early in the season, but that's gotten better and definitely has helped my scores. ... It's just sticking with it, with each shot, not thinking or worrying about making every (putt), but just letting things happen on their own.
"It's focusing on the shot at hand and not worrying about the next one."
Five years of varsity playing experience will help that mental focus, too.
Honsey first realized what a student of the game Walker is early in the golfer's eighth-grade season.
"I think he was in eighth grade and I still didn't really know who he was," Honsey said, "but we were out at the range (as a team) and he texted me, 'Mr. Honsey, would you please come help with my swing?'
"So we shortened his backswing — he had the big (looping) John Daly swing — and he went from about an 85 (average) to a 78. He played some varsity that year and then really became the core of our team. He's been a great player and person to build around."
Walker and the Tigers will be among the favorites to get to state when they tee it up next week at the Section 1-2A meet at Northern Hills. The 36-hole meet begins Tuesday for the girls and Wednesday for the boys. The final round for both is set for Thursday.
Walker and Albert Lea's Noah Teeter are the lone returning individual state-meet qualifiers in the section. And Walker said it would be an ideal way to finish his high school career, if the entire Tigers team could make the trip to The Ridges at Sand Creek, in Jordan, June 9-10 for the state meet.
"It would be awesome," he said. "This year is one of our better chances to do it, too. Everybody on our team has been playing pretty good and we're really excited for sections next week."
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He is zeroing in on his second consecutive trip to the Class 2A boys golf state meet.
The Stewartville senior has finished in the top 16 in the Section 1, Class 2A meet three straight years.
He's also well on his way to a fourth consecutive varsity season with a scoring average in the 70s.
In the fall, he'll head to North Iowa Area Community College to play for coach Chris Frenz, who has twice led teams to the NJCAA Division II national meet in the past seven years.
So, when the Tigers star steps up to the first tee at big meets — say, for example, the final round of the four-round HVL championships this past Monday — he must be cool as a cucumber, right? ... Right?
"Oh, I was terrified," Walker said with a laugh.
The 73 on his scorecard at the end of his round at Northern Hills Golf Course in Rochester that day would say otherwise. As would his 76.75 scoring average this season.
From a young age, Walker learned to play through those nerves. And he possesses that rare ability that only the best golfers tend to have: His actions, play and outward appearance belie any internal mental or physical chaos.
"He definitely has played in some very big events," Stewartville coach David Honsey said. "He has played in State Ams and State Am qualifiers, and he's done some Junior Golf that's really epic. So he's ready to be nervous. He's comfortable being nervous. It's a place he's been before and he handles it very well."
"It's kind of fun to have those nerves," Walker added. "It's a feeling you miss when you don't have them. Pressure is good sometimes."
Walker has, coincidentally, become a calming presence for his teammates on a deep Tigers team. Though teams can only field six players in a varsity lineup, Stewartville has had 10 different golfers earn a spot in the lineup at various points this season.
"First, he's just absolutely a great person and a great leader for us," Honsey said. "He's the definition of a great captain. And on the course, he can go really low on any day. He's a very, very good golfer, dedicated. He's mostly working on his consistency right now. He's worked to bring that back together the last couple of weeks.
"But as a player, he's superb, and as a young man, he's superb."
Walker has a strong short game, strong around the greens. Those abilities are enhanced by what he says has been the most consistent part of his game this season — his driver.
He shot a season-low 67 at Lake City on April 28 and has finished in the 60s or 70s in eight of his 12 rounds this spring. That consistency he's sought all spring appears to be showing up at the right time — his past three rounds have resulted in scores of 74, 73 and 73.
That last 73 — in a quadrangular against Albert Lea, Cannon Falls and Byron at Willow Creek Golf Course on Wednesday — came on a day when Walker said he wasn't necessarily pleased with his all-around game.
It's days like that when his focus on playing one shot at a time pays off.
"I hit 14 greens (in regulation), though, so that was fun," he said, "and my chipping was bad early in the season, but that's gotten better and definitely has helped my scores. ... It's just sticking with it, with each shot, not thinking or worrying about making every (putt), but just letting things happen on their own.
"It's focusing on the shot at hand and not worrying about the next one."
Five years of varsity playing experience will help that mental focus, too.
Honsey first realized what a student of the game Walker is early in the golfer's eighth-grade season.
"I think he was in eighth grade and I still didn't really know who he was," Honsey said, "but we were out at the range (as a team) and he texted me, 'Mr. Honsey, would you please come help with my swing?'
"So we shortened his backswing — he had the big (looping) John Daly swing — and he went from about an 85 (average) to a 78. He played some varsity that year and then really became the core of our team. He's been a great player and person to build around."
Walker and the Tigers will be among the favorites to get to state when they tee it up next week at the Section 1-2A meet at Northern Hills. The 36-hole meet begins Tuesday for the girls and Wednesday for the boys. The final round for both is set for Thursday.
Walker and Albert Lea's Noah Teeter are the lone returning individual state-meet qualifiers in the section. And Walker said it would be an ideal way to finish his high school career, if the entire Tigers team could make the trip to The Ridges at Sand Creek, in Jordan, June 9-10 for the state meet.
"It would be awesome," he said. "This year is one of our better chances to do it, too. Everybody on our team has been playing pretty good and we're really excited for sections next week."
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