CARMEL — Nothing was going right for Southmont freshman Addison Meadows at day No. 1 of the IHSAA girls’ golf state finals on Friday.
She could have thrown in the towel, and been satisfied with her trip to the state finals.
But everyone, including Meadows, knew that she was better than the 54 she fired on the first nine holes at Prairie View Golf Club.
“It’s a new nine, put the bad and the last holes away,” she said after the round. “Like it’s over with. And then kind of refocus, regroup and stay focus. And hope I can get it back and do better on the front, because it was a rough back-nine. And to come back from that it feels better, but I had a good mental attitude the entire time.”
Meadows followed the 54 with a 43 on the front to finish the day with a 97, tied for 78th.
“I was very proud of that,” Southmont golf coach Bill Whalen said. “She starts off with a nine on the first hole and then hits her next tee shot into the drink. She could have just said ‘I’m done. I got here and I’m happy,’ but she stayed with it and her attitude was great. We talked about getting to the next side and start all over and we did, and she played much better. She could have caved easily, especially as a freshman. I think all the other tournaments she does during the summer really helps her and helps build that mental toughness.”
While Meadows had no expectations of competing for medalist honors against the states’ best golfers, she expected a better round in the opening day. She said a combination of things led to a tough start.
“It was a mixture of everything,” Meadows said. “There was a lot of stress and pressure. Being a freshman standing up on that tee box was like ‘I’m actually here and this is crazy,’ and it then it just kind of fell apart a little bit. But I brought it back.”
Meadows hits the No. 10 tee at 10:09 a.m. on Saturday for the second round with Zionsville’s Addison Echeverria and Michigan City’s Taylor Skibinski.
“I’m excited for tomorrow, because it’s the first year for state and hopefully I can make it the next three years,” Meadows said. “It feels better to know that I finished better than I started.”
Lapel’s Macy Beeson and Evansville North’s Chloe Johnson led after day one with a pair of 70s.
