Sophomore Cory Case spent much of his early childhood on the golf course, watching his father play. It did not take long for him to pick up the clubs himself. Case started playing at the age of 4, and joined his first club golf team at the age of 9. Golf has been a major part of his life ever since.
Case’s commitment to the sport has seen him participate in national tournaments from California to Missouri as a part of the American Junior Golf Association. These large tournaments attract college recruiters and allow athletes to showcase their skills for ratings. Case has the goal of playing golf at a D1 school, and participating in such competitions are a necessary step in proving merit as a golfer.
“I want to go to a D1 college, I think that would be a lot of fun,” Case said. “I’ve been looking around and yeah, that’s my biggest goal so far and it goes from there. I would love to play professionally if I had the opportunity.”
Case also represents the school as a member of the golf tournament team, along with senior Kasen Ferguson, junior Cole Mayon, junior Wyatt Rodriguez and sophomore Seth Ferguson. Case has broken school records and racked up multiple top five tournament finishes. His coaches Angela Chancellor and Jason Watson have hopes that Case may go on to break all of the school records, and ultimately inspire the team to success at State.
“We want to win State,” Chancellor said. “And we think Cory’s the ticket. I don’t even think it’s entered his mind about being an individual champion. It’s more or less: ‘Let’s get our team there.’”
With the wealth of experience that Case has amassed comes maturity on the golf course beyond his years. Chancellor said that Case never lets mistakes rattle him. He accepts them and moves on.
“When he walks off the green you have no idea if he just made a bogey or double bogey, birdie or an eagle,” Chancellor said. “You don’t know because of his demeanor. He carries himself the same all the time, even keel.”
That composure is something that Case has had to develop over time.
“You can’t get frustrated at yourself,” Case said. “You have to take time and you have to discipline yourself to go out there and practice, even if you don’t want to. But that’s how you get better over time and it’s going to take a long time.”
During Case’s eighth grade year, he began to feel bored with golf. He took a break that lasted through the summer, trying out other sports and taking time off for the first time since he was 9.
Joining the school team in his freshman year reignited Case’s passion for the sport, in large part because of friendships that he has made with his teammates.
Kasen Ferguson is the lone senior in the five-man tournament team and neighbors with Case. The two golfers have known each other for many years. They took classes with the same instructors as kids. Ferguson said that Case has taught him a lot about his swing, and that the chemistry within the team is vital.
“Trusting that your teammates are going to get the job done [allows you to have] the freed up mentality,” Ferguson said. “You can go out and just play golf and not have any tension to shoot good, it definitely makes your team play better as a whole.”
Chancellor said that the members of the tournament team have become inseparable, spending time on the course together, on the golf simulator, and even having dinner at each other’s houses.
“If you find one, you usually find the other four,” Chancellor said. “They trust each other. There’s not any animosity over this one’s going to beat the other. They just play well.”
