Drew McBrayer has seen that look on Chase Taylor’s face.
The New Hope High School golf coach knows that there are several options once Taylor shows that expression mixed with frustration, anger, and disappointment.
“I didn’t have to say anything to him,” McBrayer said. “We have been together for quite a while (four years), and sometimes you need to pump him up or calm him down. I could see he was mad, and I could see it on his face and see it in his eyes that he was ready to grind it out now.”
Taylor responded from a slow start Wednesday and found his rhythm at the end of his front nine, where he started a string of pars that he rode through the back nine en route to a final-round 78 that helped him win the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 5A State title at Columbus Country Club.
“I knew everybody else had not played well and that I just had to muster myself up to do it,” Taylor said. “I had a mental moment where I thought about it nd decided I was not going to let it go away that easily. I had to get myself up, and I did.”
Taylor, a senior, shot 77 in the first round Tuesday. He capitalized after first-round leader Anthony Clark, of Pascagoula, followed a 75 with an 84. With two other contenders out of the mix after the second round, McBrayer said Taylor and Oxford’s Ward Toler were the only competitors left who had a chance to win the individual title.
The only problem was the players were on opposite sides of the course. With New Hope High being the host school for the tournament, McBrayer wasn’t able to be with Taylor to help track the scores. While he was at the scorer’s table compiling scores, he relied on his wife Holly, to relay updates back to him by text message.
McBrayer was delighted to see that Taylor, who finished second last year at the Class 5A event, remained steady to beat Toler by one stroke.
“Chase was not playing well early on,” McBrayer said. “You don’t see Chase Taylor get real frustrated on the golf course very often. When he walked off the 14th green on his fifth hole of the day, you could see he was not real happy. I think he was 5-over through five holes.”
McBrayer said Taylor responded by using his anger and frustration to find his zone. He didn’t think the fact that rain delayed the start of the second round by nearly two hours affected the play of Taylor. He said Taylor and the other players still had ample time to warm up. Still, it wasn’t until the back nine that Taylor found his footing.
In addition to Taylor earning first-team All-State honors, New Hope’s Austin Fitch, who shot an 81 Tuesday and an 82 Wednesday, finished fifth and also earned first-team All-State honors.
“I am really proud of both of them,” McBrayer said. “Austin fixed a swing flaw and started playing a lot better and Chase put his head down and started grinding out some shots to win the tournament.”
Oxford, which shot a 339 Tuesday, carded a 326 Wednesday to take the team title. Pearl River Central, the first-round leader at 334, finished 12 shots back in second. West Jones was 14 shots back in third.
Starkville High’s Logan Maddox shot an 85 Wednesday, followed by Jace Hobart (87), Ryan Lacy (93), Cameron Maddox (94), and Caleb Jackson (101). The Yellow Jackets shot a 363-359 for a 722 total.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.