Taylor wins bi-district; four golfers advance to state

Friday Harbor's Jordyn Taylor won the 1A Bi-District Golf Tournament for the second consecutive year Tuesday, this time at Eagles Pride Golf Course at Fort Lewis. Taylor, a junior, shot an even round 72 at the course, voted the sixth-best golf course in the entire military by Travel and Leisure magazine.

Friday Harbor’s Jordyn Taylor won the 1A Bi-District Golf Tournament for the second consecutive year Tuesday, this time at Eagles Pride Golf Course at Fort Lewis.

Taylor, a junior, shot an even round 72 at the course, voted the sixth-best golf course in the entire military by Travel and Leisure magazine.

“It’s a long golf course,” Coach Bryan Germain said of Eagles Pride, which has three courses. The Wolverines played the red and blue courses; the red course measures 3,455 yards over 9 holes from the blue tees, and features three par-5 holes and four par-4s. The blue course measures 3,410 yards over 9 holes from the blue tees, and features one par-5 hole and six par-4s.

Taylor carded five birdies in mastering the course. He shot a 6-over 78 at North Bellingham last year to win the bi-district tournament there.

Three other Friday Harbor golfers made the cut for the state tournament, May 20-21 at North Bellingham. The cut for men was 85; junior Cody Price shot 84 and senior Micah Reitan shot 85. Seniors Sam Pouillon and Tug Turnage missed the cut with 90 and 93, respectively.

Among women, freshman Megan Cuomo shot 107, good enough for a tie for sixth and a berth at state.

“This was high-pressure golf, definitely the most pressure of any tournament of the year, because everyone wants to go to state,” Germain said. “If you go to state, it’s all gravy because it’s a blast.”

The course made each golfer earn his or her place. Price went into the tournament with the goal of winning. But after taking a 9 early in the tournament, “he switched to survival mode and just hung on,” Germain said.

Cuomo had trouble getting out of the No. 3 bunker. “The bunker was over her head. She couldn’t see the green,” Germain said.

“She regrouped and hung in there the whole round. She’s 14 years old. She was playing against the top two seniors in the state — one kid had been playing golf since she was 7. I’m serious, most golfers would have cashed it in.”

Reitan’s performance had personal significance; his goal this year was to qualify for the bi-district tournament. He advanced a step further.

Taylor felt confident on the course. He focused on one hole at a time rather than on the score, and he finally got his groove with his new irons.

“I was just hitting the ball well,” Taylor said. “I have new irons, they’re harder to hit than my old ones. I thought it would not be as hard a transition as it was. My old irons were much more forgiving. If you mis-hit these, you have to pay for it.

“My putting was excellent. I made a lot of birdie putts. I kind of choked on the last hole; I three-putt bogeyed the last hole, but I was still happy with the outcome.”