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ITHACA – Norwich sent one representative to the New York State Championship for varsity golf – Le Moyne College commit, Ryan Johnson.
“I think high school golf and when you’re dealing with great athletes, that high number (over par) is still there. They’re young and learning. You have to go through failure, and it is hard for them to accept that, and hard for them to want to listen to you,” said Norwich head golf coach Dave Branham. “But a lot of times, the mark of great player is their ability to come back. Great champions all come back from something, choking, defeat or something.”
Johnson qualified to be a part of the Section IV team that attended the state tournament on Sunday, June 4, and Monday, June 5.
Out of a total of 99 golfers from all across New York State – Johnson ranked 67th after the two days of golf.
Completing his senior season, Johnson was named All-Conference with his stroke average landing at plus 1.30 over par – an impressive mark. Johnson completed his NHS career as a six-year varsity starter – playing on both the 2013-2014 and 2015-2016 Section IV State Team. Johnson was also a three time All-Conference, two time All-Division golfer – while also being a multiple time CNY Jr. Tour Medalist – claiming a third-place finish in the Class B tournament in 2016.
However, the weather would have a funny way of sending the Tornado all-star golfer out.
“First day was rough, rough weather,” said Branham of the weather on Sunday. “We practiced on Saturday, it was blue sky – sunny, a little windy. But then we all knew Sunday and Monday was going to 100 percent chance of rain.”
Due to the inclement weather, a shotgun start was the call from coaches and officials – not just for Sunday but for Monday’s round as well – an unheard of feat, especially for a state-level tournament.
Johnson would proceed to shoot a 90 on the par 71 course on the first day – setting him back tremendously on his mission to rank among the top golfers in NYS for 2017.
“He (Johnson) felt a lot of pressure. He was even-par after four holes, so he was 19 over for the next 14 holes,” said Branham of Sunday’s round of golf. “I think the weather was obviously a big contributing factor, but I think he also really wanted to do well. It was his last chance at states. But if you look at the round from Sunday to Monday, there were some dramatic changes. It shows that a lot of players did the same.”
With Monday’s round of golf approaching, a shotgun start was again the decision – however, this time around, Mother Nature pulled a fast one and decided to improve the golfing conditions.
Johnson would show a huge improvement over just that two-day span, moving from a 90 on the 71 par course – to shooting a 77 on Monday, only six over par.
“You could see the the disappointment after Sunday. Then we went and worked on a couple swing changes, very minor but still a change. I think his mindset for Monday was much better. It was a new day, we were going to try this and stick to it all day, and whatever happens, happens,” said Branham of the game plan moving into Monday’s round of 18. “Hopefully he will remember this in a couple years or a month or whenever, and say ‘I can come back from this.’ I think the pressure was off on Monday, it showed in his second round.”
With Johnson’s improved round on Monday, the Section IV team combined to take home a fifth-place finish at the 2017 New York State championship.
Hopefully, he learns from it. Did he win, no. Did he help the team a lot on the second day, yeah,” said coach Branham. “The team came in fifth after the second day, they came in fifth out of 11 teams. It was a good weekend.”
Full results can be found online at: http://nysphsaa.org/Sports/Golf-Boys/Championship-Scoreboard
 
Team standings after both days:
Section V 1078, Section VIII 1087, Section I 1088, Section IX 1090, Section XI 1102, Section IV 1112, Section III 1112, Section VI 1146, Section II 1167, Section VII 1193, Section X 1207.