Greenwood senior Maura Guilfoy could take a somewhat selfish stance as she prepares for Thursday’s county golf tournament.
Could, but won’t.
Guilfoy, the No. 1 player for the Woodmen the past two seasons, possesses the experience and skill set required to contend for medalist honors at The Legends, though that seems to be a distant priority.
“I’m definitely more focused on trying to get my team to have better results than last year,” said Guilfoy, alluding to Greenwood’s third-place finish and final score of 441. “We felt pretty confident, but none of us performed as well as we had hoped.
“We had such a young team that I feel the pressure might have gotten to us.”
Guilfoy led her squad, shooting an 88.
The way she’s played this season would suggest improvement in that area. Earlier this month, Guilfoy scored a career-best 18-hole score of 72 during the Ben Davis Invitational at South Grove Golf Course, one shot back of the individual medalist. The Woodmen then lost a dual match to Columbus North last week at Hickory Stick, though Guilfoy did earn medalist honors by carding a 36.
Guilfoy’s previous low total for 18 holes was the 73 she shot as a junior against Center Grove at Dye’s Walk.
“Maura is just rock steady. She grinds at it and is mentally tough,” second-year Greenwood coach Thom Hord said. “Even when she’s not playing well, she doesn’t allow the mental side to leak into her game.”
Fourth-ranked Center Grove, the reigning county champion, will be favored and has the potential to dominate the majority of top spots in individual play.
Four of the Trojans’ starters averaged under 80 strokes through the team’s first three 18-hole competitions, led by sophomore Camille Short (76.0). She’s followed by junior Sage Parsetich (78.3), soph Lexi Stuart (79.3) and Lanie DeHaven (79.7), the lone senior in the lineup.
Still, Center Grove coach Cale Hoover is taking nothing for granted.
“The last three years, county has been a dogfight because Franklin has been very good. We knew it was going to be tough,” he said. “We’re going to talk about defending the county title, which, in Johnson County, still means something. We’ll probably set a number that we’ll use as a measuring stick.
“You always want to win a tournament and continue your upward trajectory as a team.”
Eleventh-ranked Franklin, led by senior Ava Ray and freshman Reese Phillips, also looks to contend. The remainder of the Grizzly Cubs’ lineup comes down to the play of junior Morgan Sandrock and sophomores Kara Heuchan and Addie Livorno, all of whom have nine-hole averages in the mid-40s.
Where Greenwood’s Guilfoy winds up on the individual leaderboard remains to be seen, though her coach remains confident.
“Maura hits it as well as anybody in the county, and her wedge play has been really good,” Hord said. “I expect her to play well.”
