El Dorado golfer hopes to improve after outstanding rookie season
Freshman Hope Walthall announced her presence on the high school varsity golf scene with authority, leading El Dorado’s girls’ team with a 92.3 scoring average.
She earned All-State with a season-low 85 at the end of the season.
Walthall hopes to improve her game.
This is the time of the year when she would normally be working to make that happen. The coronavirus has limited her time on the course, at least when it comes to competition.
“Before quarantine, I was able to play in several tournaments around the Dallas area with the NTPGA Junior Tour and experience a different level of competition,” she said.
“I was scheduled to play in a couple of AJGA tournaments around April and May, but they were cancelled or indefinitely postponed.
“With the quarantine lifting, the AJGA is opening their tournaments in June. I am thankfully playing in (Future Tour Championship) the first weekend of June in
Mississippi.”
Walthall said she placed second and fourth in a pair of tournaments before winning her most recent event. She also competed in a two-day tournament at Texas Rangers Golf Club.
“I didn’t do as well, but I learned a lot in my mental game,” she said.
For Walthall, this is a critical portion of her season.
The uncertainty due to COVID-19 was troubling for a while.
“I was pretty frustrated at first, because all the tournaments I worked really hard for had gotten cancelled or postponed,” said Walthall.
“Not knowing what the future held, I continued to work on my golf game because I knew, one way or another, I would play tournaments again. I was also pretty sad because this summer was when I was going to be able to put my name out there for colleges.”
Even with a sketchy tournament schedule, Walthall tried to put the time to good use. With school closed, that gave her more time to work on her game.
“During quarantine, I am able to go to the golf course more often than before, because I was able to finish my schoolwork earlier than usual and spend the rest of the day at the course,” she said.
“Now that I am finished with the school year, I am able to spend even more time working on drills and playing the course. With the quarantine lifting, I’ve been able to book a golf camp in South Carolina.”
Virus or no virus, Walthall said she has goals in place for her sophomore season in the fall.
“My personal goals for the high school season are to improve my scores and build on my results from last year. I also want to help my team to improve and do the best we can at conference and state,” said Walthall.
“For the next couple of months, I am working on my game with golf camps, practicing, and playing golf to help with my goals.
“These next months are extremely important to me because I need to focus on what I need to work on the most and improve my game and mindset.”