Mars grad Bartley refuses to give up in earning PSAC golf title
Tri-State Sports & News Service
Joshua Bartley had one of those oh-no moments at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference men’s golf championships.
As in: Oh no, I’m in really big trouble.
“I figured I’d be playing for second place,” said Bartley, a Mars High graduate and seniorat IUP.
The unwelcome thought occurred to Bartley after he fell behind Connor Sheehan of Millersville by four strokes with six holes to play at Hershey Country Club. His concessionspeech was ready.
“Didn’t think I had a chance in the world to catch him,”Bartley said.
At about that moment, three words began to surface in Bartley’s head: Never give up.
Hewould take the message to heart.
Bartley birdied holes 13 through 16, while Sheehan shot birdie, bogey, par, par. That left the duo tied at 1 under with two holes remaining. A par on 17 by Bartley and a bogey by Sheehan put theIUP star up by a stroke.
The match, however, was hardly over. The two faced putts of nearly 25 feet each on 18. Sheehan’s shot for birdie looked perfect.
“I thought it was going in; he thought it was going in, too,” said Bartley, winner of the Butler Country Club championship last summer. “I wouldn’t say he walked the putt in, but he felt confident.”
The shot ended up an inch short.
“It did everything but go to the bottom of the cup,” Bartley said.
After catching his breath, Bartley attempted a putt for birdie. It stopped six feet short of the cup, leaving him with a “tester” after Sheehan tappedin for par.
Bartley ended the drama by sinking the putt and finishing 5 under on the back nine. The victory not only gave him the distinction of being the 15th IUP golfer since 1993 to win the PSAC championship, but it also carried the Crimson Hawks to a their 28th team title, includingtwo in a row.
“I still have no clue how I did it, because 5 under isn’t something you see everyday in a college tournament,” said Bartley, who finished the day with a 5-under 67. He finishedthe tournament with a 3-under 139. “We were battling the entire day. We both pushed each other to our fullestabilities. It was fun, even if it didn’t feel like it at the time.”
As Bartley celebrated the individual and team championships on the weekend of Oct. 21, he couldn’t help but think of how differently things might have been for hima couple years earlier.
Back then, Bartley was not above breaking clubs or throwing balls when things didn’t go his way. Anger and emotions were his enemies. Hissaboteurs.
That is, until his mom, Debbie, stepped in. She successfully challenged, and changed, her son. She told Joshua to re-think his approach, to see golf for what it was:A game.
“Once I was able to do that, it made all the difference in the world,” said Bartley, whose only other collegiate tournament win occurred at California (Pa.) his sophomore season. “You can probably go back and look at my college stats and they take a drastic turn three-fourths into my career. It’s because I’m having fun out there and notbeating myself up.”
One of three seniors on IUP’s roster, Bartley now has his sights set on the spring season. His objective is to lead IUP back to the NCAA Division II team championships for the first time since his freshman year. And if things work out, perhaps he’ll win another individual championship or two along theway.
One thing is for sure: He’ll nevergive up.
“It’s hard for me to believe now that I ever considered not playing golf a few years ago,” said Bartley, whose older brothers played at Mars, including T.J., who went on to become a golf pro. “It’s such a hugepart of my life, and I hope it’s a huge part to come. I’m so thankful that I was able to correct my wrong ways and play thisgame that I love.”