On  April 18-19, student James Devore competed in a golf UIl tournament at Golf Club at Margaritaville Lake Resort where he was able to advance to state. For James, this is something he got to accomplish with hard work, and is excited.

¨It felt great to advance to state. I was very excited that I played well enough through the tournament to keep myself in contention. I feel like I accomplished something and that my hard work paid of¨said Devore

Devore did not only achieve his goal of advancing to state, but he is also the first-ever PHS golf athlete to advance to state and compete in the Golf State Championship.

¨I feel really proud of this achievement. I have worked hard since the first practice my freshman year, and I’m really excited about the opportunity to compete in the State Championship,¨said Devore.¨I’m looking to play well and win.¨

In order to prepare Devore practiced hard every day and believes that he is still not done. He hopes to be able to win the State Championship and in order to achieve this, he will continue to practice.

¨I have been practicing every day. Right now, it’s business as usual. The job isn’t done yet, so I’m looking not only to play well but to win the State Championship against the top players in high school. But for right now, practicing and preparing, and looking at the courses online and in person are my main focus and modes of preparation.¨said Devore

For Devore, his golf inspiration has been the people on the PGA tour, the largest professional golf circuit in the United States and the world. Seeing these people gives James the inspiration to do well in golf and ask himself ¨why couldn’t I do that¨.

¨In terms of golf, I look up to the people who play on the PGA TOUR,125 of the top players in the world play on that tour,¨said Devore.¨There are many tremendous athletes on the tour like Dustin Johnson, Tiger Woods, and Scottie Scheffler just to name a few. The people on the PGA TOUR have inspired me to work hard towards my end goal of succeeding on the PGA TOUR. I’ve heard their stories and I have an idea of what it takes to play at that level. I feel that if I can play well throughout my high school career and into college, I’ll have a really good shot at making it to the PGA TOUR.¨

When news of James advancing to state was heard Devore’s family, friends, and coaches were excited and proud of him.

¨My family is always proud of me, but when I told them about my advancing to Sate, they congratulated me and were very excited for me. My friends were very happy for me as well, while they weren’t unimpressed or surprised,¨said Devore.¨The same goes with my family. My high school coaches and my swing coach were very excited to hear the news. They always tell me ‘good things are coming ‘ and to just ‘stick to the path’.¨

The Golf State Championship was held on May 9-10 at White Wing Golf Club Georgetown Texas. Devore was able to be tied in 23rd place ut o 72.Although Devore was excited for the State Championship he is also looking forward to the summer when he can really dedicate himself to Golf and work harder.

“It was a fantastic experience. I got to play with outstanding players and I was able to play well in some challenging wind conditions”said Devore.¨Im looking at this summer between my Sophomore and Junior year to be a breakout summer where I can start shooting some really low scores.I’ll be able to dedicate full time to golf.¨