Fighting through tough competition and a rain delay, the Texas High boys golf team finished first at The Tiger Classic golf tournament. The team made solid chips, drained putts and blasted off the tee box over 36 holes at the Texarkana Country Club through Oct. 10-11 to shoot a score of 591.

“I couldn’t be prouder of them,” Texas High golf coach Jay Brewer said. “Today’s about as good as we could play, and today made up for yesterday. We didn’t play as well as we know we could yesterday.”

It’s the second time ever that Texas High has won its own tournament. Last year’s team shot total score of 601 for the two days to win. Former Texas High golfers Russell Thomas and Dawson McGonnagil from last year’s team moved and graduated respectively. They are replaced by newcomers junior Austin Pinkham and freshman Matt Prieskorn, who each shot 155 to help the Tigers triumph over the fourteen other schools.

“Its great to be part of the team,” Prieskorn said. ”Being a freshman is obviously nerve wracking, so it was great to get the second win in a row.”

The Tigers and the Southlake Carroll Dragons tied with a score of 591 over the two days. This caused the top two players with the lowest scores from both teams to play extra holes. For Texas High senior Garrett May and junior Grayson Jones, this meant going back to the course to finish out the tournament in front of their teammates, coaches and family.

“When I found out that we had a playoff, I got pretty excited. I had to go get my stuff out of my car,” Jones said. “Its nothing different. You get to see what you’re up against instead of having to look at the scoreboard when its over you. You know what you got to do, and we did what we had to do.”

May and Jones had a combined score of eight and Southlake Carroll High’s senior George Gardner and junior Colin Kober had a combined score of nine after the first hole, resulting in a Texas High win.

“When I saw the kid from Southlake made bogey, and the other missed his birdie putt, I knew  my three-footer was for the win,” Jones said. “I just go with my routine. Its just another golf shot.”

Not only did the players have confidence in their play, but so did their coach. Coach Brewer wouldn’t have it any other way as the two players walked off the green victorious.

“Garrett and Grayson do what they do,” Brewer said. “If I got to pick two guys to go play for my money, I’m going to take those guys all the time. They both have been good players for a long time and they’ll keep getting better.”

The boys will not have another tournament until Nov. 21-22 at the Lufkin Invitational. The long period will give the players time to refine their games in order to achieve more wins throughout the season.

“We can improve throughout the season,” Jones said. “We got a good break from here until Thanksgiving before playing in another tournament so we got some time to work and see what we can accomplish between now and then.