Bluehawks golf ready for state tourney

Thompson Falls’ two top-rated golfers Else Brown and Dylan Beckman have received the lion’s share of the publicity this season and it’s been well deserved.

Both Beckman and Brown are two of the four Bluehawks and Lady Bluehawks’ golfers that have qualified for the MHSA Class B State golf tournament May 14-16 at Eagle Rock High School in Shepherd.

However, golfer Megan Baxter and Ethan Brown, Else’s brother, have also become part of the foundation for the future and have reason to focus on the present as both golfers also qualified for the MHSA Class B State tournament.

Baxter, a freshman who has shuffled between Lady Bluehawks’ track and golf, has managed her time well and is involved with so many events, she will not be in school this week.

Lady Bluehawks’ golf coach Michael Bates attributes Baxter’s success to her ability to juggle academics and two springs sports, something that Bates said is “no easy task.” Baxter didn’t just juggle them, she continued to improve and kept cutting strokes every tournament, and reached the point of qualifying for the State meet.

“It has been a while and we haven’t seen her much for practice,” Bates said. “She has only missed a couple of tournaments because of a track meet and she is practicing with her dad late in the afternoon. I am really proud of the performance that she has turned in in the last three weeks. She is really coming into her own and (because of attending athletic events), she won’t be attending school at all this week.”

Bates, who coached the Bluehawks’ boy’s golf team to a 2015 State championship title, is well aware that anything can and will happen at the State meet. He’s seen it with his own eyes.

“I think Megan’s first tournament of the season, she shot a 146 and she finished with a 106 at Divisionals,” Bates said. “She cut a pile of strokes. We’ve been watching her for three or four years. I’ve seen her at the driving range and I’ve always kept my eye on her the last three years. Now that we finally have her on the golf team, I am pretty excited for that.”

Ethan Brown, Else’s brother, has also continued to improve. The sophomore shot an 80 to qualify for the State tournament and he isn’t going to stop there.

“In the last few tournaments, Ethan has really started to come along and become a pretty solid player,” Bates said. “He has cut 10 or 12 strokes and has started to play really well. It’s been the last few tournaments he has come on and is peaking at the right time.”

Both players, who will be only a sophomore (Megan Baxter) and junior Ethan Brown next season, have created a solid foundation which in the first season the golf team won’t have Brown and Beckman because of graduation.

“I’ve been watching these kids for quite a few years and I’ve been waiting for them to come and be high schoolers,” Bates said. “Now that they are here, we are very excited to have them. We have a good solid foundation for the boys and girls team, and that will be something to build on because we have a lot of potential there.”

Both Beckman and Else Brown have created the strong foundation for next year’s team and both of them are hoping to finish their illustrious golf careers with State accolades and hardware.

One reason Bates said he is so high on the possibility for everyone is the even-keel nature his two No. 1 players, who have demonstrated throughout their four years of golf.

“This is their fourth year with me and they are solid individuals,” Bates said. “They are really great to travel with and I never have any problem with either of them. They are both really competitive and at the same time, they are mentoring the younger golfers coming up. That is really nice.”

The four Bluehawks and Lady Bluehawks’ golfers will have what Bates refers to as “great golf weather” when they enter the Eaglerock Golf Course in Shepherd, just outside of Billings.

“The course will have big green elevation, water and a little bit of everything,” Bates said. “You just have to do your best to place the ball and do what you can. Our team has golfed on some pretty tough courses these last few weeks. I think the weather is going to be really nice and allow us to excel there. It’s supposed to be 70 on Monday with a little bit of overcast and 80 to 82 degrees the next two days. We will be in great shape with the weather.”

Beckman, who was a key part of the 2015 team winning State, has been in these high-pressure situations before and so has Else Brown. Bates expects them both to have top-flight finishes in what will be their final game in their four-year high school career.

“We try to give them the mentality that it’s just another tournament and to take one shot at a time,” Bates said. “We always tell them the most important shot is your next one and you can’t do anything about a bad shot. You just have to go out there, try to make the next one and slow down. At State, sometimes people tend to get amped up and we try to follow the same routine as any other tournament and go out there, relax and have some fun.”