TAFT, CA – The Taft College Women's Golf Team showed great representation in the California state playoffs.
Sophomore Ayla Keith competed in State Championships at the very beautiful Hunter Ranch Golf Course on November 13 and 14. She has been working extremely hard all season to prepare for this end of the season event. Ayla had an average of 86 throughout the season with a low round of 80 at Belmont Country Club.
"Ayla was very excited for her sophomore season. She worked hard mentally and physically to get where she was. A lot of hard work and dedication was put into each practice leading up to State Championships," said Taft College Women's Head Golf Coach Brandi Borjon.
It appeared on that Monday morning on the first day of championships, Keith was more than ready to get out there and attack the day. The first couple holes had gone by, and Keith wasn't quite where she wanted to be.
"Once we got into the first round my game just left me. I lost everything. I feel I should've done better no matter how hard the course is. You're going to have your off days when you least expect it and that's what happened but that's golf. You can't do anything about it and just have to get through the round," expressed Ayla Keith.
Keith had a rough front 9, but that did not stop her from competing in the back nine holes. She accumulated 3 birdies just on the back nine. She did not let her tough start keep her from finishing strong with round ending birdie on 18.
After plenty of rest and conversations about better scoring tactics, Keith was ready for day 2 of the championships. She came out with a fierce outlook on the day knowing it was her last tournament as a Cougar.
"A lot of golfers tend to let bad days beat them up. Not Ayla. I was pleasantly surprised to see that her attitude had changed, and she was ready to just go out there and have fun," said Borjon.
She started the day off much better than the previous day, but her game still just didn't reach her full potential. Keith had an amazing day driving the ball, however, her putts just weren't dropping like the previous day. She ended the second day with a higher score, but her mentality was what most improved.
"My first round was tough; I'm not going to lie. I didn't see any positives. I was just genuinely frustrated, and disappointed in myself. My second round was just as bad, but I managed myself better. I wasn't letting anything get to me because I realized I just needed to have fun. I got the opportunity to play college golf here at TC and now I get to play at my next school, Emmanuel University," commented Keith.
Keith competed well all season long. She held her head up high and grinded.
"I am extremely proud of Ayla. Her game took a huge turn for the better since her freshman year. She gained incredible golf expertise and I'm very excited to watch her continue her career at Emmanuel University," says Borjon.
With a down to earth attitude, Keith finalizes, "I'd say making it to state both years and getting an opportunity to continue my golf career at the NCAA D2 level considering I've only seriously played golf 3 years. I was a softball player my whole life, but I bounced around from sport to sport. I decided to take golf seriously my senior year of high school when my first swing coach who ended up being my first head coach here at Taft, Chad Sorensen, who gave me the opportunity to play for Taft. He helped me a lot my first year getting me ready for regionals and state. Then my newer coach/boss Mike Vander Goes puts in a lot of time with me this summer leading up to this season. So I give them a lot of credit for getting me to where I am now with my game. Then when I came back this year Brandi helped a lot with the recruiting process and getting me in contact with schools. I'm really grateful for her helping me find a school to go next year and just sticking with me through this process."
It has been an honor to have Ayla Keith be a part of the Cougar Family at Taft College. Cougar Country wishes nothing but the best for her in her continued collegiate career and beyond.