Lyle Marty’s first high school season just ended, but he probably hasn’t stopped playing golf.

The Centralia freshman played in the Class 2 state tournament at Sedalia Country Club on May 19-20 and finished in a tie for 56th with a 178, or 34-over par. 

Head coach John Finlay said he wouldn’t be surprised if Marty was playing golf so close to the end of the season. Marty typically spends a lot of time playing with three other Centralia freshmen, and Finlay said that extra time pays off.

“He’s very confident, and he’s got a good swing,” Finlay said. “It doesn’t shock me that he got there as he has been consistent all season. Golf is a lot of fun for him. He thinks about it and talks about it a lot.”

Going into his first state tournament, Finlay said Marty had some competitive experience already with the Missouri Golf Association. It helps to be “immune,” meaning having the confidence to play against talented golfers.

This season provided plenty of good preparation, however, as the top two teams at state are in the Clarence Cannon Conference with Centralia. Palmyra, who won the state championship by one stroke, and South Shelby were the top two teams in Centralia’s district and the district also had nine of its golfers finish in the top 15 to earn a state medal. The Panthers finished three strokes behind those two at districts in fourth. 

“There was some very good talent there,” Finlay said. “When we were sitting at the district tournament before it even started, we knew there were going to be a lot of unhappy young men.” 

Marty shot an 84 on the state’s first day, which is only a few strokes above the 80 or 81 he had at 18-hole tournaments this season. He then finished the second day with a score of 94. 

Finlay said Marty didn’t putt that well on the first day, which is unusual for him, but turned it on the second day. There were some putts Marty would have liked back on the first day but was good overall from the start. 

“He did a good job with realizing that maybe every hole wasn’t a driver hole for him,” Finlay said. “He was trying to figure out distances and stuff like that, like we figured out in the practice round (on the Sunday before). He was putting just a little bit too firm at first, and over time, he figured out the speed that was necessary on his putts.”

There was a thunderstorm that rolled through on the second day, but Finlay said that wasn’t as big of a factor as the stronger winds, going from 10-11 mph to 18-19 mph. 

“He played from the trees quite a bit on Day 2,” Finlay said. “He was having to make plays out of a pretty significant rough area.”

Finlay said the Sedalia course was in good condition despite the wet conditions and only had a couple issues with the fairways. He said some would call it a “typical Missouri golf course” with tree lines consisting of large trees. Putting had to be good on the “big greens with good movement.”

Finlay said he expects Marty to lead the sophomore class next year and for his fellow sophomore friends to eventually be good high school golfers. Easton Dodge was a freshman who missed the cutoff by two strokes with an 84 while seniors Travis Brooks and Carter Moss missed by one stroke with an 83 each.

“They’re competitive with each other,” Finlay said. “They sound like a bunch of old men bickering each other when they are playing. They’re having a good time while they are playing.”