There were times in his high school career when Andrew Reynolds would get so angry after a bad round, so red-faced annoyed, that he wanted to bite a golf pencil in half.
But the Plum senior practically is belly-laughing at imperfections these days. On the eve of his final WPIAL golf season, he is more analytical, looking at the positives even when things go a little sideways.
If he bombs a drive on a long par-5 but walks away with a bogey, he wants to burn the drive to memory and delete the shots that got him into trouble.
“Whatever happens, happens,” Reynolds said. “My attitude is a lot better. I am more positive. I am not looking at the negative; taking a bad thing away from a hole is never good.”
Reynolds is a WPIAL title contender and one of the top returning players in the Alle-Kiski Valley. WPIAL tryouts began Monday, and the season opens Thursday.
Reynolds, looking for his third appearance in the WPIAL finals and first PIAA trip, is ready after another competitive schedule of junior tournaments occupied much of his summer.
“Right now, I am focused on playing my own game while motivating everyone else,” he said. “The way I have been playing toward the end of the summer, I know I can contend for a WPIAL title individually. But right now, we're getting in shape for team matches.”
Plum, now in Section 8-AAA with Central Catholic, Knoch, Shady Side Academy, Hampton and Mars, also could be a team contender with junior Samantha Shumaker and three seniors all back in the lineup.
“We'll have a little more experience and be improved from last year,” said Reynolds, who has received college interest from Allegheny and Gannon.
“Making the playoffs really motivated kids to play more this summer. We know we can get back there if we play well.”
Freeport's Audrey Clawson is the local headliner on the girls' side of the scorecard.
The junior finished fourth in the WPIAL as a freshman and rallied for seventh last year after breaking her left index finger the day before the championship. The injury did not require surgery but hindered Clawson, a section champion, in the PIAA West Regional and PIAA finals — where she took 11th place.
“(The injury) messed up my plans,” she said.
Now healed and focused, she hopes to continue her steady rise. She improved her nine-hole scoring average from 40 as a freshman to 37 last season.
“I saw improvements (over the summer),” Clawson said. “I am working on hitting more greens in regulation. If I hit greens, I feel like it's a definite par.”
Clawson played in the U.S. Kids World Championship at Pinehurst and finished ninth out of 35 girls in her age division.
Other local storylines:
⢠The Deer Lakes boys return five starters from a team that made the Class AA playoffs. Senior Sam Sack is back at the No. 1 spot, with senior Jake Roberts at No. 2. The Lancers have no issues with roster numbers: There are 27 players out for the team.
⢠Kittanning's Noahs — Spang and Kunst — are two of the better seniors in Class AA. Both players qualified for the WPIAL championship last season and make the Wildcats a strong postseason contender. Kittanning has all of its starters back, and all are seniors.
⢠In Class AAA, Fox Chapel returns rising sophomore Anthony Cordaro and junior Matt Friday, and while it seems unlikely for a Class AAA playoff regular such as the Foxes, Cordaro said they could be facing a rebuilding year. Freshman Andrew Friend could be an impact player and will look to help the “rebuild.”
⢠The WPIAL girls Class AAA and AA individual finals will be in the A-K Valley for the second year in a row. The tournaments will be Sept. 29 at Willowbrook Country Club in Apollo. A boys individual Class AAA semifinal will be Sept. 22 at River Forest Country Club.
Bill Beckner Jr. is the local sports editor of the Valley News Dispatch. Reach him at bbeckner@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BillBeckner.
