Colton Danks has done it again. The junior golfer from Roseboro has won his second event in as many tries on the Tarheel Youth Golf Association circuit.
This time, the 13 year old captured the medalist honors at Goldsboro Municpal Golf Club. Once again, Danks didn’t have his best stuff, but still was able to hang in there and grab his third career win on the TYGA Tour.
Danks began the day with a bogey on the opening hole, a short par five in which birdie looked inevitable. He made a triple bogey, 7 on the eighth hole, and a disappointing par on the closing hole of the front nine, a short par five.
Once again, he was able to turn it up a notch on the back nine. He had just one blemish on the card on the back, coming when he blocked a three-wood at the fourteenth hole into a thick area of trees. He went on to make double bogey there, but par the other eight holes to finish with a score of 80, which left him in a three-way tie for first place.
According to the TYGA rules and regulations, playoffs are decided by score on the most difficult set of nine holes, which was the back nine at GMGC. Fortunately for Danks, the back nine was where he found his mojo.
The biggest shot of the day for Danks seemed to come at the fifteenth. After making a double bogey at fourteen, Danks trailed his playing competitor by a couple of shots. He pushed his driver into the right woods, but then hit an incredible approach shot to find himself on the putting surface. His competitor, who hit the fairway then just missed the green, made bogey. Danks’ par four on the hole got him back in the match and refocused.
After pars at 16, 17, and 18, he had fought his way back into a tie for first, and eventually, back into the winner’s circle.
“I’m obviously very fortunate,” said Danks. “I didn’t really play the way I wanted to overall, but if I can just cut out those two bad holes, I’m gonna feel a lot better about the way I played. Being able to grind out the last couple of wins kind of teaches me that I need to fight for every shot, because every shot does matter, and a tournament isn’t over until everyone’s round is complete.”
He noted that his short game, most specifically from the 50-75 yard range was the part of his game that needed the most work. “I plan on hitting a lot of shots from that distance to prepare for the next tournament,” he said. “I played well in the event at Prestonwood last year, and didn’t win, so I really would like to play well again up there and give myself a chance at winning there. It’s a fantastic course, so I want to be sharp for that event.”
That event, the TYGA Tournament at Prestonwood Country Club in Cary, is set for Monday, July 20th. It will be the deepest field of any TYGA event thus far this year.