Gingerich Makes History at Prairie View
(As printed in the Noblesville Times)
Ty Gingerich made Guerin Catholic history at the IHSAA Golf State Finals last Wednesday and was one shot away from possibly putting his name on the tournament’s role of champions. After shooting a frustrating 75 in the opening round, Ty found himself seven strokes off of the lead. An amazing second round score of 71 meant he finished as the leader in the clubhouse. Ultimately, his final tournament score of +2 was the best Finals score ever by a Golden Eagle and earned a three-way tie for third (one stroke off of the leaders).
The tournament got underway Tuesday morning at Carmel’s Prairie View Golf Club. Coming off of a Regional Championship, -6 round five days earlier, the opening round was a bit of a mixed bag for the junior.
“I drove it pretty decent, but I wasn’t hitting iron shots all that great,” Ty admitted. “I struggled giving myself birdies, but I grinded out a lot of pars.”
The key was to remain positive. At round’s end, he took solace in the fact he was only three over par despite not having his “A” game. Later that night, he reached out to his swing coach for some guidance.
“We talked about some of the things he saw on Day 1 and came up with a plan for Day 2,” Gingerich explained. “I then went and putted a little bit at Prairie View, really making sure I had the speeds of the greens down. Next, I went to my home course (Bridgewater Club) and worked on my irons and short game.”
The planning and extra practice began immediately paying dividends.
“After I stuck my iron shot to five feet of the pin and made the birdie on my first hole, I felt really dialed in.”
He remained “dialed in” for the rest of the round. His -1 was the second best score of the day and was tied for third best over both days. Leading all of those who had finished meant it was time to sit and wait…and wait…and wait. A rain delay meant it would be almost four hours before the final group made it back to the clubhouse.
“I was very excited. I was following everyone who was ahead of me on the leaderboard and hoping there might be a chance that I could possibly go into a playoff for first,” Gingerich recalled.
Eventually, he was bested by Noah Gillard and (eventual champion) Logan Ryan by a single stroke. Excited to be Guerin Catholic’s highest Finals finisher, Ty is choosing to concentrate on what is in front of him.
“The plan is to play in the biggest and best tournaments I can play in this summer. I am going to keep working with my swing coach and personal trainer and play golf with players who are on the level that I aspire to be on.”
The best very well may be ahead. Having started playing when he was four years old, he did not begin playing competitively until reaching high school. Three years later, he has made his mark on the Golden Eagle program and been one shot away from earning a blue ribbon with a gold Indiana medallion hanging from it. When asked about next year, his response cut straight to the point.
“I want to win state.”