If Republic freshman Griffin Frey felt pressure at the state golf tournament this week, he didn’t show it. Frey shot his best single-round score of the season, an 81, on the first day of the tournament at Silo Ridge Country Club in Bolivar. And even on the second day of the tournament Tuesday, after a quadruple-bogey could have sent his score spiraling, he managed to pull his game back together and finish the day with an 89.
“He really responded well. He strung together two pars, then finished the last nine holes––and those are the tougher of the two nines––and played pretty solid,” said coach Ben Wolfinbarger.
“I came into it really being pretty happy with whatever the outcome was, because I was happy that I came to state,” said Frey after finishing his second round. “It’s just my freshman year, so I’m just kind of getting the feel of it. Next year or the years following, I’ll be a lot more worried about what I shoot.”
Frey said the state tournament was a good learning experience for him.
“It’s a lot different than most of the tournaments I’ve played. It’s just bigger. Then… they called your name and clapped for you when you went up to the tee box, and there were more people there, so it was a little bit more nerve wracking,” he said. “I had a lot of fun. I liked a lot of the people I played with… It’s a fun experience to get to play a nice course and then to have fun doing it.”
After the difficult start on Tuesday, Wolfinbarger said he and Frey talked about how to approach the remaining holes.
“We can let it get away and be really disappointed, then look back on it and think, ‘Man, I wish I would have fought through that,’” Wolfinbarger told Frey. “Instead, he (bore) down and got after it and made the best out of what he had.”
Even more impressive than Frey’s response to the adversity in round two was his start in round one, Wolfinbarger said.
“I think I was most impressed with the way he started his round (Monday) with all the people, all the pressure that I know he felt on the first tee, and to hit two really quality shots and make a par on the first hole––he just looked unfazed by the moment.”
