Tyler Sanford helped Lake Creek’s boys golf team to the Class 5A state championship this spring. Then a sophomore, Sanford was the Lions’ highest finisher, placing fourth overall with a two-day score of 142.
Little did he know it would set pace for what has been a wildly successful summer.
Sanford will compete in the 75th U.S. Junior Amateur on July 24-29 in Charleston, South Carolina. He won the qualifier last month with a score of 5-under (66) on one round of 18 holes.
Past Junior Amateur champions include Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth and David Duval. Sanford is one of 18 Texans out of more than 200 total qualifiers.
“I feel like that win at state gave me a lot of confidence,” Sanford said. “For a while, I’d been struggling with ball-striking and getting my game consistent. So, state really gave me confidence of going into the summer and playing really good for a few weeks now.”
The tee was Sanford’s money shot at the state tournament in late May at White Wing Golf Club in Georgetown.
“The tee shots are the most important thing out there,” he said. “Once you get your tee shot, the golf course is right in front of you. There’s not a lot of water or random blind shots. My tee shots really worked for me. I only missed four fairways that entire week.”
After finishing Day 2 at state shooting 3-under, Sanford has continued to ride that momentum.
Right now, Sanford is clutch with wedges and approach shots. He has a few rounds in the 60’s recently.
“I can hit it within 10 feet and get a smooth birdie instead of grinding it out for lower rounds,” he said.
His summer has been nothing but golf. From June 11 through July 1, Sanford competed in tournaments in Houston, Baton Rouge, Georgia, and Alabama twice.
When he’s not competing, he’s, well, still on a course somewhere.
“I’m not a big sleeper,” he said.
During the school year, Sanford practices every day after school, whether with the Lake Creek team or on his own, for about 2-3 hours.
“Depends on daylight,” he said.
During the summer, he wakes up early to practice at Woodforest Golf Club near his house in Montgomery, where the greens are fast and roughs are thick.
“That’s where I’ve been in preparation for the U.S. Juniors,” he said.
He also practices at Bluejack National Club because of its competitive wedge/short game area.
Sanford’s practices stress hitting, chipping and putting. During his freshman year, when he also made it to state with Lake Creek and finished tied for ninth individually, his short game saw significant improvement.
It once was the sore spot of his game. Now it’s as potent as his ball-striking.
“I was able to connect on both and that’s what brought me to here now,” Sanford said. “It’s a lot of hard work. There’s a lot of hours I’m at the course and not a lot of hours I’m at home. The dedication and work, it all clicks. And it’s following God’s plan, too. He has a purpose for all of us and this is part of His plan.”
Through this summer and the tournaments and practices leading up to the high school season next spring, Sanford is working to be more consistent. That means shoring up his short game, avoiding bogeys, and not letting a bad swing affect an entire round.
“I can put together really good rounds and then a random 78 comes out of nowhere,” he said. “I just want to get those bad rounds a little lower.”
Going into the U.S. Junior Amateur, Sanford wants to make match play.
Sixty-four competitors qualify for match play July 26 following two rounds of stroke play July 24-25. July 27-29 consists of Round of 32/Round of 16 matches, quarterfinal/semifinal matches, and a 36-hole championship match on the final day.
“My main goal is to make match play,” Sanford said. “That would be very cool as an incoming junior. Everyone’s goal is to win but you have to have a certain goal for yourself. I’ll probably be nervous at the first tee. But once I get past there, it’s game on.”
The M.O. is to get better every day, every tournament. To not be the same player at the Junior Amateur that he is now, or the same player next month that he was at the Junior Amateur.
It’s a drive and push that won Sanford over when he started playing golf, taking lessons and competing in junior tournaments when he was eight years old.
“You really just want to get better every day,” Sanford said. “Every day, you play good and you feel you could play better. You have to work for it. It’s that drive that keeps pulling you in.”
