TOP OF THE HEAP
Fri, 2016-08-19 05:00
News Staff
Miller, Dean earn Beltway JGT Centex Player of the Year honors
By TJ MAXWELL
Cove Leader-Press
The summer temperatures have been scorching and so have the golf games of Copperas Cove incoming senior Dustin Dean and incoming freshman Madelyn Miller.
Both golfers culminated their summer golf seasons with a Beltway Junior Golf Tour Player of the Year nod for the Centex region.
Miller, who has been around golf her entire life, really developed a love for the game and confidence in her game over the summer that helped propel her from the doldrums of the 100s into the competitive 90s and a Player of the Year selection in the girls’ Platinum division.
“That was a really big accomplishment, especially going into the summer thinking I wouldn’t be able to break 100,” said Miller. “I also looked at everybody’s stats and thought I couldn’t get there or it would be a lot of work to even break 100.
“I was able to do it. It was a lot of time and effort but it was definitely worth it.”
The younger sister of Southwestern University golfer Mikayla Miller and Copperas Cove Junior Golf teammates of McLennan Community College-bound Tyler Morrison and young phenom Elle Fox, Madelyn has been surrounded by talented female golfers for years and she feels that has helped her development.
“I was born into that family where were we were all like, ‘let’s do golf,’ and Mikayla, Tyler and Elle were all out there together,” said Miller. “I’m so excited that we’ve gotten where we are. Tyler, Elle and Mikayla have made a great impact for us. We have to use all the time we have set aside for it at school and then take time out of school also. It really takes a lot of commitment. We’ve all come a long way and I hope we can keep going.
Miller also credits a daunting summer tournament schedule in her development.
“You can practice every day for eight hours and go hard but you’re never going to be able to match that tournament setting,” she said. “Once you get into a tournament, it changes your whole game. You have to have a great mental game to go with that and you really can’t practice that unless you’re in a tournament setting. I think if you really want to better yourself and shave off some strokes, you’ve got to go out there and take a beating then you’ll get better. It’s really important to the game. It betters your mental game and it betters you as a person. I think it was an all-around great experience.”
Miller finished in the top two of all five Beltway JGT tournaments over the summer to run away in the tour standings with 7,750 over her five events.
She won three Beltway tournament in June and earned another win in July before finishing second at the Central Texas Region Championship held Aug. 5 at the Sammons Golf Links in Temple. Miller’s 7,750 points was more than 3,000 points ahead of second-place finisher Grace Pohl of Temple. Cove’s Abigail Baker finished fourth in the standings with 3,700 points.
The senior Dean also had a strong summer tour that culminated in a Player of the Year selection for the Centex Region Boys’ Gold Division with 5,350 points.
“It’s means a lot to me,” said Dean. “I’ve worked pretty hard for it and I think I definitely earned it.”
Dean began the Beltway JGT season with three top three finishes in four Beltway events, including a win in the Beltway opener at Sammons Golf Links in Temple.
Like Miller, the summer golf tournament season has helped him up his game.
“I think it just helps me through the emotions and it helps me work harder,” he said. “It’s just been a lot of practice preparing for college and this upcoming season.”
Dean hopes that all of his hard work over the brutal summer will pay off with a UIL District Championship in the spring but knows he and his teammates must work hard to get there.
“That would be awesome,” he said. “I want to encourage that this season.”
Dean’s high school teammate and fellow senior Caden McAnally finished fourth in the overall standings with 3,525 points and Noah Howard of Belton finished runner up to Dean with 4,500 points.
Like Dean, Miller hopes the hard work over the summer pays off in the UIL season. She will be entering the high school ranks and knows she will need to step up even more.
“It’s really scary to be a freshman. I’m not going to lie,” said Miller. “My high school coach is following me so I’m happy he knows that I can do great things and I’m coachable. I hope the players can accept me and hopefully we can make this a great season. I’m really ready to see Copperas Cove’s golf team go even farther. We’ve had so many great players and they’ve been great for the team and I’m ready to see it go even farther.”
Dean and Miller also know how playing the summer tour helped their games and they encourage all junior golfers to get out on the tour.
“You can practice every day for eight hours and go hard but you’re never going to be able to match that tournament setting,” said Miller. Once you get into a tournament, it changes your whole game. You have to have a great mental game to go with that and you really can’t practice that unless you’re in a tournament setting.
“I think if you really want to better yourself and shave off some strokes, you’ve got to go out there and take a beating then you’ll get better. It’s really important to the game. It betters your mental game and it betters you as a person. I think it was an all-around great experience.”
Dean agreed.
“I’d say play in those tournaments,” he said. “You need to get that extra practice and work hard.
“I think the golf team should practice a lot and have that work ethic to do better and the attitude that I can do better.”
Fox also had a strong showing last week with a 15th-place finish in her firstever American Junior Golf Association Cameron McCormick Junior All-Star tournament at Texas Techs’ Rawls Golf Club. The Cove Junior High eighth-grader shot a combined 231 (74-79-78) in the three-day tournament.