Golfers at Mixed Stix are competitive, but nice1 min read

By
Jeff Bear
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Golf may be a highly competitive sport, but the competitors themselves are really … nice?

That was the impression of Ryan Mariano, who along with partner Lauren Todd won the Mixed Stix golf tournament at Sedona Golf Resort on Saturday and Sunday, July 27 and 28.

“It was amazing how nice the competitors were,” Mariano said. “The people that we played with on both days were absolutely amazing.”

quality xanaxMariano is a professional beach volleyball player, and she said that the spirit of golf is somewhat different than in her usual sport.

“I don’t come from a sport where you’re like, ‘great shot!’ I come from a sport where you’re like, ‘ahhh, I hate you!’”

Mariano said. “But [the golfers] were so supportive and so nice — I’d hit a drive and they’d be like, ‘that was a really great drive!’ My first instinct was, ‘are you trying to get in my head?’”

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Todd, who was a two-time Arizona state golf champion at Xavier College Preparatory in Phoenix, and went on to play at Stanford University as well as professionally, set the strategy for herself and Mariano.

“She worked a game plan for us,” Mariano said. “I was going to go super aggressive off the tee, and she was going to play chess … is the way she explained it. And me being a professional athlete, when she said go it helped my confidence, and then you know once you get confident things get rolling.

“But it was her strategizing and her consistency that really made it happen for us.”

For the full story, please see the Friday, Aug. 2 issue of the Sedona Red Rock News.

Jeff Bear

Jeff Bear began his journalism career in 2003 as a graphic designer and sports reporter at the Weekly Register Call in Central City, Colorado. In 2007 he began working at the Canyon Courier in Evergreen, Colorado, as a graphic designer, but soon transferred into the editorial department where he worked as a copy editor and sport reporter under Editor Doug Bell. After a stint as a graphic designer at American Classifieds in 2009-10, Bear began working in 2011 as a copy editor at the Arizona Daily Sun, in Flagstaff. While at the Daily Sun, Bear was tapped by the late Randy Wilson to report on local sports including Northern Arizona University and Olympic medalists training in Flagstaff for the 2012 Olympics. In 2013 Bear began working at the Red Rock News in Sedona, Arizona, where he was an assistant editor and sports editor. Bear has two daughters, Angela and Jessica, with his wife Nina. He is a singer and guitarist, an avid cyclist and hiker, and enjoys camping with family and friends.

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Jeff Bear
Jeff Bear began his journalism career in 2003 as a graphic designer and sports reporter at the Weekly Register Call in Central City, Colorado. In 2007 he began working at the Canyon Courier in Evergreen, Colorado, as a graphic designer, but soon transferred into the editorial department where he worked as a copy editor and sport reporter under Editor Doug Bell. After a stint as a graphic designer at American Classifieds in 2009-10, Bear began working in 2011 as a copy editor at the Arizona Daily Sun, in Flagstaff. While at the Daily Sun, Bear was tapped by the late Randy Wilson to report on local sports including Northern Arizona University and Olympic medalists training in Flagstaff for the 2012 Olympics. In 2013 Bear began working at the Red Rock News in Sedona, Arizona, where he was an assistant editor and sports editor. Bear has two daughters, Angela and Jessica, with his wife Nina. He is a singer and guitarist, an avid cyclist and hiker, and enjoys camping with family and friends.