Despite only two years of varsity golf, Sedona Red Rock High School sophomore Gavin Bruce has already established himself in the Arizona high school golf ranks.

“Gavin is one of 15 individuals to qualify for state outside of the team qualifiers, and I am very excited for him,” Sedona coach Mike Webster said. “As a sophomore, this should be a huge learning experience and hopefully it will springboard him to a higher level of golf over his junior and senior year.”

The Division III championships took place on Wednesday, May 8, and were held at the Omni Tucson National.

Bruce shot an 86 on the first day and a 90 on the second day.

“The rest of the team has rallied around Gavin and encouraged him to do well,” Webster said. “They want him to represent all of them on the team and the entire Red Rock High School at state.”

Bruce spoke on the obstacles he overcame and how he trained for state.

• How did it feel to qualify for state?

It was really cool to qualify for state. My dad told me I was one of only three sophomores that qualified, which is pretty awesome. It was also great representing the team as an individual this season.

• What were your goals this season?

One of them was actually was to qualify for state this season. I wanted to accomplish that in order to be satisfied with myself, so I am glad I achieved that goal. I was trying to shoot in the low 40s and high 30s this season, so those were my main goals.

• How did you train for state?

I work at Oakcreek Country Club, so any free time I have is an opportunity
to train. I will putt and chip a few balls whenever I have the chance. I have just been playing as much golf as possible in anticipation for state. I frequently practice on hole five at OCC because I live right by that hole. It is a hole that you can drive the green on and it is a short par four, so it is also fun to mess around on that hole.

• How much have you grown since the beginning of your freshman season?

I think my mentality has improved tremendously since I started golf. That has been the main thing as last season I would get in my head a lot while on the course. I would let one bad hole ruin my entire round, but I have been much more composed this season. My mental focus has been my biggest difference between my freshman and sophomore seasons.

• What has allowed you to grow in that area?

Not getting in my own head has been the biggest difference in my scores from last year and this year. It was the main obstacle holding me back and I believe I have overcome it.

• How was the team dynamic this season?

It was actually awesome this year. We had a bunch of new freshmen this year and they were all very enjoyable to play with. I also enjoyed the bus rides and practices with them, so this year was definitely a good time.

• Is there anything else you would like to accomplish by your senior year?

I definitely want to qualify for state in each of my next two seasons because that would be great to accomplish. I also want to shoot in the high 30s all season for my last two seasons.

• How much did Coach Webster help you improve this season?

Coach Webster has actually been a huge help and he has been super supportive with everything. He was less like a coach and more like a very close friend of mine for the entire season.

• What were your favorite moments from this season?

My favorite moment would have to have been during the back nine at the White Mountains Country Club. The back nine mattered in regards to qualifying for state, and I ended up shooting a 39, which helped me a lot. On the last hole, I had to make a 15-foot putt to qualify for state.
I was not really nervous heading into that day because I thought I had already qualified for state.

My dad told me I had to par on the last hole to qualify, so I started getting a little nervous but I tried not thinking about it. I ignored it until the last putt and I ended up making it.