STALLWORTH

basketball, the outcome depends solely on a single player. However, Stallworth says the element of having the emotional support of teammates is something that remains constant, even in an individual sport like golf.

“In golf, it’s all on you. If something goes wrong, you only have yourself to blame,” Stallworth adds. “But I do play a lot of competitive rounds with friends and teammates, and by putting pressure on each other in certain situations, it makes us all better players. That’s where the team element comes into play.”

Now that Stallworth is dedicated to golf like never before, his extra work on the course has already paid dividends. At season’s end, his average par score stood at 37.7. This past year also marked the second time the junior played at the Arizona Interscholastic Association Division III State Tournament.

With a score of 162 at the Catalina Course of Omni Tucson National, Stallworth placed 28th out of a field of 90 individual state competitors in the two-day event.

Heading into his senior season, Stallworth has ambitions of performing even better at state next year.

“I honestly think I could have done better, but I’m not too upset about it because it was a good overall experience for me and my teammates. I definitely want to drop some strokes and crack the top 10 next year, so there’s a lot to look forward to,” Stallworth explains. “I also want to get my average score down to around 35 or 36, and I think that goal is within reach.”

In order to enhance his skills leading into his senior campaign, Stallworth has the benefit of living in very close proximity to the Yuma Golf and Country Club. He takes advantage of this prime real estate by practicing his drives, chips and putts. Besides striving to maximize his individual talents as one of the region’s best high school golfers, Stallworth expresses his appreciation for the life lessons the sport has provided along the way.

“Every day is a learning experience for me on the course. Just figuring out what club to use in certain situations and what shot to make, you have to stay calm and strategic. You definitely can’t get upset at bad shots because it’s easy to let your mind get distracted and things can go south,” Stallworth continues.