LaBrae | Golf Haylee Harford

Haylee Harford knew what she was up against this year at the state tournament.

Having been there and winning the tournament as a freshman at Warren JFK, she took the task on again as a senior at LaBrae.

Harford was successful as she won by one stroke over Alexis Jones from Shelby.

“It was awesome to end my high school career winning again,” Harford said. “It was one of my goals for this season and it was something I worked hard to accomplish and it felt really good when I did.”

Harford says both of her title wins were unique.

“Both times around were pretty amazing,” Harford said. “But [this time] was definitely different, so it’s hard to compare.”

Harford believes her freshman year win was more surprising then this year.

“Freshman year, I really didn’t know what to expect,” Harford said. “Luckily I played great and came out with the championship. This time, I had a little more competition so there was more pressure. But I just played and hoped to come out on top.”

With LaBrae not having a girls golf team, Harford competed against boys in the All-American Conference.

“At first maybe,” said Harford about if it was weird playing against the guys. “But I am so used to playing with the guys around the golf course and stuff so it wasn’t really anything different for me.

“For me, golf is golf. I just worry about my game and I don’t try to let the competition or who I am playing with affect me.”

Harford won both her individual championships on Ohio State’s Gray Course.

“It worked for my advantage,” Harford said of having played the course before.

Harford is going to Furman University to continue her education and golf career.

“I verbally committed when I was a sophomore,” Harford said. “The coaches are absolutely amazing there. The campus and education are awesome, so that definitely played a big factor. Something clicked and I just knew that I wanted to go there.”