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GOLF HANNAH KEFFLER Canfield
There once was a time Canfield High School junior Hannah Keffler, a two-time state qualifier, wasn’t in love with golf.
“It’s a lot harder when you are first starting,” Keffler said. “That’s why I love it so much now.”
Keffler said a turning point came when she was an eighth grader.
“I broke 80 for the first time in a tournament,” she said. “I thought it was kind of a fluke, but in my next three tournaments, I was in the 70s. I realized I was starting to get better.”
Her steady improvement shows. In October, Keffler won a playoff at the district tournament to earn her second straight trip to Columbus to play at Ohio State’s Gray Course.
“We were both on the green in two and her first putt she hit really far by [the hole].”
Keffler wasn’t aggressive on her attempt, allowing her to set up the winning putt.
“It was a really good feeling — it was a great moment.”
Keffler was the area’s lone Division I state qualifier.
“It was definitely a lot different this year. I knew the course better and I knew what to expect.”
The biggest difference was the weather — the 2016 state tournament was reduced to one day because of rain. “It was like 80 degrees both days I played,” Keffler said of this year’s tournament. “Last year, it was 30. I was wearing like four shirts, three pairs of pants, I had my hand-warmers all set — it was a really intense process getting ready.”
Keffler hasn’t made a college choice, but her favorite subjects are mathematics and science.
“I like math because I like having a definite answer and it’s relaxing.”