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LEGACY ON THE LINKS: Pounds, TWCA Golf wins TAPPS State
The TAPPS Golf Championship is nothing new for TWCA, considering they’ve won it each of the last two years.
This Spring was more of the same for Warriors Golf, with their four senior stars--Aaron Pounds, Jake Maggert, Jack Ushner and Sam McClure--looking as efficient as ever between the links.
Coach Tanner Field and the TWCA boys golf team traveled to Glen Rose, TX last week, to take part in the 5A championship which took place at Squaw Valley Golf Course.
Photo acquired via Twitter: @TWCAgolf
When all was said and done on the fairway, The Woodlands Christian Academy had won its third consecutive TAPPS State Title with a final score of 537, which was an insane 44 strokes under the second-place finisher (Hyde Park).
Furthermore, each of the aforementioned seniors finished in the Top-10, making them All-State selections. Sam McClure tied for 8th overall (140 strokes), while Jack Usner and Jake Maggert took fourth (137) and third place (132), respectively.
But of course, the icing on the cake was TWCA’s Aaron Pounds winning the boys individual State Championship, completing the course with a score of 128 (16 strokes under par).
Bradley C. Collier (VYPE)
“Winning individually along with securing our third title in a row was an amazing way to cap off my TWCA golf career,” said Pounds. “Our team has played with so much confidence this year and we feel like we are the best team in the country. I feel like this senior class was able to leave an amazing legacy and I'm super excited for the future of the TWCA program under Coach Fields. I can't thank my teammates and coaches enough for getting me to where I am today."
Pounds will be joining teammates Usner and Maggert at Texas A&M in the upcoming school year.
“I am so excited to be alongside two of my best friends at the next level," Pounds said. "We're very competitive with each other and have been practicing and competing with one another all throughout high school, which has made us all so much better and I expect that to continue at A&M."
Bradley C. Collier (VYPE)
What some people might not know about Pounds is that golf wasn't his first passion.
"I love basketball," he said. "I grew up loving to watch the NBA and could name every player on the roster at one point. I played basketball up until my freshman year of high school and still love to play pickup games with my friends. It's helped me to become the golfer I am today, both physically and mentally."
However, the young man was born to be a golfer and may become a pro one day. He'll be studying Finance at Texas A&M as he and his teammates strive for that ultimate goal.
"When we all committed to A&M, we made it clear that winning a National Championship is our main focus," Pounds said. "We're going to work hard every day to make that a possibility. I know that managing my time wisely is going to be super important and I feel like TWCA has prepared me extremely well for my future."
TWCA's Aaron Pounds shines in Team USA win at Junior Presidents Cup
HOUSTON – It is 7:30 a.m. at Myers Park Country Club in Charolette, North Carolina.
The sun rising over the course marks the final day of the Junior Presidents Cup and Team USA found itself in unusual territory – trailing the International Team.
The Woodlands Christian Academy senior Aaron Pounds was the first to walk to the tee box on Tuesday morning. He would be the tone-setter.
Pounds rocketed his first drive off the tee straight down the middle of the fairway and it rolled to a stop just 40 yards shy of the pin.
He then holed out for an Eagle – tone set.
“That really got some momentum going for the rest of the match,” the No. 10-ranked golfer in the country by AJGA said. “It was a good start. There were some roars out there, which helped the rest of the team. We all had some momentum early on in the day and that translated throughout the rest of the day.”
Pounds was one of 12 players chosen to represent the United States in the annual tournament. The Texas A&M-commit is fresh off a junior season that saw him help lead TWCA to a second-straight TAPPS 5A State Championship and he won the overall individual State Championship to go along with it.
His work throughout the year had paid off.
“This tournament is what I’ve been working for all year,” Pounds said. “Knowing that I had the opportunity if I played well to be selected to the team. I was super excited going into it and it lived up to the expectation.”
Pounds finished his day defeating Jayden Ford of New Zealand (2-Up) to win a point for the United States. On the final day, Team USA rallied to score 8.50 points and win the 2022 Junior Presidents Cup, defeating the International Team 13-11.
“I’ve never done this before, representing my country,” Pounds said. “Just putting on the uniform gave me goosebumps before I went out and played. It was awesome to play with 11 of the best guys in the country. It was by far the coolest experience I’ve had so far in my golf career.”
Over the two-day tournament, Pounds played well.
On Monday, in four-ball play, Pounds teamed up with Carson Kim from Yorba Linda, California to defeat Rayhan Abdul Latief and Jonathan Xavier Hartono of Indonesia 3&1 to capture a point. Later in the day in foursome play, Pounds teamed up with Eric Lee of Fullerton, California and they tied Anson Yeo and Juan Velasquez of Malaysia and Columbia to earn a half point for Team USA.
In total, Pounds ended up helping Team USA earn 2.50 of their 13 total points in the win and a solid putting game was a big factor.
Aaron Pounds drains a putt on 9 to put the #USTeam 1-up!#JrPresidentsCup pic.twitter.com/VOXpjRBvvT
— AJGA (@AJGAGolf) September 19, 2022
“I definitely think my putting overall is something that I’ve been working hard on,” Pounds said. “Especially in match play. To win these matches, you have to be able to make these clutch putts. I felt like the greens were really fast this week, so speed control was super important, and I putted it really well.
“Just being able to make those putts when you need to make them, it was good to see them go in this week.”
The neatest part of the whole event for Pounds was the crowd.
As they played, a crowd filled with Myers Park Country Club Members, PGA Tour Officials and a mix of general golf fans filled the sides of the course and especially the gallery behind the 18th hole.
Walking up that final fairway on Tuesday, Pounds said it was special.
“This was by far the most I’ve ever played in front of,” he said. “On 18, there was a huge gallery around the green watching. It was cool. There were a lot of loud roars. It felt more like a professional tournament than a junior tournament.”
With the win under his belt, Pounds will now spend the next few days hanging out with the PGA stars of the Presidents Cup Team. Justin Thomas and Kevin Kisner are two members of the team Pounds is especially excited to get to talk with and maybe even get some pointers.
“I know we’re taking a team picture with them in the morning and then we’ll get to go watch them play,” Pounds said. “I’ll try and get some knowledge from those guys. It’ll be pretty cool.”