Senior Jacob Adams helped the Ankeny boys’ golf team to a 10th-place finish in the Class 4A state meet on Friday and Saturday at Otter Creek. The Hawks posted a 36-hole total of 634.
Adams shot an 89 in the cold and windy conditions on Friday. He carded a 79 in the final round for a two-day total of 168.
Here is some inside info on Adams:
Congratulations on an outstanding season. What was the highlight for you?
Thank you. My favorite moment of the season was shooting 68 at Copper Creek and winning medalist at the Southeast Polk Invite.
What did you think of your team’s performance at the state meet?
I would say we all feel like we underperformed, but the conditions were challenging and getting to state is an accomplishment.
Going into the meet, did you feel like your team had a chance to be a contender playing on its home course?
I think we did have a chance to compete for a state championship with state being held at Otter. I know we can all shoot low scores out there, but we’re not always going to have a perfect day.
Like just about everyone, you struggled on Friday in the brutal conditions. Were those the worst conditions you’ve ever played in?
I’ve played in tough conditions before, and I know it can get windy at Otter. That is the strongest wind I have ever played in.
Do you think the cold or the wind was a bigger factor?
Early on the cold and the wind bothered me. It can be hard to swing when you don’t have a whole lot of feel in your arms and hands. The wind was a huge factor all day and impacted almost every single shot.
You responded with a much better score on Saturday. What was your mindset going into the final round?
I just wanted to go out there and shoot better on day two. Forget what happened on day one and just do what I could to help the team on day two.
Did anything surprise you about the team results? Were you happy to see your conference sweep the top three places?
We knew all year that we were going to see several teams from our conference at state. Going into state, I thought Johnston was the heavy favorite so I was surprised by Valley and its performance. They played great at the end of the season, and congratulations to them.
Your teammate, Drew Hensen, shot a 146 total to earn a fifth-place finish. Have you learned a lot from playing with him for the last few years?
Drew and I have been friends for a long time, and we have played a lot of golf together. I’ve learned a lot from Drew over the years; he’s always been very supportive and a good teammate. He always pushes me to play my best.
Another of your teammates, Evan Hodapp, withdrew on Saturday after experiencing a severe muscle spasm in his neck. When did you find out that he stopped playing, and did that put any more pressure on the rest of you to post a good score?
I found out about Evan’s injury as I saw him walking back from the first green before I started my round. I was just hoping he was OK. On day two we were just trying to go out there and play our best. There wasn’t too much pressure, but the five of us did need to step up.
Would you like to play golf in college? What are you going to study?
I’ve thought about going somewhere to play golf, but I decided to go to Iowa State and will major in business.
