LAUREL — Royce Taylor finally broke through.
The Laurel sophomore claimed the Eastern A divisional golf title on his home course after shooting a 3-under-par 69 last week. With just three holes to play, Taylor jokingly asked teammate Sam Norman to let him win one.
“It's awesome. I love competing with him. We're really good friends and we have competition both inside and outside of golf," Taylor told MTN Sports. "It's awesome competing against him."
“The last few days we've been out and been neck-and-neck the entire time, throwing money into it," Norman said. "That's the best competition, is playing against your teammates. Winning is awesome. I'm really proud of him. He's put a lot of work into it."
Taylor was noticeably loose during the Eastern A’s one-round tournament. Even with a lead in the closing moments, Taylor didn’t let the pressure bother him.
“I feel like if I'm really tense and super locked in, I overthink it and start hitting bad shots. If I'm loose and playing it like a round with buddies, I'm a lot better," Taylor said.
Taylor has style to match the swagger of his game, sporting a pair of Michael Jordan White Sox edition golf shoes on the course.
“I always try to have the coolest shoes on the team, and these are what I picked up this year," Taylor said. "I have a couple other pairs of Jordan golf shoes, but I knew we were doing an all-black outfit for golf this year and they looked like they'd be a perfect match."
That all-black look will make its way to Polson Bay for the State A tournament Friday and Saturday, where Taylor and Norman will hope for team and individual success.
"Especially with last year with not winning state and not bringing that home, that's a big motivator for us collectively," Norman said. "Anything can happen, so we're pretty excited for it."
