Highland golfer Megan Merrill finished 8th at state while earning academic honors

POCATELLO — Megan Merrill shot a personal-best 78 in round one of the state golf championships at Highland Golf Course to set her up for an eighth-place finish. She is also a member of the Highland girl’s team that earned the team academic state championship.

Merrill, a junior, has been golfing for as long as she can remember, but began taking the game more seriously when she was in eighth grade.

Not only was her day-one score — a two-over 78 — the best round Merrill has ever posted in tournament play.

She followed the 78 with an 84 for a combined score of 162 (10-over), 12 strokes behind individual state champion Ella Wilson, from Coeur d’Alene. Merrill said she satisfied her personal goal for the season with her final position

“My goal for this state was to get top-10, so I’m glad I made my goal,” she said.

Highland Golf Course, which hosted the state 6A championships on Oct. 11 and 12, is normally a difficult course, with its undulating grounds and difficult greens. Those greens, players and coaches agreed, were made even more difficult with their short manicures and quick speeds.

But Merrill and her father, Nate Merrill, are regulars at Highland. And for more than a week leading up to the tournament, the two were out walking the course, building a notebook for the tournament — where she wants to be off the tee, on approach and most importantly cataloging the breaks of the greens.

She admitted that playing states at home gave her “kind of an advantage.”

As any golfer will tell you, though, knowing where you want to be and getting there are two totally different beasts.

So, Merrill also prepared for worst-case scenarios, and that preparation paid off as well.

As she explained, the short game — 60 yards and in — is where Merrill finds her greatest difficulties. As part of her preparation for the tournament, Merrill and her father spent days working on chips and short approach shots from different angles to all 18 greens.

That prep work, she said, helped her “lock it in” and “clutch up” from those distances, and she was able to get up and down to save par on numerous occasions.

Asked what part of the game she will focus on as she gears up for an improved finish as a senior next year, Merrill said she wants to become a mentally stronger player.

“Just, like, getting back from those slumps quickly,” she said. “I’ve definitely gotten better, but if I can get even better at it, that’d be awesome. Getting in those slumps, when you get a bogey or double-bogey, it weighs on you and the rest of your round.”

Being able to leave bogeys behind her, Merrill added, was one of the keys to her success at state.

Along with the individual medal Merrill received for her top-10 finish, Merrill left the tournament with a team medal.

Highland was named the girls academic state champion, with a combined GPA of 3.968.

“We all take school pretty seriously,” Merrill said of her teammates, whom, she added, are all honors students.

As golfers, she said, they sometimes have to scramble in order to maintain those grades, having to miss class for tournaments. They also have to find balance between practice and homework — though sometimes the “athlete” does come before “student.”

“I always go golf first, then I, kind of, regret it late at night when I’m doing my homework,” she said. “But I have more fun at golf.”

And she had a ton of fun at state, meeting new golfers and making new friends, including day-two groupmate Wilson, who won the individual crown on a single playoff hole — watched by many, including a very interested Merrill.

“I just had a really great experience with the girls. Usually I’m scared at state, but I made a lot of friends, it was fun. I’m excited for next season.”