Sophomore Taylor Mezzatesta steps up to the golf tee. He stares down the golf course towards the hole. He takes a deep breath and readies himself to begin. He rears back with his driver and brings it down again, sending the golf ball flying into the distance. This is not a normal hole though, this is the beginning of the Junior Tour of Maryland, Mezzatesta’s first tour he played in.

Mezzatesta not only played, but placed first in the tour’s 14-15-year-old division. According to Mezzatesta, he received a crystal trophy for his efforts. “I was glad all my hard work and practice paid off.” This was Mezzatesta’s first tournament win.

“I’ve been playing golf since I was six, but I started competitive golfing as a freshman,” Mezzatesta said. “I guess I have always played, but I just wanted to take it to another level. I also wanted to do individual events.”

The tour over the summer was played at courses such as Greystone Country Club, Hunt Valley Country Club, Bulle Rock, and Rum Pointe Country Club. Mezzatesta said he enjoyed Greystone the most because “I played well there and I just liked it. I really like playing all the courses and seeing them all.”

Mezzatesta began playing competitively with the golf team freshman year. “[Competition golf] has definitely made me better from the experience. I like playing competition golf more because you have to keep practicing to get better,” Mezzatesta said.

According to Mezzatesta, he practices almost daily at the Maryland Golf and Country Club, where the school team also practices.

“He is really good. He worked his way up to third on the team really quickly. Over the summer he also played in the tour and got a lot better,” teammate and senior Brian Matejevich said.

According to coach Anthony Del Puppo, notice of Mezzatesta’s potential was immediate. “He could hit the ball very well for a freshman. I found out [that] over the summer, he played a lot of golf and I was happy to hear that. He told me he was getting better. I saw he won first place and I took notice of that. I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do competitively,” Del Puppo said.

Mezzatesta is currently playing in the Plantations Junior Golf Tour which runs through the fall and winter.

Cole Alban is the Online Chief for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.