The Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School varsity golf captain swung his way into the top quarter of the competition at the MIAA state tournament championship this week.
Junior Jacoby Light, in frigid conditions Tuesday at Taconic Golf Club, shot an 81 to tie for 25th out of 105 players.
Originally scheduled for Oct. 21 at the Foxborough Country Club, the tournament was postponed a week due to heavy rain and relocated to the course in Williamstown Massachusetts. For Light, the delay proved to be beneficial.
“I felt very prepared for the tournament because it was pushed back a week and in that week I got so many extra reps, and on top of that, I got a practice round at the course.I really liked the course so I felt prepared,” he said.
Light qualified for the tournament after shooting an 80 to finish eighth at the South Sectionals on Oct. 14 at LeBaron Hills Country Club. Sophomore on the golf team Macallen Moran also made his postseason debut at sectionals, finishing mid-pack in the 100-player match.
Despite not playing his best, Light pulled off two impressive saves. On the fifth hole, after a strong tee shot put him just 100-yards from the hole, Light chunked his next shot into the hardest bunker on the course. He then bladed it from there across the green. At risk of shooting a double or even triple bogey, Light hunkered down and made a short chip onto the top of the green that trickled into the hole to save par.
“I was climbing up the hill and grabbing my putter, I heard my playing partners say ‘really nice shot.’ So I’m thinking this is good and once I get to the top of the hill, I finally see the ball trickling right at the hole and it hit the pin to go in and save par,” said Light.
On the 14th hole, he made a chip-in from 20-yards out onto a tricky green. “It was the best shot I saw all year,” said head coach Henry Smith.
Smith said he wasn’t surprised that Light finished top 25 in the state.
“Jacoby has a competitive edge that has become quite apparent over the past three years coaching him. The kind that can’t really be taught,” said Smith. “He is not phased by adversity. In golf it is common to get discouraged after a bad hole or two and give up on the round; he does not, as the kids would say, ‘He has that dog in him.’”
“He is a pleasure to coach and I’m looking forward to what next season holds,” he added.
Light said his goal for next season is to qualify for sectionals and then the state tournament not just as an individual but with the rest of the Vineyard golf team.
“It felt really good to have Martha’s Vineyard there and being able to represent us, but I want my team there. The goal is to get them next year because I believe we are a really strong team and can compete with anyone.”
