Mountain View's Graham Moody is pictured at Royal Oaks Country Club in Vancouver on June 4, 2020. (Alisha Jucevic/The Columbian)Photo Gallery
Mountain View junior Graham Moody was the favorite to win his second 3A state golf title this spring. He was on a trajectory to become a three-time champion in similar fashion to his good friend and Fort Vancouver alumnus Spencer Tibbits.
Moody, who won state as a freshman and finished third as a sophomore, was denied that opportunity after the coronavirus pandemic put a halt to spring competition. His junior year, in which he won a district championship by 12 strokes in the fall, will go down as a “what if?”
Moody is OK with that.
“This past spring has put everything into perspective,” said Moody, who has been named The Columbian’s All-Region boys golfer of the year for the third consecutive season. “With everything going on, just being healthy and having everyone around me healthy has been the most important thing.”
Moody also led his Mountain View squad to a district title in October. Much of the team returns next year, Moody’s final high school season, for another chance at state glory. Moody will then depart to the University of Wisconsin to play golf in fall 2021.
“Being fortunate enough to play golf at a high level has kind of sheltered me from some of the other things going on in the world,” Moody said. “I think having that new perspective is going to be huge moving forward into college and beyond.”
When golf courses closed for a month this spring, it was the longest time Moody was away from the sport since he picked up clubs as a youngster. Moody earned a scholarship at Royal Oaks Country Club following the completion of his sophomore season, and has taken daily advantage of the top-of-the-line facilities. But the time away — “the longest month of my life” — allowed Moody to refocus. Moody has since rejoined his friends and frequent playing partners — Tibbits and Ridgefield’s Cade Bringhurst — on the course.
“Those friendships are something I definitely missed over that month,” Moody said. “When you don’t get to interact with people for a month, you’re really able to appreciate those friendships.”
As for what lies ahead in Moody’s senior season, he’s not setting any goals.
“At this point, I just want to play,” Moody said. “I could play the worst golf of my life and as long as we’re still out there playing, that’s all that matters.”
Rest of the all-region team
Cade Bringhurst, Ridgefield — Junior was named the 2A GSHL golfer of the year after winning league and district titles.
Evan Chen, Camas — Freshman was key member of record-breaking Papermaker squad and finished fourth at districts.
Eli Huntington, Camas — Freshman teamed with older brother to lead Papermakers to district title. Individually, he finished third.
Owen Huntington, Camas — The junior was named the 4A GSHL golfer of the year after winning the district championship.
Allen Kim, Skyview — Sophomore was a first-team all-league pick and placed second at district, just two strokes behind the leader.
Willy Yeh, Mountain View — The junior parlayed a Royal Oaks scholarship to his best year yet, finishing second at district.
————
Note to readers: The Columbian decided to honor the top players in boys golf and boys tennis because the bulk of their seasons were played in the fall, providing a basis from which to make a selection. The boys tennis All-Region selections will be announced Saturday, June 13. Other sports that hold state championships in the spring had little or no spring season, so there will not be All-Region selections made in those sports.
Morning Briefing Newsletter
Get a rundown of the latest local and regional news every Mon-Fri morning.
