Holt prepares for nationals

A New Albany native will soon have the chance to compete nationally in golf after another impressive year playing at Northeast.
Austin Holt was consistently one of the standouts for the NAHS golf team and has since worked his way to the number one spot on the Northeast squad.
The added pressure wasn’t too much for Holt to deal with, as he progressed to the state tournament then the Region 23 match in Amory. From there, Holt shot a 78 and 71 respectively, finishing second as an individual to make it to the national tournament in Alabama next month.
“I’ve had a pretty good season, but I didn’t start off well at state,” he said. “Coach talked to me, telling me I basically needed a perfect day to make it out of the tournament, and I battled to make it through to the region tournament then to nationals.”
Holt is no stranger to success, as he spent three years in the number one spot for New Albany, guiding them to two second and a third place finish as a team.
“He was by far the leader of the team the three years I had him,” NAHS golf coach Robert Garrett said. “You could always tell his work ethic and determination on the course, but as great of a golfer as he is, he’s an even better person and student.”
Holt and the Tigers saw success last season as a team, but could not add on to that in 2011. With the national tournament taking the top five individuals, Holt will be the lone representative for Northeast at four-day event.
“Last year great year for the team, and I had the opportunity to start every match last,” Holt said. “This year it’s been different for the team and I had the chance to play at the number one spot. It was a lot more pressure, but I shot well and I’m excited for the chance to go to nationals.”
Although he does not know much about the next course he will play on, Holt hopes that with a little practice leading up to the tournament in Scottsboro, Ala., he can potentially finish the year as an All-American.
“We’re going a couple days before to play the course and check it out,” he said. “It’ll be fun to go there and compete, so I’m just going to keep practicing and working up until the tournament.”
Holt will be in competition May 17-20 at the Goose Pond Colony Plantation.

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