BROOMFIELD, COLORADO – Wheatland High School golf team has begun their summer tour, reflecting the saying WHS golf coach Tony Nichols is known for: “The fall golf season really starts in May.”
The majority of the WHS squad will be competing in tournaments around the state and in Colorado. Last weekend, Tate Nichols played in a junior worlds qualifier hosted by the Colorado PGA Junior Golf Association on May 27th/28th in Broomfield, Colorado and tied for ninth out of 80, shooting one-over-par for a two-day total of 145 (71-74).
The Wyoming State Golf Association recently held their first junior golf event of the year, which was also a qualifier for the junior worlds golf tournament held in San Diego, California at Torrey Pines Golf Course in early July. This is a very competitive event where only one boy and one girl punch their way to the prestigious junior worlds. Tate Nichols, Ace Keil, Jacob Miller, Haylie Nelson, and Griffin Nichols all played in the qualifier at Jacoby Golf Course in Laramie over the weekend.

Tate Nichols shot two over, on day one, to find himself two shots behind Colorado junior golf standout Ash Edwards. On day two, Tate Nichols stayed patient and made birdies when the opportunity arose. When the two-day event wrapped up, Tate Nichols came out victorious by one shot by firing a sizzling 68.
Nichols was followed by his brother Griffin Nichols, who finished 10th (85-80); Miller finished 14th (90-79); and Keil finished 17th (94-94). 
On the girls side, Haylie Nelson finished in ninth place (96-99).  
“The junior world qualifiers always seem to start off the competitive summer season for junior golf. These qualifiers are high stakes as the field at Torrey Pines in San Diego is limited to 200-250 spots for the top 15– to 18-year-old junior golfers worldwide. The only way to gain entry is to qualify. I’m proud of our Wheatland golfers for going out and competing on a tough course that was played at a college-level yardage. In high school golf tournaments, the courses play anywhere from 6,000 to 6,400 yards for the boys and 4,800 to 5,200 yards for the girls. For this event the boys played close to 7,000 yards and the girls 6,000 yards.
“Tate really dug deep to beat one of the best junior golfers in the region who was the Colorado junior match play champion last year. He overcame three double bogeys on day one to shoot two over and finished day two by shooting three under. Our other guys also got the opportunity to put their games to the test with a little over two months until we look to compete for another state title in the fall,” coach Nichols said.