File photo by Ari Selvey Sleepy Eye United’s Sam Price, pictured in this June 3 file photo from the second round of the Section 2A Golf Tournament at North Links Golf Course in North Mankato, was named the All-Journal Girls Golfer of the Year on Friday.

SLEEPY EYE — Sam Price has had an exceptional two years of golfing as an underclassman.

Not only did she qualify for the state tournament for the second and third times as a freshman and sophomore, but she also was the Tomahawk Conference Player of the Year in both seasons as well.

In addition to those honors, Price has also been chosen for her second All-Journal Girls Golfer of the Year honor for her play this season.

“I’m very proud of myself and the work I have put in has definitely paid off,” Price said. “But I know I still have a lot of work to put in these next two years to achieve some more goals of mine.”

Price lowered her nine-hole average by two strokes from last season, down to 47.04. Price said her work on her short game and mentality were some big reasons in her drop in average.

“I’ve just had time to grow mentally and out on the golf course too,” Price said. “I definitely worked on my short game more this year, which has helped a lot. Normally my long game is pretty good, pretty consistent. Just working on my short game this year definitely helped.”

Price was the top-place finisher at both the Tomahawk Conference Tournament and the Section 2A Tournament, cementing herself as one of the top girls golfers in the area.

“Mentally, I was in the game,” Price said. “I was focused on doing my best. I wasn’t worried about any other people or teams that we were going against. I kind of just worry about myself.”

Price shared the All-Journal Girls Golfer of the Year award last season with teammate Liz Schwint. Now with Schwint graduated, Price found herself as the leader of Sleepy Eye United’s girls golf team that had gone to the state tournament twice in a row. With Price’s help, SEU won the Section 2A Tournament once more this year for a third consecutive state tournament appearance.

“I know that I need to do my best in order to get those lower scores as a team,” Price said. “But me and my coach also try to encourage the other girls to do their best to also contribute to the low scores. This year was super fun, because we were golfing well and the team just gets along greatly. It was really fun this year.”

Of all the rounds of golf she has played this season, the one that sticks out to Price the most is her final round in the State Golf Tournament at Pebble Creek Golf Club. Price was unable to finish the round due to weather, completing just 16 holes, but in those holes she shot an 82. On the front nine, Price shot a 40, her lowest of the season.

“My very last nine holes of the season, I was playing the best I’ve ever played,” Price said. “It was really fun getting to play good finally. I feel like at the end of the year, I normally pull everything together. I always feel like I do better in the state tournament.

“That’s kind of what happened again this year. Everything was going well for me, and I was able to pull it together in the end. Any time I used my pitching wedge or my pro twitch from like, 60 to 110 yards out, I was very confident with that at the state tournament.”

That confidence and strong finish helped Price to place 22nd at the state tournament out of 84 golfers. For the next year, Price has set her sights even higher.

“My hope is next season I’ll be shooting consistent low 40s and hopefully 30s,” Price said. “Next year my goal for placing-wise at state, if I get there, is to get top 15 individually.”