Sometimes you’ve got to work with what you got.
“Got my first set of clubs and it was a men’s set because we couldn’t find any left-handed clubs,” said former Springfield Catholic golfer Lyla Louderbaugh. “My dad got them cut down.”
Making the most of an opportunity can lead to so much more, especially with someone by your side.
“It’s worth it,” said former Springfield Catholic golfer Reagan Zibilski. “Growing up I didn’t have a lot of people to play with, but Lyla and I kind of stuck together through it and we are both collegiate athletes playing at a pretty high level.”
Zibilski golfs for Arkansas and Louderbough for Kansas. But this summer, the former fighting irish went back to their roots.
“It was such a full circle moment for us,” Zibilski said. “Just playing junior golf here when we were eight or nine years old and now here we are 19 and 20 playing on the biggest stage at Amateur golf.”
The golfers who once competed at state together, finished top five in the Missouri Women’s Amateur Championship this year.
“It was a difficult week,” Louderbaugh said. “But I did well for myself and I was proud of how I performed.”
Louderbaugh was green to the next level: The U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship. For Zibilski, not so much.
“Every time you play in it, it gets a little easier,” Zibilski said. “So I think that was a big experience, this was my third time. I know that I belong here.”
“Seeing Reagan there…just having a calming sense and someone I knew of, a familiar face, was a great thing to have,” Louderbaugh said.
While they did not advance as far as they wanted, it’s not often two high school teammates get to compete again, later in their golf careers. A career that flourishes just like their friendship.
“With Lyla and other teammates, we still talk once a week,” Zibilski said. “We try to play golf when we are home all together. So it’s awesome just being able to just see those relationships grow and be there in the future.”
