Mercury PIAA Golf Preview: Methacton’s Cooper sticks to aggressive mindset to make states

Jeff Cooper considers himself an aggressive golfer.

When the Methacton junior has an opportunity to go for the green, he doesn’t waste the chance.

So earlier this week at the PIAA East Regional on the second playoff hole, Cooper went for it while his three competitors laid up.

After finding the fairway on the Par 5 18th hole at Golden Oaks Golf Club, Cooper put his approach from 270 yards out in the middle of the green, about 25 feet from the hole. He two-putted his way to a birdie, clinching one of the final spots in Monday’s PIAA Class 3A State Tournament at Heritage Hills Golf Resort in York.

Cooper will be joined by Boyertown’s John Engle, Daniel Boone’s Colton Yenser and Norristown’s Josh Ryan, while Pope John Paul II’s Paul Brady will compete in the Class 2A field

“I wasn’t really going into the playoff hoping to keep tying with everyone until someone made a mistake,” Cooper said. “I wanted to get there, do what I can…I wanted to put the ball on the green before anyone else and try to beat everyone.”

The postseason is a new experience for Cooper.

While Cooper qualified for districts as a freshman, a back injury kept him from competing past the PAC meet in both of his first two seasons.

Cooper came into this season feeling healthy and did not mince his goals, putting a trip to states at the top of the list from the outset.

“All offseason, I worked to get my back stronger, and it seems to be working pretty well for me,” Cooper said. “At the beginning of the year, my goal was to make it to states, that was my big goal,” Cooper said. “Now, hopefully I can do something at states.”

Yenser uses Uncle’s advice to get to states

Daniel Boone’s Colton Yenser has had a golf club in his hand since he was five or six years old.

His uncle, Andy Miller, is the golf pro at LedgeRock Golf Club in Berks County and doubles as a personal tutor for the Blazers’ junior.

During this offseason, Miller made a few slight adjustments to Yenser’s swing, closing his grip and making his swing less steep. The result has been a breakout season.

Yenser finished two shots off advancing to the East Regional in 2018. There was no such worry this year as Yenser finished eighth with an 6-over at the District 3-3A championships to comfortably earn a trip to the East Regional earlier this week, where he placed tied for 14th to advance to states.

“At the end of last year, I knew I could improve,” Yenser said. “I got a lot better, started hitting the ball farther, and I realized I could go farther. I looked at the scores from last year, and I realized I could do it.”

“Last year I didn’t make it past districts, so it’s good to make it this far,” he added.

Putting makes perfect for Boyertown’s Engle

After John Engle missed the cut on the first day of districts last season, he knew he wasn’t that far off from taking a big leap as a junior.

Engle spent the summer playing with his dad and a few others at Twin Ponds Golf Course in Gilbertsville, putting his emphasis on improving his putting. He said he his self-taught, just making adjustments on his own or through the advice of dad or one of the other guys he plays with at Twin Ponds.

Things started to click this summer, and Engle carried it over to the fall, finishing tied for 10th at districts and following that up with another 10th place finish at the East Regional to lock up his first trip to states. Engle said he is the first Boyertown boys’ golfer to qualify for states in at least two decades.

“My putting really got a lot better over the summer and was able to help me make more par putts and saves,” Engle said. “That helped with my scores a lot…I had one really good round during the summer and a couple after that, and then just really kept going.”

Ryan, Brady hope to keep rolling into states

Pope John Paul II sophomore Paul Brady was a district qualifier as a freshman, finishing with two rounds of 87 at the District 1-2A championships last season.

Brady finished tied for fourth, five shots off the lead, earlier this fall at the Pioneer Athletic Conference championship then improved significantly on last year’s district finish with rounds of 79 and 77 to end as District 1’s top Class 2A golfer. Brady shot a four-over 76 at the East Regional, three shots behind the winner, to finish tied for third and secure a spot in states.

Norristown junior Josh Ryan is the area’s only state returner. Ryan was the PAC champ and District 1-3A champion earlier this season before finishing tied for seventh at Monday’s East Regional. He finished tied for 19th at states last year.