The Brophy golf team clinched a playoff spot on Monday with a regular-season win over Chaparral and Desert Mountain at McCormick Ranch after shooting nine-over as a group.

Though the young men at Brophy were thrilled about tacking on another win for the season, the main focus of the five boys at McCormick Ranch was on the outcome of their own game.

Coach Jon Shores made it clear to them at the start of the tournament that the scores that they produced would be factored into whether or not they made the fifth and sixth spot on the state championship roster. This amplified the importance of the final stretch of holes on the last nine.

“At this point in the season I don’t really care about the win or loss in this match as much as how to best prepare the team for state,” Shores said.

By focusing on individual performance, Brophy's golfers had to adjust their game accordingly to focus more on the latter half of the nine holes.

Senior Pierce Braun’s round started off strong; after bogeying the first hole, Braun birdied holes two and five, the second one coming off a 10-yard chip shot off the green to give him a 2-under-par going into the sixth hole.

“I started off fine, but the finish was absolutely awful,” Braun said.

After bogeying three of the four last holes, Braun was frustrated with his performance, emphasizing that he needs to focus more on controlling his emotions and swing in the second half of a round.

Although Braun was hard on himself after his performance, the senior offered a positive in relation to what this performance means for the starting five during the state championship.

“If I get the spot, it will make me work that much harder," Braun said. "If I don', it will make me want to mentally help the other guys with their confidence."

Sophomore George Rubelsky was also disappointed in his round. After starting out strong during the first half of the match, a miss-hit approach shot on hole seven put Rubelsky into bogey trouble toward the end of the round.

“I was playing consistent before coming out with a weird start, and I didn't finish well. Overall it was a wacky round,” Rubelsky said.

Rubelsky and Braun both finished 3-over-par, with Jack Nethers, Brayden Bozak and Jack Dozer all finishing 2-over-par. This gave the squad a score of 9-over-par and Shores a big decision before the state championship tournament.

“These guys are all fighting for a fifth spot,” Shores said. “I just wanted them to worry about themselves and their game, and to be selfish in their approach to try to win that spot.”