haley

Gladstone High School junior Haley McDonald placed first at the Quail Valley tournament on April 2 out of 21 varsity players.

McDonald continued her success with a fourth-place finish out of 26 players on April 9. Out of 16 varsity girl golfers, she placed first again on April 11 at Langdon Farms, where she birdied two par five holes for a 41 on the back nine, scoring 89 total. On April 16, she returned to Quail Valley for her third first-place finish this year.

She placed in the top 10 last year in 4A and hopes to qualify for state in the top five in district matchups.

"I want to hopefully get a golf scholarship and am looking forward to working hard these next few seasons and doing well in more tournaments," she said.

Family and school support for McDonald is strong. One of her first memories is playing with plastic golf clubs, and she received her first set of metal clubs at the age of 6. She's now determined to keep winning on her way to two state championships.

"Having the discipline to compete in golf has helped me to apply that success to academics and other areas of my life," she said.