Hat High golfer Wyatt Bishop wins zone championship

By JAMES TUBB on September 17, 2021.

jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb

Wyatt Bishop could tell he was going to win the zone championship on the 14th hole.

He could tell from the environment around him and the other kids he was golfing with that he was on his way to winning the South zone golf championship on Monday in Taber.

“It’s honestly a cool feeling, especially when you know you have the lead going into the last couple holes,” said the Grade 11 Hat High student. “Nerves get up and then when you finally make that last putt, it’s pretty cool. It’s a thrilling experience.”

Bishop won the tournament by four strokes, his third win in 11 tournaments this year. His recipe for success involves a lot of practice and having a positive attitude in the mental game that is golf. His parents own Desert Blume golf course, which has allowed him to play golf every day.

“(I go) as much as I can and if I don’t I try to hit at least 200-300 balls a day., That’s my life,” Bishop said. “I don’t look at what everyone else is doing. If I make a bad shot or a bad hole I put it behind me and move onto the next because it’s 18 holes of golf. One bad hole doesn’t affect a whole round. It’s you reflecting on it that ruins your whole round.”

His goal is to follow former Hat High Hawk Dillon Batsel, to play Division 1 golf. Batsel was a member of the NCAA’s Jacksonville University golf team. Bishop says he’s talked with Batsel about playing D1 and what it takes to get there.

“Just him telling me his experience, it’s a big thing I want to do and I think I can achieve it,” he said.

Hat High golf coach Grant Schaber says Bishop’s abilities on the course are all from his own doing.

“He was good before I ever heard of him and any development he’s got comes from him playing at the course,” Schaber said.

With the zone championship win, Bishop is also the first athlete to win zones as a Hat High Hawk since the school re-branded this spring from the Mohawks.

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