By Amanda Carney
Co-Sports Editor
Sleep, eat, golf.
That is what two of Hutchinson Community College’s men’s golf players have been doing since pretty much day one. Sophomore Lake Leroux is from Columbia, Missouri, and freshmen Peyton Austin from Derby. Both were raised with golf as a first nature.
Leroux grew up around seeing golf from a coach’s perspective. His dad, Mark Leroux, has been a college golf coach for 15-plus years, and is currently at the University of Missouri.
Lake knew growing up how important good teammates are.
“I was around the golf course all the time,” Lake Leroux said. “Always seeing how a golf team works. You see how much work goes into golf practice.”
Leroux also understands the importance of golf being a team sport at the college level. Golf is not only an individual sport, but also a team sport, and the Blue Dragons have one of the best around. They have won the Jayhawk Conference and Region 6 championships so far this season, and were also NJCAA District 3 runner-up.
“It’s hard to know where you’re at as a team,” Leroux said. “There is no scoreboard to look at. You got to stick with it no matter where you are at.”
Austin has also known golf his whole life, but in different way than Leroux. Austin watched his dad, Woody Austin, play golf at the professional level, even on the PGA Tour.
Austin got to see golf at a whole new level.
“You go everywhere,” Peyton Austin said. “Every year, you’re in a tournament every summer, every spring. I wanted to live up to the hype of my dad.”
Growing up with a dad as a professional golfer has its pros and cons. Austin said he understood that from a young age.
“He knew what I needed,” Peyton said. “My whole life I’ve been very blessed, because he knew what I needed.”
Overall both Blue Dragons know the importance of golf as a team sport to help get the HutchCC golf team to where it is today.
“It’s a marathon out there,” Austin said. “There’s 36 holes in one day. It’s an absolute marathon out there. You just have to take it one hole at a time. Which our team does very well.”
Their efforts have not gone unnoticed by HutchCC coach Chris Young.
“Being around golf their whole lives, they have gotten to see how a program runs,” Young said. “How important great teammates are.”
