Indy Star

 

By Matt Glenesk

Last week proved eventful for Ryan McMannis.

May 4, the Perry Meridian freshman tied for second at the Marion County tournament. The day before, he beat his dad, George, for the first time.

Which is more memorable?

"The county performance for sure," McMannis said. "Beating my dad is great, but I'm only going to get recognition in our family for that. Plus, he's only going to get older. I'll have plenty of chances to beat him again."

In 2008, Perry Meridian's Aaron Monson won the county title, and the senior went on to tie for third at the state meet.

This year, not many expected to see McMannis tie for second with even-par 71 at Winding River Golf Course.

McMannis was two under par after 16 holes but carded his only bogeys at 17 and 18. Instead of dwelling on what might have been, McMannis focused on the positive -- he placed second.

"Every step in golf is a learning experience," he said. "When you play with guys that are going on to play in college, you can't help but learn something from them. Every match I play, I learn a little bit about myself and how I'm going to control my game."

McMannis' first love was soccer, and he played the sport for as long as he could remember. Even when he started to take golf seriously in the sixth grade, soccer still had a hold. Not until September 2008, when caddying for his dad attempting to qualify for a Nationwide Tour event in Chattanooga, Tenn., did McMannis embrace the sport wholly.

"I was just watching my dad and seeing the people in the grind that they were in," he said. "It brought to me that I want to take this seriously and perhaps be there one day competing with them."

Kyle Baumann, in his first year as Perry Meridian's coach and the head pro at Winding River since 2002, is drilled in the nuances of the game and said he saw something in McMannis.

"We really didn't know what we had with Ryan early on," Baumann said, "but what I did know, being trained in the golf swing, was that he had talent."

McMannis and sophomore Drew De La Cruz have helped Perry Meridian to a 6-4 mark with hopes of progressing past the sectional. Even with Monson last season, the Falcons failed to qualify for regional.

"We're different. Instead of having one extremely good player, we have a really solid top five. We're a much deeper team," Baumann said.

Perry Meridian placed ninth in the county tournament. Roncalli, which finished fourth, and Southport, which bested the Falcons by two strokes, await them in sectional play. Mix in Beech Grove, which came in two strokes behind the Falcons, and the June 5 sectional looks to be tightly contested.

"Are we going to go out there and win it? I'd love to say we could, but other teams have kids that all the way down to the six spot can consistently score in the 70s," Baumann said. "Everyone in our top six has the talent to do that, (but) they just haven't shown it yet. We're going to need more rounds like Ryan's on Monday."