Megan Thiravong’s name has become synonymous with historical achievements at Rochelle Township High School. The junior golf standout isn’t finished setting records, however, and she made her mark once again after carding an 81 to tie for fourth place in the IHSA Class 1A Sectional at Oregon’s Silver Ridge Golf Course on Monday.
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OREGON — Megan Thiravong’s name has become synonymous with historical achievements at Rochelle Township High School. The junior golf standout isn’t finished setting records, however, and she made her mark once again after carding an 81 to tie for fourth place in the IHSA Class 1A Sectional at Oregon’s Silver Ridge Golf Course on Monday.
Thiravong performed well enough to qualify for the IHSA Class 1A State Championship tournament at Decatur’s Red Tail Run Golf Course on Friday and Saturday. It’s the third time Thiravong has advanced to the state tournament, making her the first player in RTHS history to reach state three times.
“It’s such an honor to represent RTHS as both an individual and a member of our community,” Thiravong said. “I love being a student and a player here. I want to thank coach [Glen] Mehrings and coach [David] Cartwright for supporting me and I can’t wait to go down to state and enjoy the experience with them.”
Thiravong’s quest for three consecutive state tournament appearances started in the IHSA Class 1A Regional at Byron’s PrairieView Golf Club, where she took fifth place with an 87 to qualify for the sectional round. While Thiravong may not have played her best golf at the regional competition, she said some adjustments to her short game allowed her to card a better score in the sectional tournament at Silver Ridge.
“The greens were definitely very slick at the regional,” Thiravong said. “My putting and chipping weren’t all that great, but we worked on those things before the sectional and they were much better there… I know there are a few things I can improve on for the state tournament.”
Thiravong shot 42 over the first nine holes of the sectional round before rounding out with a 39 across the back nine holes to cement her place in the state tournament. Thiravong, who won the Interstate 8 Conference Championship in Rochelle this season, knew she needed to heat up down the stretch in order to keep her goal of making the state tournament within reach.
“I realized where I was ranked and I knew I needed to step up so I could qualify,” Thiravong said. “Coach [Mehrings] was able to help me along the way. He told me that everything would be all good if I could keep my cool and keep going.”
It was roughly two months ago when Thiravong said her goal was to earn a top-10 finish in the state tournament this season. After placing 65th her freshman season and taking 20th her sophomore season, with both finishes coming at Red Tail Run, Thiravong has the experience necessary to make a deep run at this year’s state competition.
“Since I’ve played the course a few times, I know there are a few spots on the course that can be pretty tricky,” Thiravong said. “There’s a stretch of holes on the back nine called ‘The Gauntlet’ where players are lucky to walk away with a couple of bogeys in hand. I know I can be aggressive on the front nine, but I’ll need to play safe on the back nine. I need to stay focused and I can’t let little things distract me from my game.”
