Greene County High School sophomore Rachael Danielson is preparing the May 31-June 1 Class 4A Girls’ State Golf Tournament in Ames at the Coldwater Links Golf Course. She told Raccoon Valley Radio she planned on playing the course a couple of times prior to May 31. Danielson won Region 1 medalist honors on May 23 at the Carroll Country Club Course, and is one of few girls from a Jefferson-based golf program to ever qualify for a State tournament.

She was asked what it meant to be a State qualifier and replied, “It means a lot. It means everything!” She talked about both the physical and mental aspects of playing golf. “Physically, you have to be pretty darn good, but about 95% of the game is mental.” She said her ball striking on Monday was excellent, but it was the mental part that pushed her through to the victory. “I told myself to keep grinding, to keep going.”

Play begins at 9 a.m. with a shotgun start both days of the State Tournament.