For the past three years, the Fountain Hills High School golf team has sent at least one Schafer to the state tournament. Junior Ethan Schafer made his return to the championship tournament last week, and he finished 49th out of 468 golfers in the state.

Schafer played at the Omni National Sonoran Golf Course in Tucson on Monday and Tuesday, May 8-9. His older brother, Alex Schafer, played at state as an individual last season, and they both played at state when the team qualified in 2021.

Each year, the state tournament alternates between the Catalina and Sonoran courses at the Omni Tucson National Resort. Schafer played on the same course as he did in his freshman year, but he said it was harder this year without team support.

“I feel like the course played harder junior year,” Schafer said. “I didn’t play as good, I don’t think, as freshman year. It was a little harder, I feel like, without the team there and everything, because our team went [my] freshman year.”

Schafer also went to Tucson to cheer on his brother on the second day of state last year. He said this year’s trip was the windiest he’d experienced, and he admitted to having trouble keeping the ball straight on every hole.

After playing 36 holes in the Metro Invitational Golf Tournament on Friday and Saturday, May 5-6, Schafer drove down to Tucson on Sunday, May 7, and he began his next tournament on Monday. All of that contributed to what Schafer called a “rough” first day at state, but he came out refreshed on the last day and shot a 79.

“I had a really bad front nine, I shot eight over,” Schafer said. “Then I shot one over on the back, which was pretty good. I had two birdies on the back, which was excellent, so I think I finished pretty good on my last nine.”

Schafer said that he thought he didn’t have the best season, but making state is a good accomplishment and something he wants to build on. Schafer was just shy of making state last year, just like the team this year, and they all want to go and compete at state next season.

The Falcons ended last season ranked No. 23, and they moved up to No. 19 by the end of this season. The top 17 teams competed at state last year, and the top 15 teams went to the tournament this year.

“We’re going to get better. It’s going to be a lot better next season,” Schafer said. “We’re definitely going to make state. We’re all going to be seniors and we’re tired of not making state as a team the last two years.”

Schafer and fellow juniors Tom Tiebert and Jaxson Butcher played key roles for the Falcons this year. Tiebert has been with the program for three years and finished ranked 101st this year, and Butcher was one of several important additions this season.

Freshman Riley Murdock and Adam Oberg impressed teammates and coaches this season and found their way into the starting lineup many times. Sophomore Shannon Breen showed plenty of potential in her first season of golf, and sophomore Savannah Miller and junior Ben West returned to the team and added experienced depth.

The Falcons aren’t losing any seniors to graduation, and every returning player plans to practice in the offseason. Schafer wants to return to the Omni Tucson National Resort with his full team next year, and his ambitions go even higher than that. He wants to be a top 10 golfer in the state, and he’s prepared to put in the work to get there.

Schafer said he intends to play more tournament golf this offseason, something he didn’t do last year. He hopes that getting an early start to high level competitions will pay dividends come state tournament time next year.

The Falcons saw a dramatic increase in try-out participation from last year to this year, and head coach Bob Buczek has said he expects more students to come out next year as well. The competition between teammates will be more intense, and they’ll be better for it come next season.