How Rock Bridge golfer Tierney Baumstark is using 16 summer tourneys to prepare for senior year

Across Columbia, high school sports teams prepare in their own ways.

Basketball stars take on AAU circuits. Football squads practice in the summer months. Baseball has summer ball.

Tierney Baumstark is in a different category playing golf. She can play to her pace during the summer in an individual sport.

That pace, as it turns out, is rather fast.

"I have 16 tournaments that I'm playing in this summer," Baumstark said. "Last summer, I really focused on playing from a longer distance to get ready for this season, because I knew that it would help me with (college) recruiting."

Baumstark finished her junior year at Rock Bridge in May. She was a member of the Bruins golf team that finished fourth in the MSHSAA Class 4 state tournament. Baumstark finished sixth overall in the individual standings.

A determination to improve is what drives Baumstark this summer. She wants to take strides forward before her senior season, and she also wants to land on the radars of college golf coaches to play at the next level.

Not only is she playing in over a dozen tournaments this summer, but Baumstark is also winning those tournaments.

In June, Baumstark won the Missouri Golf Association’s 22nd annual Junior Match Play tournament's female division held at Shirkey Golf Club in Richmond. Baumstark was the No. 1 overall seed and scored 156 in the finals to edge Marshfield's Marlee Edgeman, who finished with a score of 157.

Her improvement is evident. But achieving both goals of improving and getting recruited is tricky out on the course.

"Even if you see like a coach out there watching you play, you can't necessarily say hi because you might break some NCAA rules," Baumstark said. "It's been different, but I'm very thankful for all the coaches that have come and put time in watching me play and at least giving me a look."

While the recruiting aspect is difficult at times, it hasn't held her back.

This past week, Baumstark was one of six junior golfers representing Missouri at the 54th annual Junior Girls Four State Championship at Elmwood Country Club in Marshalltown, Iowa, hosted by the Missouri Golf Association.

On Friday, the Missouri team finished in second in the four-way tournament with opposing teams from Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska.

Baumstark credited the team around her this summer for giving her a mental boost and helping her focus on the consistent goal of breaking a round of 80.

High school coaches and the Columbia Golf Foundation have helped her realize her goals and encouraged her to strive for improvement, she said.

That improvement is evident on paper.

"Last year around this time, I was averaging about like an 82," Baumstark said. "Now I'm averaging a 76.9."

As Baumstark improves, she'll be aiming to take that to the course her senior season, where she'll be the lone senior on the Rock Bridge roster.

The Bruins are talented. Baumstark is joined by rising junior Siena Minor, who finished third in the Class 4 tournament. Baumstark knows that talent leads to the potential to leave the program better than when she began.

"I will be the only senior this year, but I'm kind of used to that already," Baumstark said. "My freshman year, I was the only freshman walking in, and this year I will be the only senior walking out. I'm just really focused on growing the program and excited to spend my last season playing with my sister on the same team as well."

Baumstark began playing golf when she was around 2 years old and moved to the competitive ranks when she was 10.

She's primed to be one of the best golfers in Boone County this coming fall, even if she wasn't playing 16 tournaments over the summer.

Those extra tournaments are the kind of challenge Baumstark loves, though. Along with the challenge comes the chance to better herself, and to just have fun.

"Every time I go out and play golf, I learn something new and I get better every single time," Baumstark said. "Golf just builds mental toughness, character, and it challenges you every time you play. I just love it so much. It's just so fun."

Chris Kwiecinski is the sports editor for the Columbia Daily Tribune, overseeing University of Missouri and Boone County sports coverage. Follow him on Twitter @OchoK_ and contact him at CKwiecinsk@gannett.com or 573-815-1857.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Why Rock Bridge's Tierney Baumstark is playing in 16 summer tourneys