Senior Ty Faltys closes career with long birdie at state
ANKENY — Ty Faltys didn’t have an ideal final round for his high school career.
But the Marshalltown senior went out on a high note, sinking a long birdie putt for the final shot of his high school career and rebounding from a tough first nine holes on Tuesday to finish 42nd in the state with a two-day total of 160 at the IHSAA Class 4A State Meet held at Briarwood Golf Club in Ankeny.
Faltys followed up a 79 on Monday with an 81 on Tuesday.
“He really just battled back,” MHS head coach Lucas Johnson said. “He had a stretch on that back nine where things just weren’t going well, and he just flushed it with a new nine and he kept his mindset right throughout the day.”
Teeing off from No. 10 again on Tuesday, things were looking good when Faltys rolled in a birdie putt from the fringe.
He was sitting at 1-over for the round before a tee shot went into the tall grass behind the green on the par-3 No. 15, and his recovery after the penalty resulted in a triple bogey. Faltys went out of bounds off the tee on No. 18 as well, but had solid approaches to the green to grind his way to only having a double bogey on the hole, a total of 7-over on the back nine.
“Those were two blemishes on his round but I thought he was really good at keeping it in play otherwise off the tee,” Johnson said. “And he didn’t put quite as much stress on the putts, looked really confident on those three-to-five footers that you’ll have a lot of on these quick greens.”
Heading to the front nine, Faltys reached the green on the par-5 No. 4 in two shots and two-putted for a birdie, and dug himself out of a jam on No. 8 when an approach shot almost went into a creek behind the green, but had a favorable enough lie to salvage a bogey.
“I had a lot of shots that were almost chip-ins today and my chipping really helped me to save par or bogey,” Faltys said. “The chips were a lot easier on the front nine.”
Faltys was glad to finally shed those nerves on the last putt. He hopes his efforts made last year’s season captain and previous state qualifier Ryan Schmit proud.
“These four years have been great, and I really wanted to get here for Ryan, our number one from last year,” Faltys said.
He hopes to play more golf in college, and is looking into a business degree with a specialization in golf management.
“I wish it was my junior year so I could have another chance at this,” Faltys said. “But it’s been a good four years.”
After a one-year blip in a long line of Marshalltown state golf qualifiers, Johnson believes Faltys can re-ignite the trend of Bobcat blue representing Marshalltown at state.
“Our underclassmen can learn a lot from how Ty plays the game,” Johnson said. “He does a super good job of staying consistent, staying patient. … It’s the culmination of four years of hard work for him and you’re always happy to see a senior end his career at the state tournament, it’s a great place to end it.”
Anthony Galvin of Cedar Falls defeated Johnston’s Andrew Johannsen in a two-hole playoff to win the individual title. Both finished 36 holes at even par.
Johnston won the team title by five strokes over Dubuque Wahlert.
2024 Iowa High School Boys State Golf Meet
CLASS 4A
At Ankeny
Briarwood Golf Club, par 72
Second Round
Team Standings — 1. Johnston 607, 2. Dubuque Wahlert 612, 3. WDM Valley 613, 4. Pleasant Valley 614, 5. Cedar Falls 617, T6. North Scott 623, T6. Waukee 623, 8. Ankeny 626, 9. Ankeny Centennial 629, 10. Dowling Catholic 644.
Individual Leaders (top 8 plus area, denotes won playoff) — 1. Anthony Galvin, CF, 144; 2. Andrew Johannsen, JOHN, 144; 3. Ty Potter, Southeast Polk, 146; 4. Aidan McGreen, WDMV, 148; 5. Henry Thier, WAHL, 149; 6. Lucas Laffoon, JOHN, 150; 7. Tyler Santi, Indianola, 150; 8. Ian Lantz, WAUK, 151; 42. Ty Faltys, Marshalltown, 160.
