But Butters’ state of devastation from a team loss quickly wore off with perhaps the most important individual task of his life just five days away.
Even though the focus was all on volleyball during AAU nationals in Orlando, Butters still brought his golf clubs along to keep his game sharp enough to compete.
“I ended up being really, really sharp come the tournament day,” Butters said. “I love doing them both (volleyball and golf) so much. I think that if I didn’t have the love for the game that I do for both, I definitely would not be playing.”
He trailed the eventual champion, Scottsdale’s Dylan Boenning, by five strokes entering the back nine in the third and final round. With a birdie on the par-5 18th hole – where Tiger Woods famously made a putt to force a playoff in the 2008 U.S. Open – Butters got within one of Boenning. A bogey-free 34 compared to Boenning’s 38 certainly made for an interesting finish.
“After we got home (from volleyball nationals), he said, ‘I’m utterly devastated,’” Lisa said. “When he got second at World’s, he was utterly stoked.”