Tommy Evans knows all too well the ups and downs associated with golf.
He’s experienced his fair share of both this summer alone, though ahead of this week’s West Virginia Junior Amateur Championship at Canaan Valley Resort, Evans hopes he’s on a path to experience more of the former than latter.
“I’ve kind of been struggling this year,” Evans said. “I’m mostly playing up to my standards, but I’m not getting the ball in the hole. Last year, it was easy. When I wouldn’t hit a fairway, I could still hit it to 10 feet, make a birdie and not break a sweat. This year, I’ve faced a lot of adversity.”
Across several American Junior Golf Association events, Evans has experienced mixed results starting with a runner-up finish at 4-under par in late April at Indiana Country Club in Indiana, Pa. Evans’ three-round total of 209 was highlighted by an opening-round 67 on the par-71 course, and he eventually came up short in a playoff over three holes against Christian Koehn of Winter Park, Fla.
Evans was hopeful to have hit his stride then, but in May at the AJGA’s Team TaylorMade Invitational at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Fla., Evans opened with an opening-round 6-over par 76 and went on to finish in a two-way tie for 62nd in a 72-player field at 15-over par.
He recently had a similar finish at the Wyndham Invitational at Sedgefield Country Club, a Donald Ross-designed course that’s long played host to a PGA Tour event. There, Evans finished in a two-way tie for 66th place at 17-over.
“You’re playing guys just as good if not better than you,” Evans said. “Playing tough courses, you can learn stuff from watching them. Playing tough courses and the competitiveness overall is what drives me to play in these tournaments.”
One week later, while competing in the Southern Junior Championship on Georgia’s University Golf Course in Athens, Ga., Evans was back near the top of the leaderboard with a two-round total of 5-under par to finish in a three-way tie for fourth in a field of more than 150 golfers.
That effort was buoyed by an opening-round 6-under par 64, and Evans is hopeful to continue the upward trajectory in the near future at Canaan Valley, where he is the defending champion after carding 19 birdies against three bogeys over three rounds for a two-shot win in 2025.
“Hopefully I can take that momentum into Canaan,” Evans said. “You can score on that course. I haven’t played a tournament with four par 5s since February. It’ll be nice to have some birdie and eagle holes. I like to think I’m one of the better golfers out there, so if I can play my game and execute my plans, I can be up at the top of the leaderboard at the end of the week.”
Mixed results and narrowly missing out on wins are a part of golf and something Evans also experienced last October at the WVSSAC State Golf Championships when the then-junior at Washington High School was runner-up in Class AAAA. He opened with an 8-over 79 at the challenging Jones Course at Oglebay Resort’s Speidel Golf Club before bouncing back with a 75 to finish one shot behind Hurricane’s Carson O’Dell.
It was a close call for Evans, who was seeking his second state championship after a dominant showing as a freshman in 2023 when he won Class AAA by seven shots at 4-under par and was low medalist across all classifications.
“Coming off freshman year, I kind of took it for granted and told myself I could win the next three and be the only guy to win four state championships,” Evans said. “I haven’t played well at Oglebay the last couple years. That course can do it to you. It’s probably the most challenging course in West Virginia.
“But last year was a good learning experience and a fun week. I was happy for Carson that he won, because we are good buddies, but I think next season, I really have to take it in. I really don’t want it to end, but it has to at some point and hopefully I can end on a good note.”
When Evans is through with high school golf, the Charles Town native will continue playing in college at West Virginia, where he offered his commitment to last September.
“Toward the end of the recruiting process, it gets so stressful figuring out what you want to do and where you want to go,” Evans said. “But once I met [WVU head] coach [Sean] Covich and [assistant] coach [Will] Koras, we hit it off. Pete Dye Golf Club is a great selling point. That course is amazing. It’ll make you better. Every single hole is a challenge and that’s nice to play on, because you get better every day. The coaches and home golf course were probably the selling point for me, plus that the team is getting better each year.”