EAST STROUDSBURG — Hunter Probst was already a champion before Monday afternoon. The Stroudsburg High School senior won the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference golf tournament in 2023 and as a state qualifier, was already eligible for this year’s District 11 tournament regardless of how he did at Great Bear Golf Course.
But once the final scores were tallied, Probst played well enough to stay the champion as he shot 3-over-par to win the 2024 EPC title with 74 strokes, the second straight year he won the conference.
“I feel good,” Probst said about winning the tournament. “I feel like I played my game good enough to where I knew I could come out here and do well. Even though I had two double bogeys on the back nine, I found a way to manage my game and seal the victory.”
Probst had an impressive start through the first nine holes, finishing 1-over-par. But he immediately faced trouble on the back nine as he double-bogeyed the 10th and 11th holes to shoot up to 5-over-par. Fortunately, the troubles ended as soon as they started as Probst never went over par again, and he birdied two of the last four holes to leapfrog Charlie Gold and Derek Moyer to take the top spot.
“The thing that Hunter possesses that many other great players don’t is when things are going bad, he’s able to put a band-aid on it,” Stroudsburg golf coach Pete Sobrinski said. “He has the confidence in his game from being so successful, knowing at any time, he can come back, make birdie, eagle. He’s very long. His distance is long, and he’s got a tremendous feel around the greens. He can chip, he can putt, and he can create.
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“He can hit shots that I think Bubba Watson, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods can hit. Hunter Probst can hit those shots. Other than that, I don’t think anybody else.”
Great Bear Golf Course was challenging for everyone on Monday afternoon, and several competitors talked about how little the margin for error is on the course. Probst talked about that experience, mentioned how those challenges led him to double-bogey on the 10th and 11th holes. But with his mentor, local golfing legend Vincent Yanovitch, Probst was able to prepare for Great Bear and its sharp claws.
“You know, in 24 years of coaching Stroudsburg golf, I had three kids shoot 69. That’s it. Hunter’s done it 13 times himself, 69 or better. Not too many people shooting 60s in high school. He’s done it 13 times,” Sobrinski said. “He averaged 69 this season. He can hit greens in regulation. He can do everything. There’s no hole in his game.”
With the District 11 golf tournament a couple of weeks away, Probst will prepare in hopes of having a better finish in 2023 en route to another trip to states. When asked about his mentality for the next two weeks, he answered with unwavering confidence.
“I know I can do it,” Probst said. “I know what it takes, and I know what I need to do to get to that level again.”
This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: Stroudsburg senior Hunter Probst wins second EPC Golf title
