Scarsdale Senior James Nicholas Wins State Golf Tournament

What's the perfect way to finish your high school athletics career? Going out on top of course. That is exactly what Scarsdale High School Senior James Nicholas did on Monday June 1, when he won the New York Public High Schools Athletic Association State championship tournament in golf at Cornell University. James started the two-day tournament with a 75, which put him three shots off of the lead going into Monday, June 1, the second and final day. James shot a 71 on Monday, even par for the course, which earned him a one-stroke victory over second place finisher, Alec Bard of New Hartford.

Although James had a better round on Monday, he may be able to attribute his victory to a shot he made on Sunday, when he chipped a ball from inside a water hazard up and onto the green. Had Nicholas decided not to remove his shoes and stand in the pond to attempt the shot, he would have had to take a one-stroke penalty, and would have been in danger of losing a stroke on the hole. And again, he won the tournament by one stroke. The shot made it to the Sportscenter Top 10 Plays the next day as well.

James finished his round on Monday before Bard, and so was one stroke ahead, and unsure of his victory, with Bard beginning the 18th hole. Nicholas says that "I always believe I can win" and that "I never get down on myself and really keep my composure." At the time James said he "was mentally preparing for a playoff but knew I had the win in the back of his mind."

James is a five time all state athlete in three different sports, and is accustomed to playing under pressure. The golf state championship was Nicholas' first in his high school career – though he played in the state semifinals with the hockey team in his senior and junior years at SHS. Nicholas' felt that "this was my tournament. I was playing great and it was just my day." He elaborated, "Every great athlete gets nervous for even the smallest of events. It is a different type of nerve. It is a kind of pumped up or excited nerve. It's a feeling that I love and can't live without. Being a competitor is tough but the nerves is what it is all about."

The Scarsdale High School Golf team as a whole has had a very good season this year, finishing second in Section 1.

The road doesn't end here for Nicholas. He will be playing football and golf for Yale University next fall and spring, and will continue to push himself. He shows no sign of resting on his laurels. After staying up all night for the senior prom on Thursday, June 4, while his classmates recovered, Nicholas played golf the following day with his younger brother Stephen, a junior at Scarsdale High School.