Pusch Ridge golfer Mark Stypa stays driven by faith, focus and competition

Instead, he saw the opportunity as a moment of excitement. 

He would be able to return to the biggest stage in local high school golf and play the game he’s most passionate about.

In his state appearance last year as a sophomore, Stypa shot a 69 on the first day, followed by a 72 on Day 2, for a total of 141.

He secured a second-place finish, just behind Phoenix Country Day’s Sam Meltzer (139).

“My goal (this year) is not necessarily a better finish, but, I mean, I made some mistakes out there that I can remember, and my goal would just be to go play the course how I want to,” he says. “Because I think if I play my game and I succeed in the way I envision it, I'll definitely be up there on the leaderboard. And whatever place I finish, that's fine.”

Not only did Stypa finish among the top of last year’s leaderboard, but he also helped lead his team to the championship title — a first in program history.

This year’s AIA Spring Division III golf championship kicked off Monday and concludes Tuesday.

During his breakout year last season, his time on the green earned him various accolades, including All Sports Tucson’s Golfer of the Year award and the Sportsmanship of the Year award for boys 15-18 from the Junior Golf Association of Arizona.

Whether it’s taking home the state title or earning awards, you won’t catch Stypa bragging about it. That’s just not the type of person he is.

“He's definitely full of integrity,” says Byron Johns, Pusch Ridge’s head golf coach. “I would say faith is important to him. I would say family is important to him. I would say school is important to him and then golf. And so I think he's got his priorities in the right place.”

Stypa and the rest of the Lions are currently having a solid season under first-year head coach Johns.

“We are undefeated in match play,” Johns says. “We finished our last (regular season) match yesterday, and so both home and away, we won every one of our matches. We took second in the Yuma Invitational, which is a two-day tournament. Then we just had a tournament up in the White Mountains, it was a two-day tournament, and we took first, and the top eight teams in the state were there.”

Stypa says he had a bit of a rough start to the season, but has since bounced back, thanks in part to relying on his faith during the tough times and working to improve.

“Now, I've been getting a lot better and the season's going a lot better, and the whole team, we've all just improved so much and we've all come together like really well, just to play some good golf,” he says. “And I think as this season has moved forward, we've all just really been dedicated to it and now we're all seeing the results. We had a good finish last week and now we're just trying to prepare for next week.”

At just 17 years old, Stypa already has 13 years of golf experience.

He was introduced to the sport at 4 years old, when he would tag along with his father to the golf course. There, he would chase the golf carts and even swing the clubs.

Those were the moments when he started to fall in love with golf.

As he grew older, he began competing in local golf tournaments and earning top spots in the competition.

It was the thrill of competing that kept his passion alive for the sport.

“When you're competing with someone, it’s everything on the line, because it's totally up to you,” he says. “And I feel like when you have those moments, it really shows whether you put in the work. And those moments are just extreme competition, high pressure. If you make one mistake, it's all on you. And I think just that feeling and that environment just keeps bringing me back every time, and it's so fun.”

Stypa hopes his drive for golf will lead him to playing collegiately and ideally, professionally on the PGA Tour.

In addition to excelling on the course, Stypa excels in the classroom, too. He currently has a 3.8 GPA. 

Outside of school, Stypa enjoys going off-roading in his Jeep. Some of his favorite off-roading spots include around Pepper Sauce Cave and the Mount Lemmon area. And of course, he enjoys spending most of his free time at the golf course.

But, for Stypa, golf isn’t just a hobby.

It’s a sport that will always be a huge part of his life.

“Mark is a very accomplished golfer,” Johns says. “He doesn't need a ton of coaching. It's really more about trying to encourage him and help him mentally prepare for whether it's a practice or a round. It's just really more about helping him get ready mentally and emotionally. He’s like, I say, he's a very accomplished golfer.”

Fast Five with Mark

Who’s your all-time favorite golfer?

Jordan Spieth. He's one of the greats, in my opinion. And he just had a knack for golf, and he was crazy good and so good at short game, so good at putting. I just love his attitude out there on the course. It's cool to watch.

What’s your favorite golf club? 

That’s tough. Probably either the Titleist driver or the Callaway Jaws sand wedge.

What’s your favorite golf course you’ve played at?

The course that comes to mind is Aguila (in Phoenix) or the Dove Mountain Ritz Carlton; that course is amazing. And I love the greens. It's so fun out there.

What local golf course do you think is underrated?

El Conquistador. It's a really difficult golf course. It's kind of tucked out of the way and not a whole lot of people know about (its difficulty). I think that if people were to go out there and be like, ‘Whoa. This is tougher than I thought.’ So I think that course is definitely underrated for difficulty.

What’s your favorite class in school right now?

My history class. It’s government and economics. I thought that was super cool to learn about that because I never really studied any of that sort of stuff, like economics. I have a really good teacher, and I’m super fortunate. And she would take the concepts from the book, and then compare them to today's society.