Choctaw County junior Preston Power has undergone more surgeries than almost anyone else will experience in a lifetime, but that has not prevented him from being a key member of four straight regional golf championship teams.
He has had four surgeries for a defect in his heart's pulmonary valve detected as an infant and two surgeries for a bone infection in his ankle that caused him to miss much of the season last year.
He returned in time to help Choctaw County win Region 2-3A and finish fifth at the 3A state match.
Power has been a member of the Chargers' golf team since the sixth grade. He tried football as a seventh grader. “It wasn't for me. I didn't like it.”
Since then, it has only been golf.
“He works hard at his game,” said coach Gary Beals. “I'm expecting some good things out of him. I'm hoping he can give me some leadership to bring us a fifth (region championship) in a row.”
Power regularly shoots in the low eighties at Ackerman Country Club, his home course, but he's hoping to get his score closer to par this year. He said driving and putting are the strengths of his game. It's what's in between that needs improvement.
“I need to work on my second shot getting to the green.”
