Jack Reeves is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Brophy Prep for AZPreps365.com  

After three straight years of heartbreak, Brophy Prep finally broke through.

Not once, not twice, but three years in a row the Broncos were runners-up in the Division I Boys State Golf Championship. In 2022 it was their turn, and they dominated, winning by 10 shots. 

Now Brophy sits on top of the golf world in Arizona yet again, as they are one of the favorites to win the state title. This year they are led by two seniors, Tyler Spielman and Henry Dall, who have not only been through high school together, but go back much further. 

Tyler and Henry have been friends since they were eight. They have spent much of their youth together growing up, playing and practicing at Tatum Ranch Golf Club. They also have played in junior tournaments and carpooled to school together. Through the years they have become not only great friends, but great players who pushed each other to get to where they are today.                       Henry (left) and Tyler (right) together in 2017 at the start of their friendship.

Coming into their freshman year, there was no guarantee they would play. In their first year at Brophy, the golf team was good. Really good. Ten out of the 12 players on the team ended up playing Division I golf.

It would've been easy for any successful junior player to want to go somewhere and play right away, but they both wanted to play at Brophy. 

“It’s a big jump coming from AJGA (American Junior Golf Association) to freshman year and having to qualify for your spot pretty much every day,” Henry said. “We had a very solid team freshman year so we didn’t get to play much, obviously. But now, senior year, being at the top of the leaderboard is pretty cool.”

Tyler and Henry have worked off each other to get to the top of that leaderboard. They compete all the time, whether it is off the course playing pickup basketball, or on the course during tournaments, practice, or golf games like wolf or banker.

They both laughed when saying they have had some heated arguments from time to time when competing. But it's times like that, Tyler explained that make their friendship so good and how it “keeps them in check.” 

Brophy golf coach Jon Shores has seen their friendship grow over the years and help not only themselves, but the team as a whole.

“I started to notice it freshman year, but it is just more and more evident every year they are with us,” Shores said. “That relationship has been really vital to our overall team dynamic. The younger guys see the relationship that those guys have and that they don’t always see eye to eye, but there's a love there for one another, and that really permeates the team.”

Fast-forward to the fall of 2022 and the Broncos had yet another chance to win the state title. This time it was a little different. As a junior, Tyler shot an opening round 10-under-par 60, followed by a seven-under-par 63 to win state individually and set a state record with a 123 total. 

Henry finished in the top five and was a vital piece in helping Brophy claim the title, but he was also aware of the incredible feat his friend just accomplished. 

“Tyler going out and shooting 60 the first day was probably one of the coolest things I've ever seen,” Henry said. 

Both Henry and Tyler agreed that their best memory from all the years playing both junior and amateur golf was winning that state title. All the work they have put in off the course and on it, both individually and together, led them to a moment in an individual sport that was more than about themselves. 

“Winning as a team was really cool,” Tyler said. “Being able to celebrate together as a team and make that memory together was special.” 

Now they have a chance to do it again.

The same best friends who came into the program together as freshmen have a chance to go back-to-back and bring another state championship to Brophy. The younger Broncos team has been playing well, winning three times already this year and trending in the right direction.

Another member of the team both last year and this year is junior Dylan Boenning, who knows how important his two friends have been to the team's success.  

“They are great mentors for the younger guys on the team,” Dylan said. “I have learned a lot and picked up a lot of things that they do as leaders that I can also do.”

In a month's time we will know whether Brophy has repeated as state champs. After that is over, the journey doesn’t stop for Henry or Tyler.

At the start of the college process, Henry said he didn’t really have any idea of where he wanted to go. He sent off hundreds of emails to coaches everywhere with swing videos and scores. Decision day came around and he decided to play for Chris Riley and the Toreros at the University of San Diego. He will be joining former Brophy teammate Trevor Karber and hope to replicate the same success they had in high school. 

Tyler had a similar start, sending off emails and contacting coaches. But he did have somewhere specifically he always wanted to attend -- Auburn University. His grandpa and aunt both were alums and he grew up loving Auburn football and basketball. It was his “dream school” as he called it. He went through the process and saw what all the schools had to offer, but Auburn felt like home. 

If the last four years at Brophy are any sign of the things to come, both of them will succeed at the next level. Shores has coached and been around a lot of the top amateur players in the country, and he knows what kind of future Tyler and Henry could have. 

“It's been fun to watch them come through the program,” Shores said. “I think they both have potential to be great at the next level. They have done things the right way, and they haven't jumped steps. I really believe in both of their games.”

Four years ago as freshmen, Tyler and Henry learned a lot of what they now know from upperclassmen and the great players before them. Now, as seniors they are in the same shoes, forging their own path, with possibly another state title to come. The two best friends are without question the leaders of the Brophy golf program, showing the underclassmen the ropes by not only their performances, but by their friendship that has helped them become who they are today.