Carter White Hopes to Lead Staples-Motley Boys’ Golf to 1st Section Title Since 2021

Space is becoming limited in Carter White’s trophy case. The Staples-Motley senior golfer won his 10th tournament of the season Thursday at the Legacy at Cragun’s Invitational. He carded 65 (-5) and helped the Cardinals to their fifth team win this spring.

The NDSU commit is no stranger to success—he won the Section 6AA individual championship his sophomore season and is a four-time state participant. But leading in the standings isn’t the only leading White is doing.

“Leading the team to state is all I’ve wanted to do all year, all I wanted to do all off-season,” he said. “That was my main goal, leading the team to that first place finish, and I think I’ve done a pretty solid job of that this year.”

“We’re always chasing him,” said senior Peyton Mithun. “I want to beat them and I haven’t beat him in a long time … I’m always trying to [get out of his] shadow, but he’s always putting out good scores and just playing really well for us. It’s good to have that as a leader on our team.”

The Cardinals won the Heart of the Lakes Conference Championship on May 19th and now have their sights set on the section title. The boys have not been to the state tournament as a team since 2021, and despite being the favorites to win the 6AA tourney, they remain grounded in their approach.

“In golf, you have things that go your way and things that don’t go your way,” said Mithun. “Us seniors, we’ve played since eighth grade and we’ve played a lot of meets and you don’t have to overthink things. Just keep it simple, play your game, and things will work out.”

“We have five people who we can all use their scores,” added White. “We’re always practicing. Even after we play meets, we’re out here practicing. Even if we’re tired, we’re practicing. Every morning, we’re out here playing, and if each and every one of us go out there and play our game, I think we have a really solid shot at sending our team to state this year.”

White and Mithun were both eighth graders on the varsity when the Cardinals last went to state as a team. The Section 6AA tournament begins Monday, June 2nd at Blackberry Ridge Golf Club with round two the following day.