For more than a decade, the Maher family has planted its footprint in the Prairie City-Monroe golf programs.
Rick and Kelli Maher have walked many courses watching sons Brook and Brady and daughter Breanna play golf for the Mustangs.
The legacy ended Wednesday for the Mahers. At least at the high school level.
Breanna Maher completed her high school career with a ninth-place finish at the Class 3A girls state golf tournament at Lake Panorama. And the Maher family got to experience one last state meet.
“It’s been amazing to be able to carry on the family name and be the last Maher to compete at state golf,” Bre Maher said. “I have worked with my brother Brady for five years now, and this has always been where we wanted to end up.”
Bre Maher gives a lot of credit to her brother Brady. He’s the brother that still lives in the area. Brook, who lives with his wife and 15-month old son in Waverly, pitches in when he is home. All three siblings have now brought home some kind of hardware from state golf tournaments.
Brook was the state runner-up on a runner-up team during her senior year at PCM in 2004. He played in three state tournaments, two of which came when he played for Colfax-Mingo. He went on to play collegiately at Kirkwood Community College and then Northern Iowa.
Brady, who graduated in 2009, was on PCM’s state title team in 2008. He also played on a Mustangs’ runner-up squad, too. Brady also played collegiately at Kirkwood.
Bre got the chance in her final year to showcase her talents on the state level, too. She’ll play for Mount Mercy in Cedar Rapids next year.
All three Maher siblings ended their high school careers on the golf course at Lake Panorama.
“She spent a lot of years following us around the golf course. It’s exciting to be able to now follow her around and see how she is making her own way in the sport,” Brook said. “It’s been pretty fun for us. It’s definitely rewarding to be able to watch her play this week.”
Brady added, “I was super excited to watch her play this week. We have put in a lot of work on the golf course together. It was awesome for her to finally be able to get here and show what she can do. This has been her goal and our goal for a long time.”
It was hard for dad and mom to keep their emotions in check.
They couldn’t be prouder seeing their three children succeed at the highest level.
Mike Maher can’t believe the ride is over though.
“Watching these kids grow in this sport and being so disciplined the entire way is great to see,” Mike Maher said as he struggled to fight off the tears. “They all worked really hard, and it was great to see them all get here. Knowing this is the end is really hard for me.”
Kelli Maher knows that golf has been good to her family. She has used up many of her vacation days trying to keep up with all three of her kids playing at the state level.
“It’s been awesome. It’s a been a great ride. I have had a lot of fun with these kids,” Kelli Maher said. “Golf has certainly been good to this family. It has been our life for several years. We have been through a lot.”
The entire family had plenty of emotions during Bre Maher’s final round Wednesday. She entered the day one spot off a medal position but played her way up the leaderboard with impressive tee shots.
Almost to the finish line, Bre hit a ball into a water hazard on her second to last hole. She was leading Monticello’s Lauren Ries by one shot a that point. Both were in contention for a medal.
The shot into the water triggered Brady to put his hands on his head in disbelief. Bre’s support staff just hoped she had enough left in the tank to finish what she worked so hard to get.
She did. But it didn’t come without a lot of fight.
“We knew she couldn’t win the thing on the first day, but you can certainly shoot yourself out of it,” Mike Maher said. “She stayed in it and grinded this thing out and came back after a few tough holes. She showed a lot of fight and it was impressive to see. To see her finish this thing off with a medal is pretty special for our family.”