As the saying goes, golf is 90% mental, 10% physical. Summit’s Saylor Gillet has the second part down, now she’s tackling the tougher aspect of the game.

At Thursday’s Widgi Invite at Widgi Creek Golf Club, Gillet admitted through the first nine holes, where she parred two and was 1 over par, she handled the pressure. In the back nine, she had three bogeys and a double bogey.

“The front nine, I was chill about everything; my mental state was really good,” Gillet said. “The back nine was opposite. I don’t know why the back nine gets to me so much. I didn’t do my best on the back nine, but it’s OK. I got through it.”

Still, Gillet finished with a score of 78 (+6) to take second to Camas’ Jacinda Lee (72, E) at the Widgi Invite.

She was the highest finishing Central Oregon golfer, helping the Summit team finish second with 361 points, behind Camas of Southwest Washington (327). La Pine’s Hailey Smith and Redmond’s Payton Richardson tied for fourth with a score of 80 (+8). Caldera’s Anna Latimer finished sixth with a score of 81 (+9) Thursday afternoon.

It has been a successful start to the season for Gillet, who placed eighth at last year’s Class 5A state meet where the Storm claimed the team title.

In five tournaments thus far this season, the Summit senior has finished in the top two each time, with wins the River’s Edge Eagle Extravaganza, the IMC Girls Eagle Crest Challenge and the Crook County tournament at Prineville Golf Club.

According to iwanamaker.com’s golf rankings, Gillet leads 5A girls in eagles (one) and birdies (13) and ranks fifth in scoring average (77.1 in five tournaments).

“I’m playing better than last year, but I haven’t been playing to my full potential,” Gillet said. “And I can’t wait to get there. I’m happy with how far I have come. Overall I’m more consistent. Definitely, with irons and putting, I’ve gotten a lot better than last year.”

Since Gillet began playing golf at 8 years old, and taking it seriously as an eighth grader, she had the smooth swing and the skills needed to be a good golfer. As she got older, Gillet improved in areas like managing a course and taking weather conditions — like wind — into consideration.

The last step, the most challenging one, is mastering the mental side of golf.

“It is one of those things where you are always improving,” said Summit coach Spencer Gillet, who is also Saylor’s father. “You are always going to leave some shots out there. Try to turn those into positives next time.”

This year, Gillet has worked with Tiffany Goodman, a mental coach, to try and unlock that potential with different meditation practices and ways to stay engaged mentally while on the course.

“She helps me before my rounds to help with my breathing and what to think about while I’m playing, like what to think about when I hit a bad shot, to help me out,” Gillet said.

With only a couple of weeks left in the golf season before the IMC district meet at Meadow Lakes Golf Course on April 29, and the state golf tournament on May 13 at Trysting Tree Golf Club in Corvallis, Gillet is hoping for redemption at the state meet and a victory in the individual title.

A win at Trysting Tree for Gillet would make her the eighth individual champion from Summit — the first since Olivia Loberg’s three-peat in 2017-19

“I’m really hoping that I can win it this year, and I think I can do it,” Gillet said. “I didn’t play very well at state last year and I still placed in the top 10, and I was really proud of myself for that.”

The Storm also have a chance to not only win back-to-back titles, but to also win their state-leading 12th state girls golf title.

“I think we have a really good chance,” Spencer Gillet said. “We have four girls that can shoot 80 or a 95. It is a matter of keeping the nerves down a little bit. I think we have a really good shot at state.”