Determined to be great at golf, Gary Condit has spent countless hours working on his craft over the years.

The 2019 Ceres High School grad is currently taking a break from the sport as a health precaution during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

Condit had to be hospitalized his junior and senior years of high school after suffering collapsed lungs.

He was diagnosed with spontaneous pneumothorax.

“I’m itching to get back out there,” he said. “But I can’t risk it with the diagnosis of my lungs. It’s not too safe for me to be out there when there are large groups of people. I have to be careful because I’m susceptible. Golf will be there in a couple months. I know I can get my game back to where it needs to be. I’ve done it before.”

Condit hasn’t played a competitive round of golf in months.

A starter on the Modesto Junior College men’s golf team this spring, Condit and the Pirates had their season suspended in March to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

“It’s disappointing but I understand why,” he said. “This is a really bad crisis we got going on. It’s bigger than sports.”

Condit was named the Courier’s Male Athlete of the Year for the 2019 spring sports season.

The repeat winner cemented his legacy as arguably Ceres High’s greatest golfer by claiming his third consecutive Western Athletic Conference Most Valuable Player award and finishing first at the conference year-end tournament for the fourth year in a row. 

Condit was undefeated against conference dual competition his senior, sophomore and freshman years.

His two losses in 2018 were to Ceres High teammate Jayden Panyanouvong, a four-time first-team all-WAC selection.

Condit and the Bulldogs had their streak of winning consecutive WAC titles snapped at three seasons in 2019.

Ceres High bounced back in a big way by making program history as it claimed its first section title—the Division-IV banner—at Elkhorn Golf Club in Stockton.

“That trumps any individual award,” Condit said.

Condit followed in the footsteps of 2002 Ceres High grad Ryan Thornberry by becoming an all-time great

Thornberry was a three-time winner of the Central California Conference MVP award. He placed first twice at the conference championships. Thornberry helped lead the Bulldogs to a perfect 18-0 record in the CCC regular-season standings his senior year.