Growing up, Anne Willman didn’t even like golf, but when her family hit the links for a round, she’d get dragged along anyway.

“That was our foursome (parents Steve and Diana and older brother Scott),” Willman said, “But in those early days, it felt like a chore. There would be weekends where I was told that we were going to play golf as a family, and I would pray that it would rain so I didn’t have to play.”

That seems like a different lifetime for Willman, who already was the most decorated girls golfer in Shawnee Mission East history before receiving the Kenneth Smith Award on Wednesday as the most outstanding high school girls golfer in greater Kansas City this fall.

“It’s very strange,” she said. “I remember telling my dad when I was 11 that I wanted golf shoes, so that’s when it started. Sometimes I still can’t imagine that I’m going to play college golf when I hated it so much. Of course, now, I love it.”

And Willman, who changed her mind about golf when she began playing tournaments as a fifth-grader, can no longer imagine her life without it.

Willman, who committed to Kansas State last month, finished fourth at the Kansas 6A state meet as a senior, leading SM East to its first championship since 1987.

She won 12 of 34 tournaments in her career, including Sunflower League championships as a sophomore and senior along with the last three regional titles, and medaled at every event except the Lawrence Invitational at Alvamar Golf Club her freshman year.

“She’s been a dream player to work with and will really be missed,” Lancers coach Ermanno Ritschl said. “These four years have flown by, but every year has been better and better for Anne. She started with an 8-over-par average and finished up with a 4.6.”

Willman medaled at state all four years, tying for 17th as a freshman before finishing fourth as a sophomore and fifth as a junior.

Away from the course, Willman boasts a 4.27 grade-point average and serves as National Honor Society president as well as editor for SM East’s award-winning student newspaper, The Harbinger.

She’s also active with her church as a tutor and is chairperson of SM East’s outreach program SHARE, which works with the elderly in assisted-living homes.

As part of the award, the Kenneth L. and Eva S. Smith Foundation presented a check for $5,000 in Willman’s name to the First Tee of Greater Kansas City.