Junior Golf Prep Stars Tee it Up in Keith Hills Events 

By STEVE WILLIAMS

One needs to look no further than Keith Hills Country Club in Buies Creek to get an early indication of contenders for North Carolina High School championships this spring.

The course was host to the Players Junior Golf Tour’s Pre-Collegiate High School Preview Feb. 9-10 and will welcome another strong collection of teams March 1.

While team scores didn’t count in the February event, they will in the Keith Hills High School Invitational.

“We always invite the top finishers from the previous year’s state tournaments,” says Keith Hills professional Jon Hockaday. “We’ll have another really good field.”

Raleigh Broughton, the 2001 4-A state champion, heads the lineup that also includes Morrisville Green Hope, third in 4-A a year ago, and Fayetteville Sanford, which tied for seventh.

Fayetteville Sanford’s Chris Chambers shot a 68 last year to win the Keith Hills event and he’ll be back to defend his title.

Broughton sophomore Webb Simpson and Green Hope junior Brendon Todd are other favorites. They showed the adults how it’s done when they teamed up to win the North Carolina Four-Ball championship last October.

Burlington Williams junior Jerry Richardson, last year’s 3-A medalist, is another top contender for the individual crown.

Williams finished second in the state 3-A tourney last year, finishing five shots back of Hickory. Smithfield-Selma, which finished third, Wilson Hunt (fourth) and Wilson Fike (eighth) are also in the Keith Hills field.

There will be 16 teams and 84 total players in the one-day shootout.

In the earlier event at Keith Hills, Richie Hunt of Wilson Fike shot 144 (74-70) to win by three over Jamie Wilson of Smithfield-Selma.

Rocky Manning, who plays out of Greensboro National and attends High Point Wesleyan, was third, and Robbie Leonard of Apex, Elliott Jones of Raleigh Enloe, Brant Stovall of North Stokes and Parker McKoy of Raleigh Christian tied for fourth.

Junior Rankings

Todd, Simpson and Richardson are all ranked in the Tarheel Youth Golf Association’s top 10 in the February listings.

Sean Moore of Marshville is first, followed by Todd, Simpson, Weston Way of Liberty, Ben Goforth of Shelby and Richardson.

Jessica Hauser of Germanton, a senior at South Stokes, tops the girls rankings. Chris Brady of Apex, also a high school senior, is listed second.

CGA Junior Site Changed

The 35th North Carolina Junior Boys and Girls Championship, scheduled June 18-21, has changed venues to PineCrest Country Club in Lumberton. The NC Junior Boys championship qualifier on June 17 will be held at Flag Tree of Fairmont Golf Club in Fairmont.

The Carolinas Junior is set for July 30-Aug. 1 at the Country Club of South Carolina in Florence.

WCGA Championships

The Women’s Carolinas Golf Association will bring the 2002 Junior Girls Championship to the Triad as Colonial Country Club in Thomasville will play host July 9-11. Players will play qualifying rounds to determine the match play pairings.

All girls age 18 and under who live in the Carolinas and have not entered college are eligible. There’s also a sub-junior competition for ages 12 and under.

Middle School Championship

The first-ever North Carolina Middle School golf championship will be played Oct. 11-12 at Quail Ridge Golf Club in Sanford.

The 36-hole stroke play event, sponsored by the Tarheel Youth Golf Association, will feature six players from each school but at least one player must be a girl. If there are no girls on the team, a school can have only five participants.

All entries must be in the sixth, seventh or eighth grade and all team members must attend the same middle school.

Entries will be accepted beginning Aug.19. The first 12 teams to enter will be accepted. In addition, 12 players not affiliated with teams will be welcomed to the field.

If response exceeds the field limits, the TYGA plans to play regional qualifiers in the future.

U.S. Kids Golf

Williamsburg, Va., has been selected as the host city for the third annual U.S. Kids Golf World Championship, July 31-Aug. 3.

The tournament, which has developed into one of the nation’s most prestigious junior events, will be played at the Golden Horseshoe Golf Club.

The stroke-play event features age-group competition for boys and girls 4 to 12 years old.

All entries have to first qualify through state championships. The North Carolina team, coached by Chris Haarlow of Precision Golf School in Greensboro, will qualify June 18 at Crooked Creek Golf Club in Fuquay-Varina.

Last year’s event was held at Jekyll Island Golf Resort in Georgia and highlights were shown on national television.

Parent-Child Tour

J.P. Looney’s sports restaurant in Greensboro is teaming up with Robert Linville’s Precision Golf School to sponsor the inaugural Parent-Child Tour.

Beginning with an event at the par-three Bur-Mil Park course March 17, the Tour will play one event a month through October.

Children, age 17-and-under, will team with a parent in an 18-hole round, using modified alternate shot scoring.

Other tour stops are scheduled at Maple Leaf, Pine Knolls, Longview, Tot Hill Farm, Stoney Creek, Greensboro National and Grandover Resort.