Wow! Where to start?

You see, there is a fledgling junior golf organization called U. S. Kids for youngsters ages 6-12 and it held its Championship Tournament recently on Jekyll Island, Ga. There were contestants there from 29 states and six foreign countries and even the "specter" of Tiger Woods was present .

Against that array of skills, the team from North Carolina finished 2nd and, among the individuals, there was one 1st, two 2nds, two 3rds, a 4th, two 5ths, a 7th, a 10th and an 11th. And we had a double winner in two of the skills event.

The players from N.C. were primarily from the Triad Golf Today Junior Tour, with others from Charlotte to Wilmington, and the lone winner was David Chung of Fayetteville in the Boys 10 Division. But all those other top10 finishes gave the N.C. team 495 points (100 for first, 75 second, 50 third and on down) and the runnerup slot over Hawaii which totaled 551 points. Northern Florida was third with 482.

So, with all that, we might just as well take it down the list by age and gender groups. Two girls’ groups and three boys’ divisions played 9 holes on each of the two days on a course set at 1,800 yards. For the older kids it was a 5,200-yard course with 18 holes each day.

GIRLS 8 & Under: Molly Plomaritis of Eden was second with 38-35—73 behind the astonishing 34-31—65 rung up by Paloma Martinez of Mexico. And Kendall Spoon from Graham was great as she took fourth on 40-35—75. She also won the National Long Drive and National Putting Championships in those two skills events. While both Molly and Kendall are members of the TGTJT, Molly was picked for the special U. S. Kids team entry and so her second didn’t count toward the N.C. total.

GIRLS 9 & 10: Jordan Ridge of Greensboro shot 39-35—74 to trail Cheyenne Woods of Arizona at 35-36—70. Cheyenne is Tiger’s niece. Jordan is having a start in golf to rival Tiger’s fabled beginning. Only playing for eight weeks, Jordan captured the AAU title at Tanglewood this summer and has now taken a national second place behind a girl related to a budding golf legend.

GIRLS 11 & 12: Kristin Vincent of Burlington was fifth with 86-83—169. The division was won by Anita Gahir of Canada with 76-77—153.

BOYS 6 & Under: Daniel Brantley of Asheboro, who had been the low qualifier nationally for this group and who shot a 31 and a 34 in practice, suffered a disastrous triple bogey on an early par-3 for a 38. But he bounced back with a 34 that tied for the low round on the second day and gave him a 72 behind Lee McCoy of U.S.Kids at 35-34—69 and Gajan Sivabalasingham of Canada at 37-34—72.

BOYS 7: David Arreadondo of Charlotte was 11th with 39-39—78.

BOYS 8: David Sessions from Winston-Salem shot 37-41—78 behind Will Miller of North Florida, 37-38—75, and Braxton Maluenda of Hawaii at 39-38—77.

BOYS 9: Aiden Javed from Laurinburg was fifth with 84-85—169.

BOYS 10: the lone N.C. victor, David Chung of Fayetteville, 73-76—149 over Alex Ching from Hawaii, 75-77—152.

BOYS 11: Ramsey Quinn from Wilmington, 7th with 80-74—154, beaten on the second day by only two others.

BOYS 12: Josh Newton of Icard was 10th with 78-80—161.

Chris Haarlow, lead instructor at the Triad Golf Center in Greensboro and director of its extensive junior program, and a three-time All-American while at Guilford College, personally wrote the excellent application to the USGA which earned grant money that allowed them to start the Triad Youth Golf Foundation. He put together the N.C. team for this U.S. Kids title go.

He was high in praise of the N.C. kids, especially those gleaned from the ranks of the TGTJT. But he had even loftier kudos for the U. S. Kids tourney.

Haarlow said, "The most refreshing thing about this tournament came from the attitudes of the tournament personnel, the players and the parents. When those kids marched in the first night with the flag of their state or country out front it brought goose bumps.

"There was a boy from West Virginia who couldn’t have been more than three feet tall but he carried that 8-foot flag proudly erect. That’s what it was all about."

The tournament motto was "The Joy of Competition." Haarlow said it meant that to the kids, as they were rooting for each other, regardless of team, "Complimenting good shots, urging others on if they faltered. And the parents, especially those who caddied for their children, were quiet and supportive." Too bad that has gone away from other junior sports.

Haarlow summed it up with, "I’ve played in many big tournaments, such as the U. S. Open and the World University Championship in France, and this one was in the top five well-run events of which I’ve been a part. It rekindled my spirit for the game."

You will get a chance to see what this one was all about when it is televised on Thanksgiving Day on Fox Sports and it will also be on The Golf Channel.

It will last forever in the minds of those who were there.