CCB Cup gives girls high school teams early season test

By STEVE WILLIAMS

Creating interest and opportunity for girls youth golf is the hope of Central Carolina Bank and the Triad Golf Today Junior Tour as they readied for the first CCB Cup.

The two-day competition is set for Aug. 30-31 at Greensboro National Golf Club.

The first day of the event will feature team competition for high school squads. Individual scores will be carried forward to the second day where individual championships in age divisions will be at stake.

The first 48 high school girls to sign up will play at no charge, thanks to the sponsorship of CCB.

While the team tournament is reserved for high school players, younger ages are invited to participate in the individual age group events on the Triad Golf Today Junior Tour.

“We’re just trying to promote girls golf,” Welch said. “We’re just hoping to give girls a chance to have a team competition.”

Adding luster to the tournament is the fact that it is a four multiplier in the Tarheel Youth Golf Association girls rankings, making it one of the bigger events of the year. Most of the events with higher multipliers are USGA or CGA events.

The tournament will also serve as one of three qualifiers for the USSSA state championship, which is set for Sept. 27-28 at Meadowlands Golf Club in Wallburg. (The other qualifiers are set for Charlotte National and Riverwood in Clayton). Winners of the state tournament will move on to the USSSA National championship at Orlando, Fla. Oct. 18-19. The two-day individual tournament is also the fall/winter season opener for boys age groups and younger girls on the Triad Golf Today Junior Tour.

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 North Carolina’s boys teams posted an impressive sixth place finish in the U.S. Kids World Championship July 30-Aug. 2 at Williamsburg, Va.

The Martin brothers of Wilson and Winston-Salem’s David Sessions led the Carolina effort with top-10 finishes.

Joshua Martin finished sixth in boys 4-6, Zachary Martin was eighth in boys 8, and Sessions was eighth in boys 11.

Sessions shot 71-78-79 for a 228 total, which was 19 shots off the winners’ pace.

Tristan Lough of Elon added a 15th place finish in boys 7, shooting 39-42-40 – 121. The winner of the age group shot 98.

Daniel Brantley of Asheboro, invited as an individual (scores didn’t count for the team), finished 10th in boys 9. He shot 75-75-79 for a 229 mark, 23 shots off the pace.

California South won with 501.36 points while N.C. finished with 299.47. There were more than 60 teams in the field.

North Carolina’s girls finished 19th in the team standings with 134.45 points with Mexico South taking first place with 462.24.

Molly Plomaritis of Eden was the top finisher for N.C. She rebounded from an opening 81 to shoot 73-73 and finish sixth at 227, 10 shots off the winners’ pace.

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The Carolinas team ended a two-year skid with an 8-4 victory in the 21st Carolinas-Virginias Junior Team Matches at Boonsboro Country Club in Lynchburg Aug. 16-17.

Kent Copeland of Hickory and Timothy Tang of Charleston scored a win to help the Carolinas take a 3-1 margin in the fourball matches.

In the singles, the Carolinas took five of eight matches with Tang, Zack Byrd of Calabash, Andrew Byrd of Oxford, John Griffin of Wilson and Vince Hatfield of Greenwood, S.C. scoring wins.

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Zack Byrd’s eventful summer also included a victory in the 54th Carolinas Junior Championship July 29-31 at Greenville (N.C.) Country Club.

Byrd made a 35-foot par putt on first playoff hole to edge Copeland after both had finished at 209. Byrd had rounds of 69-70-70 while Copeland shot 71-71-67.

Preston Yates of Winston-Salem was the top Triad finisher. He shot 74-72-72 and tied for 12th at 218. Weston Way of Liberty tie for 18th at 219 (73-71-75).

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Taylor Barrett of York, S.C. captured the championship of the Twin States Junior Championship July 30-31 at Ironwood GC in Greenville, N.C.

Barrett’s 77-73 – 150 edged three players who shot 151, among them Jessica Hauser of Germanton (74-77).

Jordan Ridge of Greensboro tied for seventh at 154 (78-76) and Amber Littman of Stoney Creek tied for 11th at 155 (78-77).

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John Welden of Pilot Mountain rallied from four shots down after 18 holes to capture the boys 12-13 championship in the National Junior Golf Club’s Southeast Regional Tour Championship Aug. 9-10.

Playing at Myrtlewood Golf Club, Welden opened with a seven-over-par 79, but he came back with a 73 in round two to force a playoff with Matthew Rogers, who shot 75-77. Welden won on the second playoff hole.

Johnson York of Pilot Mountain tied for eighth in the 12-13 group with rounds of 80-85.

Other top finishers from the Triad included Earlie Gilley of Winston-Salem (tied for fourth in boys 14-18 with 74-75), Ben Taylor of Winston-Salem (fourth in boys 10-11 with 80-75), Leif Neistrom of Greensboro (eighth in boys 10-11 with 78-83), Christian Hawley of Kernersville (ninth in boys 10-11 with 89-77) and Allison Lee of Salisbury (third in girls 11-13 with 96-88).