Spoon Full of Potential: 15-Year Old Displays Tournament Savvy

 By STEVE HUFFMAN

  GRAHAM - Nathan Spoon said he was respectful of, but not intimidated by those he teed off against in the Southwick Amateur, a tournament held here at Southwick Golf Course in September.

  "The legends of the county," Nathan said, describing the field that competes in the annual two-day event.

   But Nathan, just a 15-year-old sophomore at Southern Alamance High School, slayed 'em all, dropping a 35-foot putt on the 36th hole to win the tournament by a shot over seven-time champ Wayne Petty. He earned the respect of most everyone who watched him play.

  "It might be unusual for a 15-year-old to win a tournament like that, but Nathan was considered one of the frontrunners going in," said Mark Hopkins, Southwick's pro. "That boy has a lot of natural talent. He's quite a player."

  Nathan shot a 70 in the tournament's opening round, then closed with a 66.

  "I had a bunch of putts lip out that first day," he said. "I knew I could do better."

  Even as good as his closing round was, it's still far from the best golf Nathan's ever shot. He's posted rounds of 63 at Southwick - the home course for the golf team at Southern Alamance - on three occasions.

The Southwick Am wasn’t Spoon’s first successful foray into tournaments dominated by veteran players. In the Alamance County Amateur, a tournament held at three county courses earlier in the year, Nathan tied for first place with Mark Sharp, but lost in a playoff.

  In July, he won the Old North State Invitational at the Old North State Club at Uwharrie Point, whipping 70 of the best junior golfers in the state in the process.

  Nathan said a lot of people watch him play and think he's lucky, that he's simply blessed with a lot of God-given talent. And to a certain extent, that's true.

  But Nathan said he works exceedingly hard at his game, practicing on a driving range or a putting green an average of five days a week. He also tries to play golf at least once or twice a week.

  Nathan doesn't play any high school sports besides golf, but he looks like he'd be an asset to the football team at Southern Alamance. He packs close to 200 pounds on his 5-foot-9 frame and can wallop a tee shot a good 290 yards.

  "That's the best part of my game," he said of those booming drives. The worst part? Well, press him and Nathan will admit he needs to improve on getting his short irons a bit closer to the hole.

   Nathan's father, Joe, introduced his son to the game of golf when the boy was only 7. Nathan said he's been working at the game fairly seriously since he was 11. He played regularly on the Triad Golf Today Junior Tour, honing his tournament skills.

His mother is Jane, a teacher with the Alamance County Schools. The family lives in one of the neighborhoods surrounding Quarry Hills Country Club in Graham. The fairway of the fourth hole is just beyond their backyard. He won the men’s club championship there by 11 shots in September.

  Nathan said he'd like to attend N.C. State and play golf for the Wolfpack.

Back at Southwick, Hopkins said that's a very real possibility.

  "He's at that age where golf is just a fun sport," Hopkins said of Nathan. "He just steps up to the tee and hits it. At this age, he doesn't even have to think about it."