2006 Junior Sectional Challenge Match

Southeast Section Captures Victoryat GSGA Junior Sectional Challenge Match

CALHOUN, Ga. - The Southeast section won the Girls 14-17 age bracket and collected points in three other divisions to finish with a tournament total of 20 points to edge the Northeast section by a single point at the GSGA Junior Sectional Challenge Match, which was played at Fields Ferry Golf Club in Calhoun, July 24-25. The Southwest section, the defending section champion, finished third with 16 points.

The Southeast's charge was led by Alei Mitchell of Waycross, who shot a 74 in the competition's opening round and picked up six points for her team by capturing the Girls 14-17 age division with a final-round score of 75, giving her a 149 total. Metter's Tess Fordham, also playing in the Girls 14-17 bracket, finshed third to tally three points for the Southeast section. Savannah's Brendan Gillins, who finished tied for sixth at the Georgia Junior Championship this past June, won a one-hole playoff to finish second in the Boys 16-17 division and give the Southeast four extra points. Finishing second in the Boys 12-13 division, Scott Wolfes of St. Simons Island (73-74-147) also earned four points. This is the ninth victory for the Southeast section all-time at the GSGA Junior Sectional Challenge Match.

The Northeast Section was the only team to have two of its members finish at the top of their divisions. Buford's Judy Nam fired nine-hole rounds of 42 and 39 to capture the Girls 13 and under division and tally six points for the Northeast. Also collecting six points by winning the Boys 11 and under group was Madison's Andrew Phillips. Phillips sealed the victory with a 38 in the final round for a tournament total of 74. Jennifer Nam, the older sister of Judy Nam, Shad Tuten and Landry Haynes also collected points towards the Northeast's total.

Calhoun's Sam Curtis, who claims Fields Ferry as his home course, finished with a birdie on number nine (his eighteenth) to capture the Boys 16-17 age division by one stroke. He tallied six points for the Northwest section and finished the tournament two shots under par with a 142 total. Collin Ho of Albany fired a tournament-best 135 after rounds of 68 and 67. Ho's score was good enough to edge Rome's Will Jones for the overall title in the Boys 14-15 division by three shots.

Proceeding play on Monday afternoon, the contestants competed in long drive and putting competitions within each age division. For the second year in a row, the long drive of the day came from Millen's Mark Rocker of the East section, playing out of the Boys 16-17 age division, with a drive of 317 yards. The Northwest team's Everett Huntsinger had a 300-yard drive to take the title in the Boys 14-15 division. Hunter Stuckey of Jesup out drove the Boys 12-13 division with a 274-yard drive. The Boys 11 and under group was won with a 228-yard drive by Andrew Phillips. The 14-17 girls division was won by Dawsonville's Kasay Holbrook with 211 yards and Lacey Fears of Bonaire drove the ball 225 yards to take the girls 13 and under group.

The putting competition took place on a five-hole putting course setup on the practice green of Fields Ferry Golf Club. Josh Turner, representing the Southwest section in the boys 11 and under division posted the low score of the evening with a 14. Carterville's Ricky Casko (Boys 16-17), Collin Spellman of Snellville (Boys 14-15) and Buckhead's Zachary Bryant (Boys 12-13) each finished the course with a 15 and won their respective divisions. Tess Fordham of Metter captured the Girls 14-17 division after shooting 17 and Lacey Fears of Bonaire rolled the ball 17 times to take the Girls 13 and under group.

The Junior Sectional Challenge Match is a statewide competition that brings together the top performers from the summer-long GSGA Junior Sectional Program, which was founded in 1974. Participants earned the opportunity to compete and represent their section in the tournament by accumulating points in their section's four qualifying events. Each of the seven geographic sections sends their top four point earners from each boys age division and the top two from each girls division to the Challenge Match. The Junior Sectional Program was established by the Georgia State Golf Association as a grassroots effort to provide juniors across the state with the opportunity to experience competitive golf.

GSGA conducts 17 statewide competitions for men and women of all age groups, three interstate matches and 17 USGA qualifying events each year. Other services include computerized handicapping, course rating and measuring, Golf Georgia magazine and two college scholarship programs.

Final Results

Team Points
1 Southeast 20
2 Northeast 19
3 Southwest 16
4 East 13
5 Northwest 12
6 Middle 11
7 West 5

 

Boys 16-17
1 Sam Curtis, Calhoun Northwest 6874142
2 Brendan Gillins, Savannah Southeast 7172143
3 Jason Bennett, Valdosta Southwest 6875143
4 Daniel Mobley, Waynesboro East 74701442
5 Ashton Pellicano, Albany Southwest 74711451
T6 Brian Burns, Canton Northwest 7472146
T6 Michael Wilcher, Milledgeville Middle 7670146
8 Eric Anderson, Augusta East 7772149
9 Ricky Casko, Cartersville Northwest 7773150
T10 Bayley Craig, Eatonton Middle 8071151
T10 Derek Foulke, Brunswick Southeast 7675151
T12 Mark Rocker, Millen East 8171152
T12 Travis Temple, Metter Southeast 8171152
T14 Bernie Smith, Waynesboro East 7875153
T14 Brandon Landford, Rutledge Northeast 7677153
T16 Adam Garrett, LaGrange West 7975154
T16 Chase Grantham, Douglas Southwest 7876154
18 Keith Reeves, Savannah Southeast 8174155
19 Nick Smith, Buckhead Northeast 7977156
20 Ryan Shurley, The Rock West 7882160
21 Taylor Gary, Commerce Northeast 8479163
22 Judson Clark, Rutledge Northeast 8979168

 

Boys 14-15
1 Collin Ho, Albany Southwest 6867135
2 Will Jones, Rome Northwest 7068138
3 Trey McQuaig, Valdosta Southwest 7570145
4 Matt Johns, Ocilla Southwest 7175146
5 Tyler Erickson, Bonaire Middle 7574149
6 Brad Germany, Albany Southwest 7179150
7 Tyler Tucker, Cochran Middle 7576151
8 Jonathan Klotz, Columbus West 7677153
9 Jake Savant, Rentz Middle 7975154
10 Cameron Simmons, Acworth Northwest 7580155
T11 Joel Sawyer, Elberton Northeast 7878156
T11 Logan Fairley, Waynesboro East 7878156
T11 Shawn Yim, Buford Northeast 8175156
14 Shiloh Snow, Blackshear Southeast 7879157
T15 Casey Sheppard, Savannah Southeast 7979158
T15 Lee Simpson, Milledgeville Middle 7781158
T17 Colin Spellman, Snellville Northeast 8278160
T17 Walker Hill, Statesboro Southeast 7882160
T19 Jack Yancey, Rome Northwest 8081161
T19 John Luna, Cleveland Northeast 7784161
21 Camp Jennings, LaGrange West 7885163
22 Taylor Welborn, LaGrange West 8480164
23 Richie Wiltfang, Brunswick Southeast 8382165
24 Jonathan Ivey, Augusta East 8482166
25 Eric Boddiford, Sylvania East 8286168
26 Everett Huntsinger, Dahlonega Northwest 8586171
27 Jason Hobbs, Columbus West 9386179

 

Boys 12-13
1 Cody Shafer East 7671147
2 Scott Wolfes, St. Simons Island Southeast 7576151
3 Austin Vick, Evans East 7578153
4 Shad Tuten, Elberton Northeast 7678154
5 Landry Haynes, Gainesville Northeast 7678154
T6 Caleb Morris, Metter Southeast 8075155
T6 Chase Reeves, Macon Middle 7976155
T6 David Hobby, Valdosta Southwest 7976155
T6 Hunter Stuckey, Jesup Southeast 7778155
10 Conner Andrews, Woodstock Northwest 7977156
T11 Billy Shuman,, St. Simons Island Southeast 8276158
T11 Chase Wood, Acworth Northwest 7682158
T13 Charlie Martin, LaGrange West 8179160
T13 Jake Flynt, Tifton Southwest 7981160
T13 Ryan Cunningham, Rome Northwest 7981160
16 Travis Oestmann, Columbus West 8281163
17 Zachary Bryant, Buckhead Northeast 8878166
18 Brian Beringer, Macon Middle 8483167
19 Will Mobley, Augusta East 8287169
20 Hunter Ivins, Pelham Southwest 8189170
T21 Robert Peavy, Lizella Middle 8685171
T21 Taylor Gove, Evans East 9576171
23 Tyler Vaughn, Axson Southwest 8984173
T24 Dylan Freeman, Athens Northeast 8293175
T24 Michael Cranston, Columbus West 9184175
T24 Will Brackett, Canton Northwest 8689175

 

Boys 11 & U
1 Andrew Phillips, Madison Northeast 363874
2 Jim Henderson, Macon Middle 373976
3 Ben Bishop, St. Simons Island Southeast 383977
4 Robert Persons, Macon Middle 403878
5 Henry Persons, Macon Middle 403878
T6 Christopher Sells, Savannah Southeast 404181
T6 Gus Beisel, Savannah Southeast 404181
T6 Russell Sabol, Martinez East 384381
9 AJ Pate, Louvale West 433982
10 Carter Mobley, Augusta East 404383
11 Dowling Armstrong, Valdosta Southwest 434184
T12 Eli Crumley, Cleveland Northeast 434285
T12 Matthew Beringer, Macon Middle 404585
14 Andrew Eunice, Moultrie Southwest 424486
15 Stephen Hill, Evans East 434487
16 Jack Bishop, St. Simons Island Southeast 464288
T17 Muhammed Nu-man, Columbus West 464389
T17 Josh Turner, Jeff Davis Southwest 444589
T19 Jack Dargle, Winterville Northeast 454691
T19 Max Weyrick, Marietta Northwest 454691
21 Claxton Faulkner, Watkinsville Northeast 435093
22 Stevie MacPherson, Acworth Northwest 494897
23 Ajay Patel, Valdosta Southwest 465298
24 James Clark, Columbus West 504999
25 JP Schlueter, Canton Northwest 5150101
26 Mercer Clark, Columbus West 5055105
27 Kevin Burns, Canton Northwest 5757114

 

Girls 14-17
1 Alei Mitchell, Waycross Southeast 7475149
2 Jennifer Nam, Buford Northeast 7780157
3 Tess Fordham, Metter Southeast 8177158
4 Kasay Holbrook, Dawsonville Northwest 8580165
5 Latasha Hinton, Columbus West 8484168
6 Amanda Poland, Madison Northeast 9385178
T7 Ashley Barfield, Sandersville Middle 9296188
T7 Kelly Pearce, Albany Southwest 9494188
9 Katarina Hodge, Dublin Middle 101101202

 

Girls 13 & U
1 Judy Nam, Buford Northeast 423981
2 Caitlin Watts, LaGrange West 414283
3 Lacey Fears, Bonaire Middle 414283
4 Brittany Ferguson, Augusta East 474693
5 Brittany Jarrett, Nashville Southwest 484795
6 Lindsey McCurdy, Lake Park Southwest 47489
7 Kailey Duda, Calhoun Northwest 4852100
8 Mary Shuman, St. Simons Island Southeast 4954103
9 Ciera Bagley, Baxley Southeast 5054104
10 Courtney Barfield, Sandersville Middle 5355108
11 Macy Cochran, Augusta East 8160141