Western Region High School Conferences

West 1A

Mountain Valley

Northwest

Smoky Mt.

So'ern. Piedmont

West H'lands

West 3A

West 4A

Capps, an 18 year old high school senior at North Lincoln Senior High school, placed in the top 10 seven times along with finishing tied for 33^rd in the US Junior Amateur Championship at Golf Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton, WA after reaching match play.  In May, Capps finished in sixth place in the state 2A high school championship while leading North Lincoln to a runner-up team finish.  Over the summer, Capps made the cut in the NC Open and Amateur Championships and finished the year with a 72.8 tournament stroke average.  Capps has signed to play college golf at Clemson University.   

Back to the top.....

Lail joins a strong, on-going trend of premier signees for WCU. Over the previous two seasons, the Catamounts have inked top amateur players including the last two winners of the Trusted Choice Big “I” National, Greg Bunner (2010) and J.T. Poston (2011).

Lail has been a three-time All-Catawba Valley Athletic 2-A Conference (CCAC) selection including league Player of the Year honors last season. He additionally garnered All-State plaudits last year as a junior, finishing as the runner-up in the state 2-A West Regional.

As of the most recent rankings released in early November, Lail ranks 28th among all boy’s golfers in the state of North Carolina. Lail placed 10th in the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) Cleveland Healthcare Junior by posting rounds of 70, 72 and 70. He also placed in an eighth-place tie at the AJGA Woodward Video Junior with rounds of 72 and 68. Additionally, Lail recorded a top 10 finish at the AJGA Preseason at St. James, a top 15 in the Dogwood Junior Championship and a top 20 showing in the North Carolina Junior Championship. In June of 2011, he finished third in the Greater Hickory High School Challenge at Rock Barn – an event won by current Catamount freshman Poston.

Back in August, Lail carded an opening round five-under, 67, in the prestigious Joe Cheves Junior Invitational at the Mimosa Hills Country Club which enabled him to be  in the final pairing before placing in a tie for 20th overall.

Western Carolina opens the spring portion of its 2011-12 season in late February at the Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate, hosted by Francis Marion Feb. 20-21. The 54-hole event will be hosted on Hilton Head Island, S.C.<>
Back to the top.....

John Ervin competed in 30 events in route to his Tour Championship. Of those 30 events Ervin won six Tour Titles. Ervin is a scrambler on the golf course. He finished fourth in scoring averages, third in “Greens in Regulation” and sixth in “Ball Striking.” His money stick kept him out of the top ten in putting and his long stick was his most detrimental club in his bag. Ervin ended up 20^th in getting his ball on the fairway with his driver.

Where there is a will there is a way and John Ervin has a lot of will and he found ways to score and end the day at or near the top in all of his events. Ervin epitomizes a UGA player. They

 love the game of golf and play the game as it is designed to be played. Their competitive desire drives them to practice and work on their weakness and more importantly they are not quitters. No matter how bad the round is they will stay in the fight till the last hole is played.

The “B: Flight Champion for this season is JD Osborne from Union Grove, NC. Osborne has been on the Tour since 2007. Finishing at the top of the heap for the “C” Flight was Eric Parker from

Granite Falls, NC. The completion of the 2011 season was Parker’s seventh season on Tour. Doug Wolfe from Maiden, NC captured his first flight championship winning the “D” Flight. Wolfe completes his third season with the UGA Tour and has been on a consistent scoring improvement every season.

The UGA Tour will kick off its 2012 season on March 3, 2012. New in 2012 is that the four majors will become two day events rather than the single day events that they have been. The total number of events in 2012 will mirror the 2011 season. For more information on the UGA Tour go to www.theuga.com  Back to the top.....

Cory Sciupider, North Carolina's 17 best junior golfer signed his LOI with Notre Dame.

Prep golfer Cory Sciupider has signed a National Letter of Intent to attend the University of Notre Dame in the fall of 2012, eighth-year Irish head coach Jim Kubinski recently announced.

"We're thrilled to announce the signing of Cory," Kubinski said. "Cory has excelled in the classroom and on the golf course and has played  extensively and successfully at the national level. He has a chance to do great things."

Sciupider, enjoyed a busy prep career that saw him earn four varsity letters in golf at Christ School in Arden, N.C., while also competing in both soccer and basketball. During his time with the high school team, Sciupider helped the squad go undefeated and claim the state championship his sophomore year after birdying the second playoff hole, while also claiming the individual conference championship during his freshman and junior years and earning conference Player of the Year recognition both years. A two-time selection as team MVP, Sciupider also was a three time all-conference, two time all-region and four time all-state honoree.

On the junior circuit, Sciupider earned five top-10 results including placing third at the North and South Junior in '10 with a 216 (+1). His other top results included a tie for fifth at the AJGA at the Greenbrier , highlighted by a second round 67, sixth place at the AJGA Preseason at the Chateau Elan in '10, sixth place at the '11 North Carolina Big I (140, -4) and a ninth place showing at the '11 North and South Junior after finishing one over (216). Over the course of his playing days, Sciupider also has managed to card four hole-in-ones, including two within a four-day span at age 13.

"Cory  is a talented and well-rounded player," Kubinski stated. "I like his short game a great deal. He's a very good ball striker though too. I first saw him at the Western Junior and was immediately impressed by how he carried himself out there; low stress and very confident. Cory can compete for a spot when he arrives in August. He has the game to make an easy transition to college golf. He certainly makes enough birdies."

The other two players from Christ School are Jeff Krieger who signed to play golf at Purdue and Tye Mckay will be playing golf at High Point University. At the time of this writing neither school has published their signing's. When they have we will publish those reports.<>Back to the top.....

LINCOLNTON, NC – November 9, 2011 – North Lincoln High School – Today is “Letter Signing” day all across North Carolina and the CGNT was present at one of them. Senior Miller Capps of North Lincoln high school signed his letter of intent to play college golf at Clemson University. On hand to witness the signing were his parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters as well a a wealth of well wishers.

Capps is currently ranked as the number one junior boy’s golfer in the state. His choice of Clemson University is as he says, “A dream come true.” You see Miller Capps is not a native of North Carolina. His father was transferred from South Carolina to North Carolina with Duke Energy. Capps has only lived in North Carolina for four years.

Capps came to golf by way of his father. He began knocking a golf ball around before the age of two and joined his father on his trips to the golf course where he would play a few holes but mostly ride in the cart. The seed of golf was planted early in Miller by his dad and they would play their favorite game in the shadows of Clemson University where both of his parents went to college.

So this commitment to play golf at Clemson University is a way of taking Miller back home. In fact that is what he says whenever they go back for football games that it just feels like home.  

This is a great loss to North Carolina but  the coming to fruition of a young boys dream is much more valuable as evidence that dreams do indeed come true. Video Interview...........

TAYLORSVILLE, NC – October 29, 2011 – Brushy Mountain Golf Club – Everything was on the line at Brushy Mountain for Hiddenite’s John Ervin, Hickory’s Chris Murray, Hickory’s Brian Pitts and Granite Falls Eric Parker. As the players unloaded their clubs they were met with the coldest temperature they’ve played in this season as well as some pretty strong winds that complicated play more by the leaves that the wind blew off the trees. 

The battle for the UGA Tour Championship was between John Ervin and Chris Murray. Parker and Pitts were battling it out for the “C” Flight Championship.  

The first hole may have set the tone for the Championship race. Chris Murray took a bogey and Ervin came off the first green with a double. The leader after the first hole was Granite Falls Tim Cooke with his only birdie on the front nine. That birdie allowed Cooke to keep the lead through two holes but his bogey at three allowed Ron Frady from Hickory to take a share of the lead. 

Frady’s share of the lead evaporated at four with his bogey that was followed four with his bogey that was followed by another bogey at five. Cooke alone in first stayed there until hole six when he carded his third bogey of the day while Frady made his first and only birdie on the front side for a two stroke swing that brought him a share of the lead with Cooke. 

Cooke’s bogey at six began a bogey run that led to the turn at the clubhouse costing him the lead after seven holes to Frady who finished the front side par-par bogey for a 38 to Cooke’s 40.

Both the race for the UGA Championship and the “C” Flight were no where close to being settled through the turn. Murray had Ervin by two strokes and Pitts had Parker by the same margin. 

Frady, with the lead in hand, self destructed at ten with the dreaded snowman. Frady was never able to recover from his eight on ten. 

The wind was playing havoc with the player’s shots. The cold was causing errors in club selection. All in all it was turning out to be a bad day. The two races for the championships were going

to the player who can make the fewest bogeys.

Out of the mess of bogeys there began to emerge a par run by Mark Lauffenburger. Lauffenburger made the turn at 41, three behind the leader at the turn Frady. With ever par made his taking of the lead was done by the twelfth hole. After making par at 14, his fifth par in a row since the turn, he iced his lead with his first birdie of the round at fifteen.

Lauffenburger huge lead was diminished a few at 16 where he found a lot of trouble and came away with a triple bogey but went back to work making birdies on 17 and 18 for an even par backside of 36 and a five over 77 for the day winning his second UGA title in row.

In the battle for the “C” Flight Championship Pitts led at the turn but he book ended his back nine with a pair of triples thus surrendering his effort for the title. Eric Parker came away at Brushy with the title.

The battle between John Ervin and Chris Murray turned out to be a battle to see how could make the least bogeys with Murray winning the day but not winning enough points to over take Ervin for the UGA Points Championship. John Ervin joins Scott Miller, Dennis Carnford and Jack Beach as UGA Tour Champions.

John Ervin is the 2011 #1 Golfer in the Unifour.

KINGS MOUNTIAN, NC – October 24, 2011 – 1/2A West Regional – Woodbridge GC – The Hendersonville Bearcats ripped up their competition at the 1/2A West Regional at Woodbridge. Their lead Bearcat Allea Hawkins carded the second best round of the day at Woodbridge. Hawkins 84 was trumped by Rachel Trent from Owens High School. Ranger Trent shot a front nine of 39, the best for nine holes front or back. Trent’s back nine of 43 was the second lowest behind Brittany Smith from East Lincoln.

Trent’s 82 won for her a trip to the state and the medalist honors at Woodbridge. Owens as a team will not see any state playoff activity. 

The Bearcats of Hendersonville gave no quarters in their romp at Woodbridge. All four members of the Owens team will be traveling to Pinehurst next weekend. Hawkins wingmen Kelly Jackson and Courtney Simpkins added scores of 95 and 103 respectfully to Hawkins 84 for a team total of 282, a 23 stroke victory by the

L-R Kelly Jackson, Courtney Simpkins, Allea Hawkins, Bailey Ford, Coach Greg Pace( Click Photo for larger view)

Bearcats.

Sitting 23 strokes back of the Bearcats  in second place were the Knights of Lake Norman Charter. Megan Ports, the Knights No.1 led the way with a 97 just one stroke ahead of fellow Knight Kaelyn Pack with a 98. Kayla Thomas completed the Knights team score of 305 with a round of 110.

The fourth team to win a berth at this years state playoffs in Pinehurst are the East Lincoln Mustangs. Mustanger Brittany Smith led the herd with a round of 90. Tori Morgan and Taylor Johnson supplied the 110 and 112 strokes respectfully for team total of 312 and a punched ticket to Pinehurst. Results....

The Mavericks were led to victory by Rachel Walker with an 81. Amanda Hampton added 89 and Morgan Laird threw in 91 strokes for a team total of 261.

West Henderson team scored 271 strokes to place as runner-ups in the 3A West Regional. The Dynamic Duo of Chandler Danielson and Payton Culler shot an 85 and a 84 respectfully and Stasia McMullen, who won the admiration of her teammates and coaches with her round of 102. This is the first time that she has even come close to qualifying to participate at Regionals and she was steady as a rock posting identical front/back nine hole scores of 51 for a total of 102.

Third place at 3A West regional went to South Pointe with a team total of 280. South Pointe's Katie Barnette lead the way with a round of 89 that was backed up by Keslynn Pihl with a round of 94. Madi Cauble topped off the scoring for South Pointe with a 97.

The Fourth place team to win a ticket tot he state playoffs is Forestview. Kelsi Rowland led the way with a 94 and Julia-Kay Reece was two strokes back at 96. Karlee Garrison brought in a 100 to complete the team total of 290. Results....
Back to the top.....

Where There is a Will There is a Way!

MORGANTON, NC – 2011 Girl’s Golf Season – The Burke County Girl’s Golf League – Across the foothills of Western North Carolina there are two high school conferences called the CVAC, which stands for the Catawba Valley Athletic Conference, and the South Mountain Piedmont Conference. Both of these conferences are very active in all the other sports except for girl’s golf. Oh, there is a pulse there but very faint.  

When the girl’s who wanted to come out and play golf for their high schools there was no place for them to play, but thanks to the service of the men and women we call coaches they were not turned away. Instead they formed a girl’s golf league. 

Mr. Yates Jensen, the girl’s golf team coach at Jimmy Draughn high school in Morganton explains it this way, “We actually played an inter-county league this past season due to the fact that our respective conferences that our schools are members of do not have any other schools that participate in Women's Golf.  Therefore, we just play matches that involve the four schools in Burke County (Draughn, East Burke, Burke, Freedom, and  Patton).  Draughn and East Burke are part of the CVAC 2A Conference.  South Iredell (2A CVAC) has a team but due to travel distance, they did not participate with us except on a couple of occasions.  Patton and Freedom are part of the South Mountain Piedmont and they are the only schools that have Women's Golf.” 

Thanks Coach Jensen and all the rest of the coaches of the Burke Country Girl’s League for keeping the pulse beating and cultivating these young golfing seeds.  

Golf is a lonely sport. These junior golfers never get carried off the field on shoulders; they never get applauded for crossing the finish line, goal line, hitting a game winning basket or a home run. They go out most times by themselves carrying that bag of clubs from one and half to three miles every time they go out. They dig their game out of the dirt with perseverance and determination to find the best way for them to get that little white orb into the cup. With all of that comes self assurance and belief that they can do anything. With all of that they learn how to handle disappointment and accomplishments. With all of that they learn how to manage their game around 18 holes. With all of that creates, I believe with all of my heart, the future leaders of our communities. Way to go young ladies of Burke County. YTD Results.........

DAVIDSON, NC – October 19, 2011 – River Run CC – The Southern Piedmont 2A conference completed their 2011 season at River Run CC in Davidson, NC in spite of the very wet conditions.  

Lake Norman Charter hosted this last event of the season and celebrated the completion of the season with a 15 stroke victory. The Lady Knights finished the season with a 5-1 match wins. The Lake Norman Charter Knights win the conference championship and their No.1, Maegan Ports was crowned the Player of the Year. The Knights placed three of their players on the All Conference list. They were Maegan Ports, Kaelyn Pack and Brittany Buchstad. Ports won her fifth medalist honors at River Run. 

North Lincoln won their first match of the season to end the 2011 season but finished with three seconds and two thirds. Hannah Nixon led North Lincoln this season well enough to finish fifth in the conference. Nixon and three of her teammates, KC Crisler, Brooke Bennes, and Margo Lovelace were named to the All Conference team. 

Other Southern Piedmont players named to the All Conference were Brittany Smith of East Lincoln, Alexis Killian of Lincoln High and Taylor Shellman of Highland Tech. 

Next on the calendar is the regional on Monday at Woodbridge in Kings Mountain, NC. - Match Results......

HENDERSONVILLE, NC - October 18, 2011 - WNC Athletic – The WNC Athletic conference convened for a two day 18 hole event at Lake Juanluska and Etowah Valley concluding their season’s play. The Falcon’s entered this event with the conference championship in hand. This was a great way to get tuned up for the regional that begins next Monday in Asheville. 

The final event for most conferences are where the awards for Player of the Year and All Conference Teams are named as well as certifying those teams and players that will be going to the regional. Over the two days of play the Falcons exhibited why they were the number one team in the WNC Athletic conference. Led by their dynamic duo of Chandler Danielson and Payton Culler they won the event by 81 strokes. Danielson finished the two days with a 148 while Culler carded a 157. Stasia McMullen finished out the team total with a 194.

Chandler Danielson Payton Culler

Pisgah Bears rolled in at runner-up with a team total of 580 led by Ashley Thompson who finished the two day event with the second best total of the event at 155. Elizabeth Belham and Haley Penland carded two day rounds of 204 and 221 respectively.  The third place finisher was Franklin with a team total of 592. Franklin No.1 was Carly Paysuer with a 183. Erin Campbell and Sydney Pierce brought home a 193 and 216 to complete the team total.  The Player of the Year for the WNC Athletic conference is Chandler Danielson who finished the season with a 37.50 stroke average just nudging out teammate Payton Culler. The All Conference Team consisted of Chandler Danielson, WHHS – Payton Culler, WHHS – Ashley Thompson, Pisgah – Erin Campbell, Franklin – Carly Payseur, Franklin – Stasia McMullen, WHHS – Elizabeth Belham, Pisgah.. All six schools in the WNC Athletic conference are going to the regional next Monday.<> Match Results........

CHARLOTTE, NC – October 16, 2011 – I-Meck 4A Conference – The I-Meck 4A Conference is made up of eight schools. They are Hopewell, WA Hough, Lake Norman, Mallard Creek, Mooresville, North Meck, Vance and West Charlotte. Vance and West Charlotte are not fielding a girl’s golf team this season. 

In the first competition of the season Mallard Creek won by a very decisive margin of 14 strokes and has never looked back. However there were two matches that Mooresville gave Mallard Creek a run for their money. In the second and fourth matches Mooresville came within five strokes of taking the wind out of the sails of Mallard Creek.

Mallard Creek handily won the I-Mech 4A Conference title.

Morgan Zemaitis Josefin Ekesbo Jade Dawkins

Mallard Creek and Mooresville were the dominant teams in the I-Meck Conference this season. Of the top ten spots. They are Morgan Zemaitis (2013),  Josefin Ekesbo(2013) and Jade Dawkins(2012). In a tie for the eighth spot is Sarah Bennett(2014). Mooresville placed three of its top players in the top ten. The fourth and fifth spots are Mooresville players Jesses Long and Abby Cathcart and tied for the eighth slot is Amanda Beard. The No.1 spot at Mallard Creek belongs to Morgan Zemaitis, but only by less than a stroke. Josefin Ekesbo is the No.2 at Mallard Creek. This pair sets the pace at Mallard Creek but a good No.3 is required for a team to dominate a conference as Mallard Creek does. The No.3 slot is filled by Jade Dawkins. Dawkins filled the No.3 spot with a consistent production of 46 strokes a round. At Mooresville Jesse Long and Abby Cathcart are tied at the hip in scoring. If it weren’t for dismal points you could not tell their scoring apart. Amanda Beard holds down the No.3 spot at Mooresville. Mooresville has been more successful outside of conference play in which they finished second behind Mallard Creek in every match.  In a non conference match at Cowans Ford CC they finished first against East Lincoln, North Lincoln and Lincolnton along with two other first played at Warrior and Mooresville. In a more recent outing the Mooresville Blue Devils entered the Iredell County Championship where they finished first.   Coach Davidson said, “I am excited! We are sending an entire team of five to the regional.”

WA Hough fills the third spot in the team standings of the I-Meck 4A Conference as of October third. Hough placed two players in the top ten by season’s end. Hough is lead by Bailey Jones. Jones placed as the seventh best golfer in the I-Meck conference while teammate Tessa Young placed tenth. Camille Battah contributed the most scores for the number three golfer on the Huskies team. YTD Scorecard..

LENOIR, NC – October 15, 2011 - Lenoir Golf Club – Other than an occasional gust of wind this was a perfect day for golf and the UGA Tour players were looking to get back to their regular playing conditions and erase the fiasco of those two holes at River Oaks Golf Club last week. Right out of the chute Rick Chapman, Time Cooke, Ron Frady, Jim States and the 2010 UGA Tour champion Jack Beach made back to back pars to take the early lead after two holes of play. Then it was on to the short par five third which has an eagle siren song when you step onto the teeing ground.  

The par five third at Lenoir is only 448 yards from the back tees. From the teeing ground you see a dog leg right that has a creek running across the fairway away from the tee box. That creek then splits and with the split running down the right side of the fairway up to the green. On the other side of the fairway and just over the creek is a fairway bunker backed up by a line of trees running down the cart path just as the bend in the dog leg begins. 

For those who find a safe landing on the other side of the creek can be rewarded with an eagle opportunity. Today only three golfers had an eagle putt but none was successful. The eagle putters came off of three with the lead as they all made their birdie putts. The lead was now in the hands of Tim Cooke, Ron Fardy and Jack Beach.

Cooke was facing a pretty good head wind on the par three fourth requiring a successful club selection. His approach was long sending him some ten yards past the hole leaving him a down hill chip which he came up short requiring him to two putt out for his first bogey of the round and a loss of his share of the lead.

Both Beach and Frady made par at the fourth keeping their share of he lead in tact. 

Through the next two holes the lead did not change but a door was opened by both Frady and Beach who mimicked each other by carding back to back bogeys on five and six. For Frady he continued his bogey run all the way to the turn. The open door allowed Cooke to step in. After his bogey at four Cooke went par-par and took the lead away from Beach at six. 

The lead stayed the same through seven but at eight Beach took a double pushing him back of Cooke by three and it let Ervin, who birdied eight, take advantage of a three stroke swing to join Beach. Now both Beach and Ervin were chasing Cooke who was now three strokes ahead going to nine. Just in back of Ervin and Beach was Chris Murray. 

Cooke leading by three was short on his tee shot at the par three ninth and landed in the front greenside bunker. In his effort to get out of the sand that hit just shy of the green surface but ran up the hill towards the cup stopping less than three feet short and left leaving him one of those agonizing left to right breaking putts at an angle to the cup. His putt was short leaving him a tap in for his second bogey on the front side giving him a one over par 37 front side. 

Beach found his second double in a row at the ninth while Ervin made par. Beach went up to a front side total of 41 and Ervin made the turn with a 39 two strokes behind Cooke. 

While everyone had their eyes on Cooke, Ervin and Beach all of sudden Mark Lauffenburger joined Ervin in second after his tee shot at nine which almost holed out and tapped in for his birdie 

Cooke opened the backside with his third bogey of the day. Beach came back with a birdie on ten along with Chris Murray. Ervin bogeyed the tenth giving both Beach and Murray a two stroke swing and putting them in a three way tie for third. Lauffenburger made par at ten leaving him in second now just one stroke behind Cooke because of his bogey at ten. 

Now the race was getting excited as there were four good golfers within two strokes of each other. 

As the match progressed the play remained at the pace it now stood at except for Jim States who had worked his way up to the fourth spot through the turn. Beacuse of missed putts, bogeys and double bogeys the race for the finish ended up between Cooke and States who was two shots back of Cooke heading into seventeen.  

With two holes to play States needed to make it happen at seventeen especially if Cooke has a hiccup which he did. All the others had worked themselves out of contention by the 16^th hole. Cooke was the in the group ahead of States. Cooke's drive found the fairway but Cooke’s approach to the green was short requiring a chip for his third on this par four. His first putt just missed the cup which he holed out for a bogey. 

States, in the group behind Cooke had his opening. A par would bring him within one stroke and a birdie would tie the match. States tee shot also found the fairway. Now onto the green but that was not to be. States also missed his approach shot and ended up two putting for a bogey and the runner-up title. 

Cooke pared out at 18 and won the Lenoir Fall Open by three strokes over States. This was Cooke’s first win this season. The UGA Tour’s next to last event of the season will be played at Silvercreek Plantation in Morganton, NC next Saturday, October 22. For more information on the UGA Tour go to www.theuga.com.  Results.......

The West Henderson Falcons took to Maggie Valley with ease posting a team total of 264. This eighteen hole match was their third this season with two more to play. Chandler Danielson took back the role of medalist at Maggie Valley. Danielson had won the first three medalist titles at the start of the season and then teammate Payton Culler took over and won the medalist honors for the last three matches before this the seventh match of the season.

Danielson posted an 80 to claim the medalist honors while Culler came in with an 84. Stasia McMullen finished out the team total with a round of 100. 

Winning the runner-up title for the third time this season were the Panthers of Franklin. The lead Panther was Erin Campbell with a round of 100. Carly Payseur and Sydney Pierce added 104 and 106 respectively to the team total of 311.

Franklin’s 311 was one stroke better than the third place finisher the Pisgah Bears. The lead Bear was Ashley Thompson with the second best round of the day, an 83. 

On Monday the 17^th the WNC Athletic Conference will begin an official two day two round event at Lake Junaluska  Match Results.....

NORTHWESTERN 3A/4A CONFERENCE – October 11, 2011 – With the 2011 season winding down there is no doubt that the Alexander Central Cougars will be crowned the conference champions of the Northwestern 3A/4A Conference. The Cougars are undefeated in their last four outings of conference play.  

This scrappy bunch of Lady Cougars has all five of their players in the top ten players list in this conference. The Cougars No.1 and and tied for number one in the conference is Abbey Hartsell, a freshman at Alexander Central.  

Hartsell started making waves in her middle school years and continues to do so in high school. Hartsell is averaging 38.25 strokes a match. Hartsell’s teammates, Katie Lail, Kelsie Rhyne, Jessica Fisher and Noel Gwaltney are averaging rounds of less than 45 strokes a round creating a very formidable scoring machine, especially in women’s golf.  

At a distant second sits South Caldwell lead by Rachel Lineback. Lineback averages 45 strokes a round while her wingmen are averaging near fifty strokes a round.  

Watauga is bringing up the rear in the Northwestern Conference but their leader, Savanna Wood, is tied for the individual lead with Alexander Central’s Abbey Hartsell. Wood came out of the cute with a 40 and 41. After she had shaken off the rust her game started coming around and won the medalist honors her third time out and shared the medalist honors with Hartsell in her fourth outing.  

Based on the Cougars scoring average they have a good chance to win a team spot for the state playoff. Four teams from each regional, there are nine, will go to the state. In addition fourteen individuals who score well and whose team did not make the cut will go to the state. Both Watauga’s Wood and Alexander Central’s Hartsell have a great chance to advance to the state. The Northwestern 3A/4A Conference has several individuals playing as individuals because there were not enough girls to try out for the teams. Hickory high, a bastion for 3A state men’s championship teams, has only one player, Bree Keller who qualified for the state playoffs last year and finished in the top 15. Fred T. Foard is represented   by Ashlyn Setzer. Setzer has qualified for the state as an individual the last two seasons and finished last year in the top 30. Representing St. Stephens High are Faith Sronce and Cait Maciver. Hibritten was not able to field any players this season.<> YTD Results.....<>Back to the top......

SOUTHERN PIEDMONT 2A CONFERENCE – October 10, 2011 – Lake Norman Charter Knights are having no mercy on all comers. The Lady Knights leader, Maegan Ports, cruised to her third medalist honor out of the four matches that the Southern Piedmont Conference has played this season.  

Her round of 41 in this latest match is right on the button of her stroke average. Her highest round this season is a 43 and her lowest round is a 40. Her medalist win helped her team come in with their lowest team score of the season. Ports got some big help from Kaelyn Pack who scored her lowest nine hole total of the season with a 44. Helping the Lake Norman Knights bring in their lowest round of the season was Brittany Buckstad with a 53.  

Runner up was North Lincoln lead by Hannah Nixon with a 51 and the third place team was East Lincoln with a 167 lead by Brittany Smith who had the fourth lowest round of the match, a 47.<> Match results.......

STATESVILLE, NC – October 8, 2011 – River Oaks Golf Club – In the fourth from last event of the 2011 season the UGA Tour gathered at River Oaks Golf Club. Though the course has had some greens problems, as a lot of courses have this summer, the
Tour was excited to be playing this recovering tract. 

Under some of the best golf weather experienced this season the Tour began play and within two holes multiple UGA title winner this year, JP O’Renick, jumped into the lead. O’Renick’s lead melted away at three. Taking the leadership reins after three were the two current Tour points leaders, Chris Murray and John Ervin. Number three was the waterloo for many players as the cup placement was in a very difficult location causing a larger number of putts than normal for the field. 

Ervin took the out right lead at the par five fourth with his first birdie of the round but gave of the lead at the par three fifth with his bogey allowing Murray to comeback into sharing the lead. From the par three fifth Murray and Ervin moved off from the field and remained in a tie through the turn at 38 each, but that was about to change at ten.

The UGA is all about helping golfers improve their golf skill and the Tour loves a very competitive golf course-put, when a cup placement is set like the one at River Oaks on number ten the word

skill is replaced with luck. This cup on No.10 at River Oaks was placed on the side of hill that had to have at least a three inch or more inside of a foot. There were as many as 18 attempts to cup a ball on this hole. The actual number of putts was much higher as the Tour only allows number of putts counted when putted from the green surface. After the fiasco at ten Chris Murray landed on top of the leaderboard followed by the ever present Ervin. 

The players were trying to shake off the memories of snowmen and double-digit scores at ten but for many of them it was very difficult. Murray scores a nine on the par three 11^th while Ervin made par and regaining the lead by a substantial number. 

From eleven on in to the clubhouse it was Ervin. Ervin managed to maintain control though the remaining eight holes to finish with an impressive 79 in spite of No.10 and it’s impact on the players. 

Next week the UGA Tour is headed for its final play at Lenoir Golf Club for this season. For more information on the UGA Tour GO to www.theuga.com   Results......

Back to the top......

LAKE JUNALUSKA, NC - October 6, 2011 – Lake Junaluska Golf Course – The Falcons of West Henderson continued their dominance of the Western North Carolina Athletic conference on Thursday at Lake Junaluska. This was the second 18 hole match of this season for this conference. 

The Falcons were led to victory by Payton Culler. Ever since she turned the corner on August 31, there has been no stopping her. For the third match in a row Culler walked away with the medalist honors with a round of 74.  

The other half of the dynamic duo, Chandler Danielson was chasing her team mate but came up three strokes short with a 77. Stasia McMullen added 95 strokes to make the team score at Lake Junaluska 246. 

At 31 strokes back was Pisgah at 277. The lead Bear was Ashely Thompson with an 83. Elizabeth Belham and Haley Penland added 92 and 102 respectively to the team total of 277. 

Franklin took home the third place plaque with a team score of 285 led by Erin Campbell. 

The NWC Athletic conference will now be preparing for the regional that will take place at Woodbridge Golf Club located in Kings Mountain, NC on October 24^th.<>Back to the top......

North Lincoln beat out East Lincoln for the runner-up spot by three strokes; a little come up pence after East Lincoln did it to North Lincoln in their last match. The North Lincoln threesome took three of the top ten finishing spots for a total of 154. Brittany Buckstad led the way with a 48 while Brook Bennes and KC Krisler brought home a pair of 51’s.

East Lincoln’s Brittany Smith continues her consistent play leading her Mustangs to a third place finish with a round of 45.  

With only three match completed the Southern Piedmont 2A conference has got a lot of golf to get in before October 24, the beginning of the state wide regional play. The 2A regional will be held at Woodbridge Golf Club located in Kings Mountain, NC<>Back to the top......

ETOWAH, NC – September 28, 2011 – Etowah Valley CC – The Western North Carolina Athletic conference held their first 18 hole match of this season at the famed Etowah Valley CC.  

Payton Culler who is normally wingman to Chandler Danielson brought home a five over par 77 to claim her second medalist honors of this season. Culler bested her team mate Danielson by four strokes who claimed the individual runner-up title. The play of these two fine golfers helped bring home another match title for the West Henderson Falcons who are still undefeated. Helping Culler and Danielson secure West Henderson’s fifth victory was Stasia McMullen with a 110.

Culler looks to be gelling just at the right time as she has pulled alongside her team mate Danielson in year to day stroke averages. They are the Falcon’s dynamic duo! 

The runner-up team title goes to Franklin for the second time this season. Erin Campbell led the Panthers with a nice round of 97. Carly Payseur and Sydney Pierce came in with 100 and 115 respectively to help Campbell win their second runner-up title this season. 

Pisgah, led by Ashley Thompson had to settle for a third place finish. - Click here for the full leaderboard......

LENOIR, NC – October 1, 2011 – Cedar Rock Country Club – The UGA made its final stop of this season at Ceda Rock CC in Lenoir, NC. The UGA gathered at Cedar Rock on one of  the coldest mornings of this season requiring the players to think about what clubs to use approaching the greens. 

Speaking of the greens, they were just punched the week before the UGA came to Cedar Rock. The club chose to use the big tines so needless to say the putts were going to be bumpy most likely meaning higher scores. 

After the Westport event the UGA Tour point’s race narrowed to less than a point separating John Ervin and Chris Murray in the first and second spots. Then the No. 3 man, Rick Chapman, is less than a hundred behind the top two. So every stroke a t Cedar Rock is very valuable. 

The Cedar Rock event is being played at one of the longest yardage played this season, over 6600 yards. That added to the green’s condition is sure to make things a little dicey for those needing points. 

As expected the scores escalated allacross the board. Tim Cooke of Granite Falls and Gary Dyson of Statesville were tied for the lead at the end of two holes. Both players recorded pars while the rest of the field was posting bogeys and double bogeys.

Cedar Rock is still recuperating from the “Winter Kill” of 2010. Though most of it has been repaired fairways three and seven are still played as “ground under repair.” As the players moved on and through number three only two players were able to manage a par on the par five 502 yard hole. Aaron Thomas from Mt. Holly, NC and current Tour points leader John Ervin from Hiddenite, NC played their first two shots just like the book but both of their approach shots missed the green. Thomas has a great chipping game and he proved it again on this hole to save his par. His chip rested about nine inches from the cup for an easy tap in par. Tour leader Ervin is as deadly on his chipping as well and was able to almost duplicate the chip of Thomas. 

After three holes the leaderboard changed leaving Time Cooke and Aaron Thomas tied for the lead. Dyson came off of three with a triple bogey.

Thomas lost his share of the lead at four when his approach shot landed in the right hand greenside bunker from which his effort to get out fell short of the putting surface requiring his fine chipping skills to save par but this time his chip was a little long leaving him a down hill putt which he missed. His come back putt was good for a double bogey. 

Cooke also bogeyed four but was alone in the lead after four holes of play and it stayed that way through the next three holes even with Cooke making a double at the par four seventh, one of the two fairways still in recovery. Had Aaron Thomas made his bogey putt he would have regained his lost share of the lead at seven. Now Thomas was one stroke back of Cooke after seven.

Quietly working his way around Cedar Rock was Lenoir, NC’s Mark Lauffenburger. Lauffenburger also had a chance to snare a share of the lead at seven had he made his par putt. Now Cooke was being tracked by both Thomas and Lauffenburger as they neared the half way house. The scores were not looking too good for all at the end of seven holes. 

The par three eighth hole at Cedar Rock is not a deep green but is wide and slopes right to left with a little ridge running from front to back leaving most shots off the back left side of the green. For those who end up on the right front side of the green or on the front apron their putt of chip efforts would end up in the back left corner of the green or apron. 

Only three pars were posted at eight and one of the bogeys or doubles belonged to Cooke and Thomas. Making par were Lauffenburger and Chris Murray, No.2 on the Tour points chase. Laufenburger’s par brought him into a tie with Cooke for the lead. Murray’s par gained for him a share of second with Thomas as they moved onto the final front side hole. 

No.9 at Cedar Rock had some Winter Kill but only small remnant of it remains along the left side of the fairway from the fairway bunker on the left ending up around the turn. This is a fairly easy hole if you stay center and right of center, but when you look at the average for the hole on this day it stood at 6.33.  

The co leaders both bogeyed the hole, Cooke a bogey and Lauffenburger doubled. This allowed Thomas and Murray, who both made par at the ninth, to make it a three way tie for the lead as they headed for the inward nine.  

As all the players made the turn you could tell it was going to be a bad day at the Rock. The average score on the front side was 50.33. 

Lauffenburger made a quick strike starting out the back side with a birdie, the only one made by the players through nine ten holes of play. Cooke and Thomas bogeyed ten while Murray made a double leaving Lauffenburger in sole possession of the lead from which he never looked back. 

On the way in Lauffenburger would make two more birdies and three pars and a couple of bogeys for a backside score of 37 for the victory. Out of seven starts he has now won two titles raising him to eighteenth in the Tour point’s race.  

The UGA Tour travels to River Oaks for its first of the last four events of the 2011 season. The River Oaks event is a double point’s event. Currently there is only 45 points separating Murray and Ervin with Rick Chapman only 250 points out of first place. For more information on the UGA Tour go to www.theuga.com.- Back to the top......

NEWTON, NC – September 25, 2011 – Catawba County Club – The seventeenth annual Ken and Betty Isaac Junior Invitational was held at Catawba Country Club in Newton, NC. The tournament is named after the Ken and Betty Isaac for their relentless contributions to junior golf in Catawba County North Carolina.

Every year, the Board of Directors of the Ken and Betty Isaac Scholarship Foundation, review applications from high school seniors from across the Catawba County high schools. Current juniors in Catawba County Schools who are interested in applying for The Betty and Ken Isaac Scholarship need to inquire about the scholarship with their high school guidance counselors early in the fall. Since the initial scholarship award of 1994-1995, winners have attended various institutions including Appalachian State University, UNC-Chapel Hill, Lenoir-Rhyne College, UNC-Wilmington, NC State University, UNC-Greensboro, and East Carolina University.

Betty and Ken Isaac, married for nearly 52 years and both retired from Carolina Mills, had no children of their own. Eleven years ago, they decided to set up the scholarship to assist young students who exemplify integrity, leadership in the community, success in their school, and an interest in golf.  Another major criterion is financial need. The Isaacs hope to continue to help young people for as long as they can. In fact, says Ken Isaac, “Our whole estate will go into this scholarship upon our passing. We want to continue providing for these deserving students.

For more than a decade, we have kept our young boys and girls in school; as one leaves, another begins. We’ve not been disappointed with any of our scholarship winners. They have all graduated or they are currently enrolled in college,” he said. “Betty and I have met some of the finest young people that you could ever imagine.”  -  Continue reading......  - Back to the top......

HICKORY, NC – September 27, 2011 – Catawba Springs CC – The Northwestern 3A conference finally got to play some golf. It seemed like it would rain on every scheduled match day. 

The lay off did not seem to dampen the drive of the Alexander Central Cougars. They took up where they left off – Winning! 

The lead Cougar for Alexander Central continues to be Abby Hartsell. Hartsell had a two over par round of 38 that won

for her another medalist medal.. The   best three scores are used when adding up the team’s totals for a match but in this match all three of Hartsell’s wingmen carded rounds of 42. They are Jessica Fisher, Katie Lail and Kelsie Rhyne. 

South Caldwell came in second with a team total of 139 and in the third slot was Watauga with a score of 147. <>Back to the top......

Southern Piedmont Update:

WESTERN REGION, NCHSAA – The Southern Piedmont 2A conference has completed two matches thus far this season with Lake Norman Charter leading this six team conference by seven strokes over North Lincoln High. Lake Norman Charter’s Maegan Ports has lead the Knights with rounds of 40 and 41 earning her the medalist honors in both matches. 

A seven stroke lead is tenuous at best, especially when the North Lincoln Knights are the one’s chasing you. Lake Norman’s Ports is getting help in this challenge from Kaelyn Pack and Brittany Buckstad. All three of Lake Norman’s players have finished in the top ten but so have North Lincoln’s Hannah Nixon, KC Crisler and Brooke Bennes.  

The wild card in this mix-up will be East Lincoln. The East Lincoln Rams are sure to butt their heads into the fray as they have the second best Southern Piedmont golfer standing in the shadows of Ports, Brittany Smith. Smith along with Tori Megan and Taylor Johnson are ten strokes off of Lake Norman but only three off of North Lincoln. This sounds like a Mexican standoff. So who ever blinks first might just find them sliding backwards. 

Lincoln High School has one player, Alexis Killian in the top ten and appears to be playing as an individual this season. To complete the top ten   ranking is Taylor Shellman form Highland Tech. Shellman is comfortably ranked fifth after two matches.  

From a reporters point of view this Southern Piedmont conference is one to watch this season cause it looks like there will be some real jockeying for positions as the season heads towards the regional. Current Standings....... - Back to the top......

West Henderson Falcons Remain Undefeated
Payton Culler Claims First Medalist Medal

HENDERSONVILLE, NC – September 26, 2011 – Crooked Creek Golf Course – The Western North Carolina Athletic conference met on the nines at Crooked Creek Golf Course for their third conference match of the season. Up to now it has been an all Falcons season and it still is. 

The Falcons of West Henderson High continued their dominance of the WNCAC not only in wins but in strokes as well. Posting a 127 which is their second best round of this young season the Falcon have a huge stroke lead over the rest of the conference teams. 

The Falcons dynamic duo of Culler and Danielson will be a force to contend with in the conference, the regional and the state. Chandler Danielson has claimed the medalist honors in their first two matches but surrender her run to the half of this duo, Payton Culler. Culler claimed her medalist medal with an even par round of 36. Danielson tied for second with a 39, her highest score thus far this season. Stasia McMullen contributed 52 strokes to the Falcon’s team total of 127. 

Pisgah’s Ashley Thompson, who opened her conference play with a low forties round, has settled down and is becoming a challenger to the Falcons dynamic duo. Thompson posted her second consecutive round of 39, which tied with Danielson for the second spot in the top ten. Thompson’s round helped the Bears of Pisgah to grab the runner-up title in this third match. Helping Thompson were Elizabeth Belham with a 52 and Haley Penland with a round of 60 for the team total of 151. 

Franklin won the third spot handedly over the remaining field consisting of Tuscola, East and North Henderson.

Results.........  - Back to the top......

DENVER, NC – September 24, 2011 – Westport Golf Club – The annual pilgrimage to Westport Golf Club under threatening clouds and a great prospect for rain was made this weekend. The UGA Tour plays on a lot of different courses throughout its 30 some odd match schedule but this is the only stop for the Tour to play on Bermuda greens which at this time of the season a really fast. 

Because of a huge overnight rain the Bermuda greens at Westport were quite slow at the start of the match but by the turn the speed was ever increasing the more the sunlight had shown through the clouds. Over all the putting at Westport compared to last season’s event were much improved.

Multiple 2011 title winner JP O’Renick jumped out to an early command of the top spot of the

   leaderboard because of his birdie on the first hole. O’Renick held the lead until hole No. 4 the number one handicapped hole at Westport.  O’Renick took four shots just to reached the green on this downhill over water and then up hill to a green. Once on the green O”Renick needed two putts to get the ball into the cup. O’Renick’s double at four opened the door to a whole host of players to join him at the top of the leaderboard.

Now, besides O’Renick, there was Rick Chapman, last weeks winner at Pudding Ridge, Tim Cooke, number four in the Tour Points race and Josh Weddington from Statesville all sharing the top spot.

On the way to No. 6 Weddington dropped out of the lead with a couple of bogeys and then at six Chapman tripled it leaving only O’Renick and Cooke alone at the top of the board.  

Chapman’s triple was fresh in the mind of O’Renick as they began to play the par five seventh, so much so that O’Renick duplicated Chapman’s play at six with his triple at seven. Meanwhile Cooke took a commanding lead with his first birdie of the round at seven. 

While no one was looking, last season Tour Champion Jack Beach was making his move on the lead. Beach also birdied seven which gave him the number two spot just one stroke behind Cooke. As the front runners neared the turn, both Cooke and Beach bogeyed eight. Their bogey allowed the ever dangerous Ervin to move a little closer to the leaders’ in fact just one stroke behind Cooke in a tie with Beach for second. 

Number nine cost Cooke his share of the lead with his triple at nine giving way for Beach and Ervin to now command the lead through the first nine holes with their duplicate pars at nine. After a string of bogeys Josh Weddington settled down and was able to come across the half way point in second with a front nine score of 39, one stroke behind Beach and Ervin. 

Both Ervin and Beach struggled at the par five tenth but Beach more so than Ervin. Ervin’s bogey at ten opened the door for Weddington to move his name to the top of the board with his par at ten. Beach’s double at ten allowed Cooke to come back into the shadows of the lead sharing the number two sport with Beach.  

Weddington’s par on ten set him up to make a big move at eleven. Eleven at Westport is a sort dog leg left that the danger of hitting out of bounds on both sides of the fairway is very high and today a lot of strokes were lost at this hole. 

Only four pars and one birdie were cared at eleven and one of the pars belonged to Weddington. Ervin’s drive was faded left and long landing past the white stakes eventually costing him seven strokes. This triple at eleven by Ervin gave a three stroke lead to Weddington over Ervin and a two stroke lead over Beach and Cooke. 

Ervin came back with a birdie on twelve bringing him into a tie with Cooke. Beach doubled twelve pushing him back into the pack chasing Weddington, Ervin and Cooke. 

Things remained the same for the leaders until hole fourteen where Weddington made a bogey against a par for Ervin letting Ervin move one stroke closer to Weddington with four holes to play. 

With four holes to play the race narrowed to two players, Weddington and Ervin. Ervin made a move on Weddington at the short, very short, par four fifteenth. Ervin’s drive stopped short of the green by about 12 feet. With his chip up he was left with a very makeable putt for birdie which he did. With third birdie of the round Ervin was now sitting along side of Weddington at the top after Weddington made par at fifteen. 

Ervin got into some trouble at the par four sixteen with his drive going right of the cart path. His ball was lying up against a tree requiring him to chip out laterally for his second shot. From there Ervin made a good approach resulting in an easy two putt bogey. Bogey was the word of the day for the leaders at sixteen. Weddington also had trouble finding the fairway at sixteen and even more so than Ervin. Weddington had to take four shots to get to the green verses Ervin’s three. Both two putted giving Ervin the edge and the lead after sixteen holes. 

Both would par the par thee seventeenth taking the battle down to the last hole but with a lot more pressure on Weddington as he would have to make a birdie for the tie and an eagle for the win assuming Ervin would make par. 

These two golfers can rally grip it and rip it and when they do they are not always accurate. Both Ervin and Weddington missed the fairway on their drives and Weddington’s was the worst of the two. Ervin was able to chip out and reach the green in regulation while Weddington could not so out the window went the eagle opportunity leaving Weddington the daunting knowledge that he would have to sink his approach shot for his birdie which he did not. After both golfers two putted the eighteenth the spoils went to Ervin for his fifth UGA title this season. Weddington ended up in a tie for second with Tim Cooke. 

The next UGA event is scheduled for Cedar Rock CC in Lenoir, NC on Saturday October first with the first tee time set for eleven A.M..     Results.........  - Back to the top......

MOCKSVILLE, NC – September 17, 2011 – Pudding Ridge Golf Club – The UGA Tour traveled to Mocksville, North Carolina to play Pudding Ridge Golf Club. With the threat of rain and football games the smallest field of players gathered at Pudding Ridge. 

As play began it was sprinkling that lasted through the front nine. The ground at Pudding Ridge was already pretty well saturated from a previous rain and as usual the greens were very receptive to the player’s shots.  

Last weeks title winner, Mark Lauffenberger grabbed the lead after the second hole with his first of five birdies he would make today. A trio of good golfers was hot on his heels at one stroke back. Tim Cooke, Rick Chapman and Brian Pitts headed into number three looking to overtake Lauffenberger at the new par four number three. No. 3 used to be a par five but has been redirected and changed to a par four making the front nine a par 35. 

After three the trio was whittled down to two, Chapman and Cooke, and they were still one behind Lauffenberger who was playing par golf. 

Tim Cooke from Granite Falls jumped on a good drive on the par four 401 yard hole four. His drive gave him a good chance for sticking it close on a green that slopped from back to front. The result was Cooke’s first birdie of the day. The leader, Lauggenber made par which allowed Cooke to take a share of the lead after four holes of play and leaving Rick Chapman alone in second. 

After five holes of play the ranking did not change but it would at the second hardest hole at Pudding Ridge. The par four sixth plays only 362 yards with a good size pond in front of the green and plenty of trouble down the left side of the fairway. Too far left and a tree has you blocked requiring you to go the long way over the pond. This hole changed the ranking. 

Both Lauffenberger and Cooke could do no better than a double which opened up the door to first place very wide. Both leaders remained in the lead but were joined by three other players. John Ervin, Rick Chapman and Brian Pitts who had clawed his way back to the top after stumbling with back to back bogeys at four and five. 

The long par three seventh removed Cooke and Pitts from atop the leaderboard after they posted bogeys. Remaining at the top were Lauffenberger, Ervin and Chapman.  

The dreaded “blow up hole” happened to Lauffenberger at eight, a dogleg left with a big old oak guarding the turn keeping most players from taking a short cut over a bunch of tall grass behind and down the left side all the way to the green. Lauffenberger recorded an eight sliding him all the way down to fifth place. 

“Mr. Majors,” Rick Chapman came off of eight with his first birdie of the day and the sole possession of the lead. John Ervin was one stroke back alone in second and Tim Cooke owned third alone. That is how the ranking stayed through the turn. 

A sign of a good golfer is where a player can shake off a bad hole and get back to playing well. Lauffenberger did just that. At nine and ten he made his second and third birdies of the day. It was not enough to get him back to the top but he was sure working on it. 

At ten Ervin lost his possession of second place with a triple bogey thus letting Tim Cooke take over second two strokes behind Chapman the leader. Lauffenberger’s third birdie took him from fifth to third one stroke behind Cooke. 

Only one par was made at the 552 yard par five eleventh and that belonged to Lauffenberger. John Ervin got a little help at eleven with his second birdie of the round taking him to within two strokes of the leader Chapman who bogeyed eleven. Lauggenberger had now worked his way back to second with his par at eleven. 

Chapman, the leader who had been playing par golf got into some trouble at the par three twelfth. Chapman carded his second bogey in a row at the twelfth weakening his lead. Both Ervin and Lauffenberger made par and were now only one stroke behind Chapman. 

With six holes to play the race was heating up.  

Just as it seemed that Lauffenberger was on the comeback trail he finds a triple bogey at the par four 405 yard number thirteen. His seven was a big setback sending back down to the fourth spot. Chapman put an end to his bogeys at thirteen with his par which kept him in the lead by one stroke over Ervin. Cooke remained in third. 

Chapman posted another par at fourteen while Ervin made a double. At the par five fourteenth Cooke made a par but Lauffenberger came charging back into a tie for second with Cooke with his fourth birdie of the round. Cooke and Lauffenberger were now three strokes back of Chapman with four holes remaining. 

John Ervin traded places with Cooke at fifteen when Cooke posted a bogey to Ervin’s par. Now in second was Ervin and Lauffenberger chasing Chapman the leader. 

In the final three holes Lauffenberger posted back to back bogeys at 16 and 17 but finished with his fifth birdie of the day at eighteen giving him a third place finish. John Ervin made a run at Chapman with a two pars and his third birdie of the day in the final three holes that would win for him a second place finish. 

The two pars and birdie by Ervin put a scare in Chapman who made back to back bogeys at 16 and 17. Going into No.18 Chapman had a two stoke lead over Ervin and walked off of 18 with a par and a one stoke win over Ervin. The win at Pudding Ridge is Chapman’s third UGA title. 

Next week the UGA Tour goes to Westport and this will be the first an only event the Tour plays on Bermuda greens. This is the best time of the season for Bermuda greens meaning they will be slick as glass. Back to the top......

Though the Falcons came off the course the victor and with their lowest score of the season their opponents showed signs of a better game as well.

On average Pisgah, Franklin, Tuscola and East Henderson shot 14 strokes lower than their last match. The Falcons bettered their last score by thirteen strokes.

The Falcons Chandler Danielson, a sophomore, recorded her first even par round in conference play with a 36 at Mill Creek which also won her a third medalist honor.

Her wingman, Payton Culler carded her first round under forty with a 38. Rounding out the Falcon's team total of 122 was Stasia McMullen with a 48.

The Pisgah Bears claimed the runner-up slot with a round of 141. The lead bear for Pisgah was junior Ashley Thompson with her best round in conference play this season; a 39.

Helping the Bears claim the No.2 slot were Elizabeth Belham and Sydney Metcalf with scores of 48 and 54 respectively.

The Panthers of Franklin had a hiccup in their second match ballooning to over 160 but were came back with a fine round of 148 that was good enough for third place.

Erin Campbell posted a 10 stroke turn around from her previous match and led the Panthers to a third place finish with he lowest round of this season, a 42.  Carly Payseur and Sydney Pierce  added rounds of 52 and 54 respectively.

Click here for the full leaderboard....  - Back to the top......

The medalist for the second time in a row was the Cougar's Abby Hartsell with a solid round of 38. The Cougars team total of 129 was completed with a 44 from Kelsie Rhyne and a 47 from Katie Lail.

The runner-up title goes to the South Caldwell Spartans. Rachel Lineback lead the Spartans with a 44. Fellow Spartans Kristi Reynolds and Kadi Blacknik filled out the team total of 145 with rounds of 50 and 51 respectively.

Watauga came in third with a team total of 150. Savannah Wood carried the banner for Watauga with a 40. Carrie Hayes carded a round of 53 and Rebecca Hayes finished with a round of 57.<>Back to the top......

STATESVILLE, NC – September 10, 2011 – Statesville Country Club – It was a real joy for the UGA to come back to the Statesville Country Club. The Statesville Country Club is highly ranked by the UGA players. 

It was a beautiful day for golf especially with the excitement that was hanging over one of the largest fields of this season. The excitement was due to the expectation that JP O’Renick would become the first golfer since Scott Miller to win three UGA titles in a row. Miller holds the record in the UGA for consecutive titles won. 

Jim States from Morganton took the early lead with an opening hole birdie followed by a par on the No.1 hardest hole at Statesville. States continued to hold onto the lead through the first four holes with O’Renick two strokes back. 

States ran into a little trouble at the par five fifth where he saved a bogey to lose the lead to Hiddinite’s John Ervin who made his first birdie of the day. States bogey pushed him back into second along with Time Cooke, Mark Lauffenberger and Gary Dyson. 

Ervin held the lead for only the one hole after bogeying the par four fifth. Ervin’s bogey allowed States to share the lead with Ervin on his par at five. Aaron Perlman took over Gary Dyson share of second when he doubled five while Perlman made his first birdie of the round. Now the lead was shared by five golfers. O’Renick was still two strokes back. 

The leaderboard got all shook up at the par five sixth. States bogeyed; Lauffenberger bogeyed; Perlman and Cooke pared while Ervin cupped his second birdie of the day to walk off the green with the lead in his hand. 

States is a competitor, a never say never type of player.  At the par three seventh States threw a shot at the flag that stopped short under the flag resulting in a birdie bringing him one stroke closer to Ervin who made par. 

Both Ervin and States bogeyed eight which allowed O’Renick to come into the picture at two back with one hole to play on the outward nine. Was a three peat in the making? 

Ervin and O’Renick both made par at No.9 while States made a double giving him a front side total of 40. Ervin’s par gave him a front side total of 37 to O’Renick’s 39 and three players at 40, States, Lauffenberger and Doug Wolfe. 

O’Renick bogeyed ten and doubled eleven while Ervin made par at ten and bogeyed eleven. States bogeyed both ten and eleven. The back side at Statesville began to take its toll on the players. The back nine played almost a whole stroke higher than the front nine except for one player. 

Mark Lauffenberger made the turn at 40 which was three strokes behind Ervin. After his bogey at ten Mark went on to make par over the next seven holes. Ervin was already in the clubhouse with the lead at 78 beating out O’Renick and Cooke who both turned in rounds of 80. 

Mark came to the 18^th hole at 33 for the back nine and 73 for seventeen. On the way to the eighteenth Mark had hit eight fairways and eight greens so chances were good that he would come off the 396 yard par four with no worse than a bogey for the tie. Marks drive missed the fairway and his approach missed the green. After four shots Mark was aboard and ready to make the flat stick do its thing which it did for a two putt bogey and a tie at 78 with John Ervin. 

The players were sent to the 409 yard ninth hole for the sudden death playoff. Ervin gets his drive off long and straight. Lauffenberger sets up over his ball and rotates back and unwinds with a mighty gusto to only end up topping his ball dribbling it out just past the ladies tee. For most golfers this would have ended it right then and there. Not for Mark. 

He pulls out a five iron to get his third shot set up for his approach to the green which he does nicely. Ervin meanwhile hits his second shot that misses the green requiring a chip up. After Ervin’s approach shot misses the green Lauffenberges does not. Ervin chips onto the green after Marks approach shot.  

So after thee shots each they are both on the green. Now it is a putting duel. Ervin misses his first putt but cleans it up for a two putt bogey. In the regulation round Lauffenberger used 30 putts, not great but not bad either. 

Mark gets up over his ball takes aim and lets go and is rewarded for not giving up after topping his drive on the first hole of a sudden death playoff. His put cuts the heart our of the cup and Mark wins his first ever UGA Title.  

This is especially rewarding for UGA Tour Director Tom Millican. Mark Lauffenberger is a product of St. Stephens high school golf team and while Mark was playing high school golf he played a season or two on the UGA Tour. Now as an adult he captured his first UGA Tour title.  

The UGA Tour travels to Pudding Ridge Golf Club in Mocksville, NC for its next event on Saturday September 17, 2011.  Results.......  Back to the top......

The Cougars were led to victory by Abbey Hartsell who also won the medalist honors with her three over par round of 39. Hearsay is inadmissible in a court of law but if any of the hearsay about Hartsell is half true this freshman will be on top of the heap by year end.

Helping Hartsell to this Cougar win were team mates Kelsie Rhyne with a 43 and Jessica Fisher with a 45 completing the team total of 127.

Runner-up honors goes to the Lady Knights of North Lincolnton and the third place slot was filled by the Panthers from Patton high out of Morganton.

This was a non-conference match.<>Back to the top......

Chandler Danielson, a sophomore at West Henderson looks like she will fill the FootJoy's of, though they are big, Kayla Sciupider. Danielson carded a round of 39 to win her second medalist honors in as many matches.

Payton Culler of West Henderson and Ashley Thompson of Pisgah both came in with identical scores of 41 to garner runner-up spots.

You will see a lot of these three young players all season. They already a staking out the top three spots on the leaderboard in the WNC Athletic Conference.

After two matches, and back in the distance but worthy of note, there is a trio of Franklin players that are holding down the next three spots.

Erin Campbell, Carly Payseur and Sydney Pierce could become the spoilers in the WNCAC before the season is over if they continue improving their play.

Click here for the full leaderboard,,,,,   Back to the top......

TAYLORSVILLE, NC – August 27, 2011 – The UGA made its third stop of the season at Brushy Mt. Golf Club in Taylorsville, NC. With Irene ragging on the cost the Tour got underway at the noon hour under great conditions. As the round continued the wind did pick up late in the day to a very respectable velocity. 

The course, both the greens and fairways, were in excellent conditions yet only one UGA player managed to come in under 80 but only because he turned his game around on the back nine.

On the front side of the round Rick Chapman of Conover, Brian Pitts of Hickory and Josh Weddington of Statesville made the turn under forty. Weddington had the lead at the turn with a 38 while Chapman and Pitts were one stroke back. 

All three of the leaders got into trouble on the first hole on the back tine. Weddington carded a triple while both Chapman and Pitts penciled in bogeys. This allowed JP O’Renick of Granite Falls to come   into a share of the lead after his birdie on nine and par on ten. 

The par three eleventh at Brushy provided a little shake up in the lead when Weddington and O’Renick both

  made bogey while Chapman and Pitts came off of eleven with pars and the lead. 

The short par five twelve always provides an opportunity for a shake up with eagles and birdies. Chapman extended his control on the lead to two at twelve with a birdie.  

The lead tree got shook at thirteen. Only Chapman and O’Renick came off of thirteen unscathed with the lead still by two for Chapman over O’Rencik. The lead was due for a change at fourteen. 

Chapman’s drive went right of the fairway leaving him a less than desirable down hill lie that he attempted to go for the green from. His attempt left him in the pond requiring a drop that resulted in a seven at fourteen and the loss of the lead to O’Renick who made par at fourteen. 

With four holes left O’Renick was ahead by one of Chapman and two ahead of Chris Murray of Hickory and Brian Pitts of Hickory with the easy birdie par three fifteen next to play. 

This is about the time the wind really picked up. Only JP O’Renick made a birdie at fifteen. There were only six pars made on the hole while the rest were bogey and above. Fifteen added another stroke to O’Renick’s lead.  

O’Renick was not going to be denied his win today. He went back to back birdies at fifteen and sixteen essentially tying up the win. O’Renick came to the club house with a one under par back nine for an overall score of 76. Mark Lauffenberger who like O’Renick, had a bad front nine also turned his game around on the back side bringing a one under par back nine score of 35 for a total of 80.  

This is O’Renick third win of the season that is keeping him right in the midst of the race for the Tour Championship. The UGA’s next stop is at Cedar Brook Country Club in Elkin, NC on Saturday, September 3.  Results.......

MORGANTON, NC - August 27, 2011 - Mimosa Hills CC - One to the top 25 junior invitational tournaments in the nation was held this past weekend in Morganton, NC. The 9th Joe Cheves Junior Invitational is drawing top junior players from all around the country to come and test their skills against their peers.

117 players showed up to test their skills against the 1929 Donald Ross course. Of the 117 players only eight of the boys beat the course par.

Tanner Owen, a sophomore at Bishop McGinnis in High Point, NC carded the lowest round on the first day, a 66, earning him a slot in the final pairing on Sunday. 

Tyler Lail, a Bunker Hill senior and Taylor Coalson, a North Surry senior, both posted a pair of 67's enabling  them to join Owen in the final pairing for Sunday.

As the Sunday morning round began to age several of the other "red" number players from day one began to run down the leaders, Austin Langdale of South Carolina and Miller Capps of North Lincoln high in Denver, NC were both throwing darts into the greens. 

While Langdale and Miller were charging two of the final pair began to find trouble on the back nine. Tanner Owen and Tyler Lail began to find a bunch of bogeys on the back side. Owen finished the day at 74 while Lail ended the day at 80.

Langdale started the Sunday round two strokes down but made that up on the first hole with a birdie while Coalson, the leader, made bogey. Coalson got his two strokes back on the very next hole when he made par while Langdale made bogey.

Gain a stroke lose a stroke was the way it was going for Coalson, Langdale and Miller. Walking off of eight Langdale was now only one stroke down from Coalson. That changed at nine.

The ninth at Mimosa is a par three up hill and today’s yardage was set at 190. Seems like any other par three except for where they had placed the cup on Sunday. Before today the hole had issued six birdies. Today the hole only gave out one. The cup was set right in the middle of the green less than 18 inches from the crest of a mound that ran from one side green to the other. It appeared that there was another little ridge a few inches above the crest of the mound that sent any ball that either did not make it over or one that came from the back side that breached that little ridge was sent running back down to the front of the green. Nine was merciless today. 

Coalson tee shot at nine was long and with a very respectable chip left a short putt for par. Langdale’s ball was a victim of that little ridge and by the time he came off of nine Langdale hand given two strokes back to Caoalson.  

Coalson made the turn at two under for the day while Langdale made the turn at one under for the day. Miller had made the turn at even par but was by now seven strokes back of the leader Coalson. Miller would be minus four for Sunday and land in a tie for third three behind the leader.  

Coalson started the back nine three up on Langdale and increase that lead to four after Langdale bogeyed ten and that is the way it stayed through hole fifteen. At sixteen it became a different match. 

If you get too far off the fairway on either side at Mimosa’s 16 you are in trouble. Coalson did just that costing him a double bogey. Sixteen provided Langdale a two stroke swing with his par. Now with two holes to play Coalson’s lead was cut to two stokes.  

At the par three seventeenth Coalson hit is tee shot over the green and that spells trouble. By the time Coalson walked off the green his scorecard was given another bogey cutting his lead to one after Langdale made his par at seventeen.  

Going into eighteen both players needed a birdie, Coalson to insure his victory and Langdale to tie. Langdale got himself in position to make his birdie. He was on the green with an up hill putt of less than ten feet. The put would break left to right. Langdale pulled the trigger and off went his putt. Just shy of the hole everyone thought it was a sure thing but right at the cup as the forward momentum of the ball was slowing the ball veered off to the left just over the left front edge leaving a tap in putt for par.  

Coalson now knew he had five shots on a par four to do no worse than a tie. His long drive put him in vicinity of 100 yards to the center of the green. His approach shot was long hitting the green above the hole where it stayed leaving him a lengthy down hill putt of which he need two for the win and three putts for a tie.  

Coalson’s first putt was just the right speed to end up for a tap in putt for his par and the title of the 9^th Joe Cheves Invitational Champion. Leaderboard.........         Back to the Top...........

MORGANTON, NC - August 27, 2011 - Mimosa Hills CC - In the girl's championship the first day ended up with some pretty tight races. There were 13 girls within three strokes of the lead. Seven of them would end the day in the top five. The two first round leaders ended the last round T-10.

Inside of the list of the top ten leaders on day two were two very gifted and medaled  players, Kellie Murphy from Elgin, SC and Katelyn Dambaugh from Goose Creek, SC. Sitting four stokes off the first day lead was McKenzie Talbert from North Augusta, SC.

The first round leaders, Lyberty Anderson from Chesterfield, VA and Morgan Webber from Moore, SC kept their hands on the lead through the first nine holes. By the turn they were joined by Katelyn Dambaugh for a three way tie for the lead.

It was at the turn that Talbert and Murphy began their assault on the leaders but they also had help from the leaders in the deterioration of their game.

Murphy started the day three strokes ahead of Talbert and that is where they stood after the first nine holes on day two.

Both Murphy and Talbert pared ten to remain three apart. At eleven Talbert birdie against Murphy's bogey cutting into Murphy's lead.

Both girls would birdie twelve and thirteen but at the par five fourteen Talbert got back her second stroke from Murphy cutting Murphy's lead to only one.

After both girls pared fifteen and sixteen Talbert's hot hand struck again with a par at seventeen while Murphy recorded her second bogey on the inward nine. This brought the match to all square as they headed to the final hole of the championship.

Both reached the green in regulation and both cupped their balls for a par and came off the 18th green tied for the lead.

 Talbert was the only girl to have a round under par at 71 for Sunday. Her 71 gave her a share of the lead and a spot in the two player sudden-death playoff that began on hole 18.

On the first hole of the sudden-death playoff both players hit booming drives that ended up less than a hundred yards form the center of the green with Murphy away. Murphy’s approach was left of the pin but stopped just above pin high some eight feet away. 

Talbert’s approach was long and was heard calling for her ball to get down! Get down! The ball stopped above the pin almost thirty feet away. Talbert carefully checked out her line and the slope. She finally got over her ball and with a couple of taps of the ground with her toes off went the putt. It appeared that she was playing about six inches of break from right to left. The ball approached he cup and slid just over the “pro” side of the cup with the ball coming to rest some 30” past the hole. 

After carefully reviewing her line and the slope Murphy addressed her ball from about eight feet away. The line read that the ball was going to break left to right leaving speed as the only variable.  

Murphy has in her pre-shot routine something I have never seen before. Just as you think she is about to pull the trigger she lifts her putter with out stretched arms chest high. Once there she appears to see if the putter head is square. Then she returns the putter behind the ball where she then looks one more time at the cup and then back to the ball and off goes the ball. It works pretty well. 

Murphy’s putt heads off towards the hole and from my angle it appears as it will fall in the bottom right side of the cup but instead is a rim shot sending the ball past the cup about three feet. With the same routine as before Murphy drills her ball against the back wall of the cup for par.  

Talbert has been checking her line while Murphy makes her two putts. Once over the ball Talbert duplicates Murphy’s shot with a drilled punch into the back of the cup for her par. Off to the second hole of their sudden-death playoff. 

The second hole playoff is on hole number four. Both players perform accurate tee shots with Talbert being the longest. Murphy’s tee shot left her 163 yards out while Talbert was 143 yards out. Murphy is not a tall player. To make her 163 yard shot she uses a 2 Hybrid. Her 163 yard shot was low and left of the green catching the right side of the green giving her favorable bounce to the left leaving her a 45 foot putt.  

Talbert pulls out two clubs as she sets up for her pre-shot routine. She decides on her seven iron. Her shot is also left of center of the green but hits and comes to rest very close to Murphy’s ball. Now it would be a putting contest form almost identical spots with Murphy away. 

Once Murphy has performed her pre-putt routine she sends the ball off that will have to break right to left as it does. On the downhill side of her bread the ball appears to be headed for the heart of the cup but slides about a half inch from the top side edge coming to a stop about 27 inches past the hole.

Talbert’s putt has the same line and break. Once her calculations are made she send her ball off but you could tell from the start that it would come up short and it did. In fact the two balls appear to lay exactly the same distance away from the cup with one in back of the cup for a left to right break and the other in front of the cup with just the opposite break. Both players ram their putts home and head off the third hole of the sudden-death playoff. 

On hole five a player who is long can get into some trouble by going through the fairway and into the rough. Murphy is up first and her drive as all of her first two drives were deadly accurate. Talbert’s drive was straight but longer as usual and it bounded through the fairway and into the rough. Talbert was only 118 yards from the center of the green with the flag in the left lower front side of the green. 

Murphy, with the shorter drive, has 123 yards to the center of the green.  

When the players had made their drive on the second hole of the playoff I asked them that since both are from South Carolina have they ever had to play against each other in a playoff. The answer was once and Talbert said, “She (Murphy) beat me in that one and this will make us even.” 

Murphy chooses her club and set up over the ball. Her shot is to the right center of the green and comes to rest above the pin about 27 feet away.  

Talbert again pulls out two clubs before making her club selection. Her ball is in the rough that looks to be about three inches high. Her swing is flawless until the club head enters the rough and contacts the ball. Her club head had to be turned slightly open as she goes through the rough as her ball flight started out low and actually towards the pin. Then just short of the green the ball begins to fade to the right. The fade looked like it helped check the ball to keep it from running way to the back right of the green.  

Once the ball had stopped there was about 47 feet of green between Talbert’s ball and the cup. With Talbert away she gathered herself, checked out the line and the slope and set herself over the ball.  

Her putt was a good one but a mite too strong. Talbert’s ball comes to a stop after passing the cup on the high side about three feet from the cup. Now it was Murphy’s time. 

Not varying her routine Murphy get set to putt her 37 foot putt. It too was a good looking putt, in fact as it neared the hole it look like it might just drop in the cup but it did not as it slid by on the high side less than a ball width from the cup stopping just inside of Talbert’s ball marker. 

Both players had about the same lie and line and it would boil down to who has the best thought as to where to enter the cup. Talbert is away and putts first. The cup is cut into the side slope of the green. The break is left to right falling away towards the right front of the cup. Talbert chooses to enter the cup on the high side. To keep her line her putt is a little firmer than most amateurs would use. The high side of the cup is correct but it was too high. Talbert’s ball rides the high side edge of the cup and spins off the cup coming to a stop but is away. Talbert marks her ball, resets, places her ball and putts it in for a bogey. 

Having seen the results of Talbert’s putt Murphy drops her ball into the left center of the cup for par and the win. Murphy is two up on Talbert stay tuned for more of this exciting golf over the next couple of years as these two will surely be facing each other off in the years to come.  Leaderboard...........    Back to the Top...........

Sciupider's leaving was thought to leave a big hole in W. Henderson's scoring ability but it appears that Chandler Danielson will be assuming that duty.

Danielson in her first match of this new season posted a 37 for nine holes. That is five strokes better than her best round at the state last year. It appears that Miss Danielson has been working on her game.

W. Henderson had a one two punch in their first match of the season. Payton Culler, whose best nine hole score at the state last year was two strokes higher than the 40 she recorded at Glenn Cannon.

Both of these girls had a very positive attitude before last year's state. Now with the confidence that "State Champions" adds to one's game along with an apparent effort to improve their game over the last 10 months this duo is set to turn some heads this season.

The third card in the threesome of cards that it takes for a team score W. Henderson's Stasia McMullen turned in a round of 56 for their team total of 133. All three of these players are sophomores.

The Lady Panthers of Franklin played to the runner-up slot in this first match of WNC Athletic 2A/3A conference.

Panther Erin Campbell lead the Lady Panthers with her round of 48. Carly Payseur came in one short of Campbell at 49. Rounding out the top three for Franklin was Sydney Pierce with a 52. Full Leaderboard............

LENOIR, NC – August 20, 2011 – The UGA Tour made its second summer trip back to the Lenoir Golf Club. The Lenoir Summer Open II was met with less than week old verdi-cut greens adding to the challenge that this fine golf course always presents. 

Within the first two holes the green’s condition began to take their toll on the players putting. Seemingly unaffected by the green’s condition was Jim Berry and Bill Foster. Berry and Foster were two of three golfers to par the first hole. Tim Cooke was the third. 

At two, Foster continued his par golf play but Berry dropped in his first birdie of the day to take the lead leaving Foster alone in second but should have changed at No.3 the short par five where a lot of eagles are made. 

That was not the case this day. Only one sub par score was recorded on this eagle hole. Stephen Schmidt form Newton recorded the only birdie at three and it moved him into a tie for second after making a triple at one.

Joining Schmidt in second was Aaron Thomas from Mt. Holly. Foster, who was alone in second, three putted himself out of second and into a tie for fourth with five other golfers. 

Though Berry bogeyed three he was still alone in the lead. Berry’s bogey at three was his first but would follow it up with back to back bogeys at four and five. Even with three bogeys in a row Berry managed to stay in first but tied with Aaron Thomas. Stephen Schmidt moved into a tie for third with his back to back bogeys at four and five. 

Schmidt was not alone in third as John Ervin was steadily fighting his way back up the leaderboard after making a triple bogey at one.  

With the help of a double bogey at six Aaron Thomas lost his share of the lead but instead of joining Schmidt and Ervin he joined Tim Cooke and Brian Pitts who both were sitting back in the shadows of the leaders. 

Berry’s par at six gave him a solid two stroke lead over the pack. The lead in the pack was changing on each hole which it did again at seven. Thomas dropped in his first birdie of the day to give him second alone and only one stroke off the leader Berry. A race for the lead by the turn was shaping up. 

Tim Cooke moved into a share of second with Thomas at the par five seventh which he had reached the green in two leaving him well over fifty feet for an eagle put which he came up short but made the birdie putt. 

Both Thomas and Cooke were chasing the unyielding Berry towards the turn. Between them and the turn was the 186 yard par three protected by bunkers on the left and right entrance. Berry missed the green on his tee shot and that was the least of his problems. Berry needed three more shots to reach the green. Once on the green he one putted for a double bogey effectively taking him out of the lead. 

Taking advantage of Berry’s misfortune was Cooke. Cooke’s birdie at eight elevated him to second place and his par on nine gave him the lead at the turn. Thomas’s bogey at nine kept him in second where he was joined by Jim Berry, the leader through eight holes. 

The Verdi-cut greens were really taking their toll by the turn. Putts that looked like they were headed for the heart of the cup would break hard left or right at the cup. An extremely high number of putts and bogeys were recorded through the front nine. The player who best figures out these greens will go home with metal. 

Jim Berry was not going to give up his eight hole lead easily and returned to the top of the leaderboard at ten with a par that gave him his share of the lead when Cooke made a bogey. 

Cooke and Berry had a three stroke lead after ten. The complexion of second place had changed also. Now in second were three new contenders, JP O’Renick, Gary Dyson and Eric Parker. 

Cooke’s bogey at ten which allowed Berry back into a share of the lead was the first bogey of a five bogey string. Cook’s double at eleven left Berry, who also bogeyed eleven, alone in first. Berry bogeyed twelve along with Cooke but left him in first place after twelve holes. 

Berry must have caught what Cooke had as he posted his third consecutive bogey at thirteen which allowed Thomas back into a share of the lead. Slowly but persistently gary Dyson was moving in on the top spot of the leaderboard. The question is whether Dyson can stay our of bogey trouble through the remaining five holes. 

Berry’s infection of Cooke’s bogey illness continued and began to take its toll on him. Berry and Thomas both bogeyed fourteen and fifteen knocking them out of first into second. Cooke’s bogey medicine looked like it was beginning to work for him as he took back over the lead after fifteen with his par, but he had to share that lead with the hard charging Gary Dyson from Statesville. 

Dyson had his share of bogeys but he had more pars than bogeys. With three holes to play Dyson and Cooke lead the charge for the clubhouse. One stroke back of the pair of leaders were Aaron Thomas and Jim Berry.  

At sixteen three of the top four leaders made bogey. Only Dyson played sixteen unscathed resulting in his complete control of the lead. 

Dyson held a two stroke lead with two holes to play. He and Berry recorded identical scores on the last two holes giving Dyson his first UGA Title this season. Dyson’s win comes eight days short of being a year from his win at Mimosa in 2010.

In the Freshman/Sophomore Division of the UJGT Mt. Holly's Aaron Thomas continued his winning streak. He has steadily improved his weekly performance over the last several events. Thomas is fully expected to be carding rounds in the 70's by the end of October if not sooner.  Results......

MORGANTON, NC – August 13, 2011 – The 11^th UGA Championship was held at the famed Mimosa Hills CC in Morganton, NC on Saturday August 13, 2011. The UGA Championship is the last of the Tour's four majors and is generally a moving day in the UGA Tour Points race. 

Springing into an early lead after back to back birdies on one and two was Ron Frady of Hickory, NC. Frady”s lead was short lived however as he followed the pair of birdies up with a string seven bogeys finishing the outward nine at eight over. 

Once Frady hitched a ride on the runaway bogey train Rick Chapman of Conover and Stephen Schmidt of Newton took the lead after number three at one under. Schmidt’s share of the lead was surrender to Steve Shuford of Newton after Schmidt’s bogey at five.

Chapman nick named “Mr. Majors” since he has won two of the first three majors of this season seemed to be on track to winning his third in a row.

Chapman and Shuford held the lead through six holes of play before          2011 UGA Championship Champion Chris Murray   Shuford stumbled at seven with his first bogey of the round. Shuford’s bogey allowed Jim Berry from Drexel to sit beside Chapman. Berry had been shadowing the leaders since birdie at three. 

At eight which is considered the hardest hole at Mimosa Chapman made his first bogey of the day allowing Berry in the driver’s seat all alone but that changed as Berry made his second bogey of the day at the par three ninth while Chapman made par.  

Through the first nine Chapman and Berry lead the crossover to the back with a matching par of one over 37’s. One stroke back of the leaders was Christ Murray Sr. of Hickory and two strokes back of the leaders were        2011 UGA Championship Champion Chris Murray John Ervin, Steve Shuford and Tim Cooke.  

Number ten provide sweeping changes in the lead. Only Murray escaped ten without a bogey. Murray’s bogey free hole ten took him directly into a share of the lead with Berry who also bogeyed ten. Chapman’s double dropped him into second alone.  

Then at eleven the Mimosa course gave the lead another shuffling. Murray tripled eleven taking him back into third place. Chapman also made a bogey at eleven and stayed in second. Berry followed the rest of the leaders with bogey at eleven but his numbers keep him in the lead.  

Tim Cooke who was part of the top three spots came off of eleven with only birdie of day for that hole. Cooke’s birdie took him into a share of the lead with Berry at 47. 

Number twelve at Mimosa is an eagle hole if a player is accurate. Twelve provided an unusual occurrence. With a combination of birdies, pars and bogeys five players walked off of twelve with a share of the lead; Chapman, Murray, Cooke, Shuford and Berry were heading into the home stretch all tied at 53. 

Mimosa began to shake the tree after twelve. At the par three thirteenth every body but Shuford made bogey or more allowing Shuford to have the lead alone which he held on to through fourteen.  

Shuford found trouble at the par five fifteen and so did Berry but not Murray. The combination Murrary’s par and Shuford’s bogey allowed Murray to assume a share of the lead with just three holes to play. Berry slid back into second. 

Both Shuford and Murray played even through sixteen and seventeen leaving number eighteen to decide the winner of the 11^th UGA Championship. 

Both players missed the fairway with Murray in a better position on the left side while Shuford was on the right and blocked. Murray got his approach onto the green while Shuford could not. Once on the green Shuford two putted for a bogey as did Murray but for a par and his first UGA Major Championship. 

In the UJGT Aaron Thomas produced his best round of the year with an 87. His low round was achieved with two chip-ins and par saving 27 putts. - Results..

CULLOWHEE, N.C. – August 5, 2011 - J.T. Poston, an incoming freshman for the Western Carolina men’s golf team, claimed individual medalist honors in the boy’s division at the 43rd annual Trusted Choice Big “I” National Championship this week held at the par-72, Reunion Golf and Country Club in Madison, Mississippi.

The Hickory, N.C., native posted par-or-better on all four rounds including a three-under 69 on the second 18 holes. Poston shot 72-69-70 and 71 (282) over the four-round stroke-play event to edge UC Davis commitment Austin Smotherman by one shot in the final standings.

“We are really proud of J.T. and all of his accomplishments,” said WCU men’s golf head coach Carter Cheves. “I know he wanted to end his junior career on top and he did exactly what he set out to do. He has been playing incredible golf and we are thrilled to have him joining us this fall."

Poston’s victory marks the second-straight season an incoming WCU freshman has won the junior national tournament. Last summer, Catamount rising sophomore Greg Bunner claimed individual medalist honors at the same event held at the Olde York Country Club in Chesterfield, N.J.

The Big “I” National Championship dates back to 1969. According to research and available records through 1979, it is the first-time that the tournament has been won by juniors who were attending the same college in back-to-back years. With two former winners on roster, WCU is among six NCAA schools to have individual champions join their roster including four from Texas, three from Arizona State and Oklahoma State, and two apiece from Stanford and UNLV.

“Anytime you have a student-athlete win a tournament, it is great exposure for both the individual and for Western Carolina. Having back-to-back National Champions (Bunner and Poston) on the same roster at WCU is a very exciting feeling. It's a testament to the talent we have and the direction we are going,” Cheves added.<>

MADISON, MS - August 4, 2011 - North Carolina had two out of three chances that the 43rd Trusted Choice Big "I"
L-R - JT Poston, Ally McDonald Championship trophy would be coming to the Old North State.

Two excellent North Carolina junior golfers playing in their last junior tournament before reporting to college represented themselves, their state and their skill in the highest manner.

Concord's Trevor Cone will be heading off to Virginia Tech with a third place finish in his pocket. Cone started out the final round in textbook form. Sitting just one stroke behind the tournament leader, JT Poston
L-R - JT Poston, Ally McDonald                Cone posted one birdie and eight pars on the front side but found himself two back of Poston at the turn who had mimicked Cone's performance on the front side except Poston had one more birdie than Cone. 

At the par five fifth Cone made his second birdie of the day taking him back to within one of Poston.

Meanwhile Poston continued his plan of fairways and greens equaling a lot of pars.

Cone ran into the bogey man at the par three twelfth pushing him to two back of Poston. Poston then birdied the par four thirteenth while Cone made par adding another stroke to Cone's deficit but the match then got very interesting at the fourteenth.

The par four fourteenth is the longest par four on the course at 447 yards. For the tournament Poston played the fourteenth at three over because in the last round Poston doubled the fourteenth which allowed Cone to get back to within one stroke of Poston with four holes to play.

Poston's real strength is not in his swing but in his demeanor. After re-opening the door for Cone most golfers in Poston's position might crack under the pressure and lose their concentration. At the par three fifteenth Poston calmly steps up to his ball and two strokes later he walks off the fifteenth green with a birdie putting Cone two back again.

With holes running out Cone had to make something happen but what happened was not good. While Poston was carding pars Cone was carding bogeys on 16 and 17 which

took him completely out of the running.

Going into the seventy-second hole Poston vanquished Cone leaving only Austin Smotherman who was two strokes back of Poston.

Both Poston and Smotherman had two good drives but Poston either miss hit or miss judged his approach to the 18th green as he was left with a 60 foot putt. Smotherman hit his approach to eight feet which he dropped it in for a birdie.

Poston needed to make it across those 60 feet in three putts in order to win his last junior event of his life.

Poston's first putt came up short by about seven feet. With a two stroke cushion from seven feet Poston nudged his ball towards the cup and it comes up short by a half a foot.

Winning his last junior tournament for the rest of his life lay just six inches away. In the four years we have covered Poston's play we never saw pressure sweat but in his own words he said, "that six-inch putt was one of the most nerve-racking of my junior golf career."

How sweet the sound of a golf ball rattling a cup especially for a big win such as this. Poston won the 43rd Trusted Choice Big "I" with six under par for 72 holes. Cone finished third at three under.

On the girls side of the coin Chapel Hill's Casey Ward finished T4. - Girls resutls........... Boys results..........
Back to the Top...........

LENOIR, NC – July 30, 2011 – Cedar Rock CC – The UGA Tour converged on Cedar Rock with the anticipation of a little cooler weather but there was none to be had. The sweltering heat just added to the challenging course that Cedar Rock CC is.  In the last several events of the Tour Brain Pitts of Hickory has began to demonstrate a marked improvement in his game. At Cedar Rock Pitts took the early lead with his birdie on one followed by pars on the next three holes. After four holes of play Pitts had a two stroke lead over the field.  

Thomas Redding, a senior at South Caldwell high school and a member of the Unifour Junior Golf Tour was alone in second after four holes. Aggressively chasing Pitts and Redding were seven golfers sitting in third place and among them were multiple UGA title winners.

Pitts made his first fumble of the lead at the par four fifth. At the fifth Pitts missed his approach to the green resulting in needing four strokes to get onto the green where he two putted for his double.  

The fifth at Cedar Rock is ranked the third hardest hole on the course. Only six pars were made at the fifth. The hole averaged 4.65 strokes for the day. However, JD Osborne from Union Grove, NC was the only player to made birdie on five. His birdie also moved him from that pack of seven players in third to a share of the lead with Pitts at one over. Redding retained his hold on second even though he made bogey at five but was joined by four other players.  

Gary Dyson and Josh Weddington, a pair of players from Statesville, NC moved in to join Pitts and Osborne at the top of the leaderboard. Aaron Perlman from Morganton, NC ran into some trouble at three and four but was able to get back into gear and now he too joined the other four at the top.

The junior player, Redding was hanging onto his second spot but was joined by the John Ervin from Hiddenite, NC. With three holes to play on the outward nine a very capable trio was lurking in third place; two time Tour Champion Jack Beach, multiple UGA title winners Chris Murray and Ron Frady. 

The dog leg left par four seventh produced a lot of bogeys, doubles and even a few triples which led to a shake up of the leaderboard. Pitts came off of seven unscathed and alone at the top. Osborne and Perlman fell back to join Redding at one back of Pitts in second place with their bogeys. Dyson and Weddington both tripled seven dropping them back into fourth. Ervin’s bogey at seven dropped him back into third joining Beach, Murray and Frady. 

For the second easiest hole at Cedar Rock the par three eighth produced the highest hole average of the day. Pitts, Redding and Perlman managed pars at eight leaving in first and second but that would change at the par five ninth. 

Pitts doubled, Redding bogeyed and Perlman made birdie, his first of the round. The birdie catapulted Perlman into first at the turn with a two over par score of 38. Pitts and Redding dropped back into second and was joined there by Ron Frady from Hickory, NC.  Ervin and Weddington were alone in third at three strokes back of Perlman. 

The leader at the turn, Perlman recorded his fourth bogey of the day at the tenth allowing Pitts to recover one stroke. Pitts’s running mate in second at the turn, Redding, found a lot of trouble at the par four tenth. Redding had to settle for a five over par nine at ten which took him out of the race. Frady dropped out of second after his double at ten leaving the top three spots to Perlman, Pitts, Ervin and Weddington.  

Both Perlman and Pitts bogeyed eleven keeping them one apart but Pitts bogey allowed Ervin and Weddington to move into second. Gary Dyson dropped in his second birdie of the round at eleven letting him join Pitts, Ervin and Weddington in second place. 

The largest hole average of the round occurred at the par four twelve. Its average for the day was almost a full two strokes of its par. 

Perlman could do no better than bogey at twelve. Perlman’s bogey opened the door for Ervin, Weddington and Pitts, who were three of eight players to make par at eleven to join Perlman in first place.  

A separation took place at the par four fourteenth. Ervin, Weddington and Pitts all recorded a bogey while Perlman canned his second birdie of the day for a two stroke swing and first place all alone.  

Now with the lead and four holes to play Perlman backed up his birdie at fourteen with his third birdie of the round at the par three fifteen expanding his lead to three. Ron Frady who was near the top once had worked his way back towards the lead gaining a share of second place with his first birdie at fifteen. Pitts triple at fifteen took him out of the race. 

All of Frady’s hard work to catch up was wasted by his triple at the par five sixteenth. Weddington made par at sixteen but John Ervin, who had walloped a drive that left him in easy range of going for the green in two did just that. Ervin’s attempt ended with a three foot putt for eagle which he made. Ervin’s eagle moved him to second place at one stroke behind Perlman who had made par at sixteen.  

That eagle at sixteen by Ervin was exciting. However, Ervin bogeyed the last two holes to turn in a finishing round of 78. While Ervin was sitting on the lead in the clubhouse Perlman was working his way through the last two holes. After making par at the par three seventeenth Perlman knew he only needed to play it safe at the eighteenth which is basically straight away up hill. 

Perlman’s drive missed the fairway. The rough had been a nightmare for all of the players all day. It was for Perlman at 18. Perlman finally got his ball on the putting surface in three strokes and this is for a guy who could almost have driven the green at 18. Knowing he had a two stoke lead all he had to do was get his first putt close and then tap it in for a bogey and the win. The first putt was fair but not too close. The pressures were on and close only counts in horseshoes. Perlman’s second attempt to end the match missed also. Now it was do or die and he did it. Perlman’s double at 18 was just enough by one stroke to give him his first UGA title of this season.<>Back to the top......

Long, a rising high school junior AT Forestview high school, shot a five under par 67 to finish tied with Starke in the three day event at ten under par 206. 

Long made the turn with a two shot lead after a front nine 33. Will Starke made the turn with a 37 on the front nine.  But Starke battled back with a four under par 32 to finish with a three under par 69. 

On the first playoff hole, Long’s second shot found the rough to the right of the green, but after a good chip shot, Long made a five footer for birdie to tie the hole. 

After trading pars on the second playoff hole, both players two putted  for birdie on hole number 1 to send the playoff to hole number 2. 

At the fourth playoff hole Starke made a great up and down from the short side of the green to save par. Long, already on the green two putted for his par and the playoff moved to hole number 3. 

On the fifth playoff hole, Starke found the right rough and managed to get his approach shot to the left side of the green.  Long, from the fairway,  hit his second shot to 5 fee and then made the putt for a birdie to win his first Carolinas Golf Association championship. 

Finishing in third place was Kendrick Vinar, Jr of Chapel who finished with a three day total of seven under par 209. Results.........   Back to the top......

MORGANTON, NC – July 23, 2011 – Silver Creek Plantation – The UGA/UJGT returned to Silver Creek Plantation for its Summer Open. This was also the UJGT’s first ever appearance at Silver Creek. As the first tee time approached so did the thundering. Way out west over the Blue Ridge Mountains thunderstorms were forming. The radar at the course indicated that as these storms headed easterly that they were going to spare the Morganton area. Once everyone had teed off a slight sprinkle of rain came lasting only minutes but more importantly the air cooled and the high humidity dropped dramatically. It was only near the end of the tournament that the humidity increased.

Hiddenite’s John Ervin threw down the early challenge to the rest of the field as he put back to back birdies on the leaderboard in the first two holes. Ervin’s challenge did not go unanswered as Aaron Perlman from Morganton par one and then hit a booming drive on the par five second leaving only 150 yards to the green.  

Perlman’s approach was on target leaving a very makable eagle putt which he made and settled in along side of Ervin for the lead after two. This excellent start by these two formidable players did not create much cushion as Jack Beach of Newton, Jim Berry of Drexel and Chris Murray of Hickory was just one back.

Three and four were not very hospitable to Ervin as he made back to back bogeys on them. For Perlman, his play on three and four gave him the sole lead at three under after four holes of play. 

Mr. Majors, Rick Chapman from Conover and Brian Pitts of Hickory caught up with Ervin after four holes by playing par golf. With Ervin, Chapman and Pitts at par after four holes and Perlman at three under Jack Beach, Jim Berry and Chris Murray of Hickory controlled the number two spot at one under each. Would Perlman be able to continue his torrid pace was now the question?  

In the par group both Chapman and Berry found trouble at the par five fifth. Chapman doubled while Berry bogeyed. Ervin regained some lost ground with his third birdie in five holes. Ervin’s birdied brought him into a three-way tie with Beach and Murray. 

Perlman got through five ok but found his first bogey of the day at the dog-leg right par four sixth. This bogey allowed the whole field to move one stroke closer to the leader. With just a one stroke lead over the likes of Ervin, Beach and Murray Perlman was sure to feel their pressure.  

At the dog-leg left 345 yard par four seventh that pressure manifested itself in a double for Perlman which opened the door for Ervin and Murray to take over the lead which they did with a pair of pars. Beach was left out of the shuffle as he too made a bogey at seventh giving him a seat beside Perlman on the second row.

Murray had been playing par golf through the first seven holes. The par three eighth at Silver Creek was the first bump in the road for Murray and it was bone jarring bump – a double which knocked Murray all the way down into third place with Brian Pitts. Beach and Perlman moved into second. 

Murray came back with his second birdie of the round at the ninth that brought his round to even through the first nine holes. Murray’s 36 joined Beach and Perlman in the chase to run down the front side leader John Ervin who made the turn at one under 35. Sitting alone in third place at the turn was Brian Pitts who turned in his best ever nine hole score since joining the Tour in 2004. 

Murray and Beach started the back nine with a set of pars on the first two holes on the inward side. Their pars allowed them to now make it a three way tie for the lead after eleven holes of play as Ervin posted his third bogey of the day at the eleventh. Perlman also carded his third bogey of the round leaving him alone in second place.  

Ervin took over the third spot after backing up his bogey at eleven with another one at the par five twelfth. Perlman also backed up his bogey at eleven with a bogey, a double that is dropping him to fourth. 

Every golfer has those “Boogey Holes” and for Jack Beach it is number twelve at Silver Creek. This par five runs down parallel to a pond on the right from the Blue tees to the green. For the first time ever playing this hole Beach took out a four iron and played four iron, four iron and nine iron into the green leaving with a par with his share of the lead in tact with Murray. 

With six holes left to play the top of the leaderboard was thinning out. Beach and Murray sat atop of the board with Ervin in third. Rick Chapman and Brain Pitts held the second spot and Perlman was alone in third. 

Through thirteen and fourteen Beach and Murrray both made a bogey, Murray on thirteen and Beach on fourteen all the while Ervin made par on both allowing him to move into a three way tie for the lead. 

While everyone else was melting away this threesome began their final four hole assault on the Silver Creek Title. Murray was the first to be sidelined. After playing par golf through fourteen holes Murray had to pencil in a “snowman” at fifteen leaving Ervin and Beach to fight it out over the last three holes. 

Ervin made par on both the fifteenth and sixteenth holes keeping the pressure up on Beach now that Murray lay wounded in third place. Then Ervin got a wiff of the sweet smell of victory when Beach could do no better than a bogey on the sixteenth leaving Ervin alone at the top. 

The never say die spirit that resides in Jack Beach guided him to a birdie on the par three seventh where he took a five iron and landed his ball about two feet from the pin and when the ball quite rolling he had only inches for a birdie. Though it was only inches he still had to make. His putt was not all that true and gave Beach a momentary gut wrenching filling as he saw his putt run left of center heading for the left edge but finally fell after making almost 180 degrees around the back of the cup taking him into a tie with Ervin and one hole to play. 

As so many of the UGA Tour events do this one also is headed into a one hole shoot out. The finishing hole at Silver Creek is not a difficult hole and produces its fair share of birdies. Ervin’s second shot was pulled left leaving him a less than desired third approach shot to the green. On the green in two Ervin need two putts to finish out his round at one over 73.  

Beach hit the fairway and positioned his approach shot for a go at the pin. The pin was a little back of center in a flatter section of the green. Beach pitched his approach perfectly leaving him a very appetizing birdie putt. Ervin was already in at one over. Birdie would give Beach even par and a par would mean a playoff.  

Beach taps his putter against the ball and while still bent over his stroke Beach saw his ball disappear from sight and the sweet sound of the ball hitting the bottom of the cup brought a smile to his face and his first victory of this season.  

In the UJGT event Thomas Redding from Hudson, NC won his first UJGT event with a great round of 76. Redding now holds down the top spot in the Junior/Senior division. Redding does not play high school golf as his first love is baseball and he plays that well for South Caldwell high school.  

Aaron Thomas of Mr. Airy won the Freshman/Sophomore division with a round of 93 and Stone Dyson won the thirteen and under division with a round of 106. During Dyson’s round he drove the green on the par four ninth hole.

The UJGT had its first junior girl playing at Silver Creek. Taylor Shellman from Gastonia plays in the Junior/Senior Girl’s division. Taylor shot a round of 100. 

The nest UGA/UJGT event is scheduled for July 30^th at Cedar Rock CC in Lenoir, NC. For more information on the UGA Tour click on the following: www.theuga.com  For more information on the UJGT click on the following: www.theujga.com   Back to the top......

CONOVER, NC – July 16, 2011 – The UGA/UJGT Open Championship – Rock Barn Golf & Sap – The 11^th UGA/UJGT Open Championship was held at Rock Barn Golf & Spa in Conover, NC. One of the largest fields of this season gathered at Rock Barn to do battle. All UGA/UJGT majors are triple point events and that can really shake up the Tour Points standings and it did this week.

Chris Murray of Hickory, NC, a multiple title winner this season, jumped out to an early control of the leadeboard after the first two holes but at the par three third Murray found trouble. This is one of the most challenging and visually pleasing par three’s in all of the state. From a high teeing ground you have to go out and down over Lyle Creek. The green runs parallel to Lyle Creek with the slope running from the left side down to the creek.

Murray came off of three with a double and lost the lead to Steve Shuford of Newton, NC by one stroke. The par three put Murray on a bogey train that

  he did not get off till hole eight. Shuford tightened his grip on the lead with his first birdie of the round at the par five fourth.  

After bogeying the first two holes, Rick Chapman from Conover, NC, put on a charge in an effort to keep Shuford from gaining too much momentum on his lead. By the fifth hole Chapman reined in Shuford to within two strokes and gained a share of the lead at the par four sixth.

The sixth is very testy hole for most players. You hit blind drive up an incline from the teeing ground to a fairway that bends right and down to Lyle Creek. If you hit too far to the right you have a chance of being blocked by a huge  bolder that just out of the said of the hill   the fairway has been cut out of.

Shuford came off of six with a double while Chapman took a par his fourth in a row. Chapman’s fifth par in a row came at the par five seventh giving him the lead. Shuford carded his third, second in a row bogey at the seventh dropping him back into second place with Tim Cooke of Granite Falls, NC.  

Chapman continued his par string through the turn and in doing so had a two stroke lead on the field. 

"Trouble in turn four” usually wakes you up when watching a NASCAR race that has been to that point uneventful. The trouble after the turn for Chapman was back to back bogeys at ten and eleven. This bump in an otherwise smooth sailing round allowed both Tim Cooke and Steve Shuford to come back into a three wide race for the home stretch. 

The back to back bogeys also allowed the potential for others to get a draft that could sling them around the leaders.

At thirteen Cooke dropped off the lead with a bogey which was the first of four in a row on the back side. Shuford looked like he found his second wind. He strung three pars together keeping him headlight to headlight with Chapman with five holes to play. 

“Hello Houston, we have a problem.” Shuford ran afoul at the par five fourteenth with a triple bogey effectively taking him out of the race. Chapman recorded his only birdie of his round at the fourteenth giving him a four stroke swing. 

If this was match play it would be all over at this point. The only player that could give Chapman any trouble would be Chapman himself. After making par on fifteen and sixteen Chapman bogeyed seventeen and eighteen but had enough cushion to coast across the finish line and raise his second major checker flag of 2011.  

Chapman came into “The UGA/UJGT Open Championship” in third on the Tour Points race for the season. With this victory Chapman once again regains the number one spot in the Tour Points race. Back in June at the second major, the “UGA Open” Chapman put his first ever major trophy on his mantel. That win in June also gave him the points lead for a week. Now he has done it again. Just call him “Mr. Majors.” 

The UGA celebrated at Rock Barn with its inaugural UJGT Open Championship. Aaron Thomas from Mt. Holly and a student at Highland Tech will go into the record books as the Unifour Junior Golf Tour’s first ever major winner. 

The UJGT is a new junior tour for Western North Carolina that when the membership reaches the minimum number of players required by the CGA it will become a NC junior ranking tour of the Carolina Golf Association which is the governing body for golf in both the Carolinas. The UJGT is owned and operated by the Unifour Golf Association. Information on the UJGT can be found at www.theujga.com.   Back to the top......

STATESVILLE, NC – July 9, 2011 – The UGA returned to tournament play after taking off for the Fourth of July. Most of the players were bantering about how they really missed playing last week and were looking forward to getting back into the hunt for the 2011 Tour Championship.

The defending champion Chris Murray was on hand to defend his title. Murray had missed the event before the break but by the way he started you could not tell it. Murray opened with three straight pars taking control of the early lead.  

Murray a three time winner this season stumbled at the par five fourth allowing the ever present John Ervin to take a share of the lead. The duo of Murray and Ervin were being stalked by two time Tour Champion Jack Beach, multiple title winner Ron Frady, Brain Johnson and Doris Gragg all just one stroke back. 

Both Murray and Ervin bogeyed the par three fifth. All of the stalkers bogeyed five except Doris Gragg. With her par at five Gragg moved into a three way tie with Murray and Ervin.

Gragg and Murray fell out of the lead at six, a par four 396 yard dogleg left. Ervin said, “This is the first time that I have pared this hole” after making par and taking back sole possession of the lead after six holes of play. 

Ervin’s excitement about paring six for the first time must have taken his mind off his game as he bogeyed the short par three seven while Murray birdied it. Murray’s birdie gave the lead back to him but only by one stroke over Ervin, Beach and Tim Cooke.  

Holes eight and nine at River Oaks can make or break a round. Ervin doubled eight and Beach tripled eight while Murray made par expanding his lead. At nine Murray gave back a stroke to both Ervin and Beach but he was still firmly in the lead by two at the turn. 

Ervin, Cooke, Bill Hodge, JD Osborne and Stephen Schmidt came across the turn two strokes back of Murray at 41. Beach was three strokes back at 42. 

From the get go on the back nine it the match became a two man race. For the first six holes on the back side Murray and Ervin went stroke for stroke until Ervin faltered at the short par four sixteen. With this bogey Murray now had a three stoke lead with just two holes to play. It’s over right? Not by a long shot. 

The seventeenth is a par three at 195 yards over water with encroaching trees overhead. You can give it all away at this hole is you are not careful. Murray almost did. Ervin successfully navigated 18 with a par while Murray will have nightmares about this hole for weeks. Murray tripled 16 which brought the match back to dead even with the easy par five 18^th.

Both Murray and Ervin knew what had to be done at 18. Both threw their drives out a respectable distance and you could see a birdie smile on each of their faces. Murray was left with about 250 yards to the green while Ervin was about 230 yards out. 

Murray elected to lay up to about 70 yards and from there he hit the green in regulation leaving him about an 8 foot putt for birdie. Ervin was no sure where the match stood but felt he had to go for the green which at 230 yards is no problem for Ervin. 

Ervin took dead aim and with a very determined swing was going for all of the marbles. As he followed through with his swing he saw his ball take off like a shot just above the ground and as it approached the creek that cuts across the whole fairway it hits the ground sending it into the creek where his ball hit a rock and came back out towards John finally settling down in the fairway leaving him a very long shot third shot. 

Normally a resulting shot like that rattles golfers and their next attempt is much more cautious. That is not the way John Ervin plays golf. For his third shot he reared back and let it fly. The result was a green in regulation above the hole about seven feet.  

Now Murray and Ervin were both on the green in regulation at all square. Murray was away so he putted first. His birdie putt slid just past the hole leaving a four foot comeback putt which he elected to clean up instead of waiting for Ervin to putt his birdie putt. 

Murray pushed his putt just to the side of the cup missing his par. In disgust he taps in for a bogey. 

Ervin is either on or off on his putting but when he is on you had better watch out. From seven feet above the hole and down hill at that Ervin sends his birdie putt off now knowing that he as two putts to win the match. Birdie!! In the hole the ball went giving John Ervin his four tour title for 2011. 

Next week the UGA Tour travels to the famed Jones Course at Rock Barn Golf and Spa for “The UGA Open” and it will be a triple points event.  Results.....   Back to the top......

A star is on the rise!

GRANITE FALLS, NC - July 6, 2011 - From the President of Geek Golf: “I generally do not isolate a player from the Staff or Associate Staff from the Team as I root for all of them.  But, for the first time I am going to do that as I know the Team will understand why.

Trent Scruggs is 16 years old and just missed the Finals this weekend (June 11&12. 2011) at Shank's event I am told.  He has the eye of the Tiger just like Jamie did at that age and Dominic M. has as well.  This is the part I really love about LDing...watching the development of talent (at any age)!  In the last 2 years two possible Major talents at a young age are helping the sport to grow and will entice other talented teenage kids to compete with the BEST in the World and have a very good chance to WIN the World's with the right attitude!  Now some of you never had the chance to compete at that age at World Class level.  D.M. and Trent are doing just that thanks to their parents that are leading them in the right direction.  Maury Scruggs is a first class Dad...Just like Danny and Louise Sadlowski is first class parents to Jamie and Dom's parents are as well.

And you, that are bringing up your kids in this sport, I really applaud you for doing that as the torch will be passed to them somewhere down the road.  Keep up the good work!

Great Finish and you will make a big noise at World's Trent!  See you there and at the Geek party! 

On behalf of Team Geek and Team Captain Mark Rodrigues!”

So who is this Trent Scruggs?  -

When Trent was 8 years old he started playing golf with his dad and brother Trey. This was just eight years ago. Trent was like most 8 years olds in that he was interested but not to the point that he stuck to it.  As Trent and Trey grew older Trey developed a real love for the game while Trent just played when he was not hunting, fishing, or trying his hand at horseback riding and riding bulls.

However, both boys started participating in the Mutual of Omaha's drive, chip and putt competitions as they came around every year.  Trent was 11 years old when he went to his first event.  It was then that he began to stand out as a young man who could hit a driver a long way.  In 2005 at age 12 he won the driving portion of the competition with a drive of 311 yards which was at least 40 yards further than anyone in his age group.  Unfortunately Mutual of Omaha stopped their support of the event thus ending long drive competitions for youngsters. 

In 2005 Trent and Trey both started playing in the Catawba Valley Junior Golf program at which both did very well.  Trent was so much longer off the red tees he was playing that he moved up to the white tees that his older brother Trey was playing. Trent’s move to the white tees also allowed him to play 18 holes instead of the 9 holes he was playing from the red tees. When Trey aged out of the program Trent lost interest and drifted towards baseball. 

Trent signed up for the Optimist league where he did very well. Trent’s playing skills allowed him to play up 2 age groups with one of the Caldwell County traveling baseball teams to help his development.  While playing baseball Trent continued to play golf with his brother Trey and his dad once every month or so because he said 18 holes of golf bored him. 

During his fourth year of baseball Trent fell and dislocated his shoulder severely hampering his throwing ability. After several months of recuperation it became obvious that he was not getting any better.  At one of the many visits to the doctor it was discovered that he had tore his labrium 180 degrees and chipped part of the bone that secured the arm in his shoulder.  He had to have surgery at the end of the season in August of 2010 and the prognosis was 50/50 that he would fully recover.

Trent was released form the doctor in early 2011. After an effort to get his throwing arm back in shape Trent decided to give up on baseball as his throwing motion was not as good as it was before his fall. With that his attention went back to golf that was spurred on by an incident that happened just after his fall.

Back in 2010 shortly after his fall Trent was helping his dad who was coordinating a March of Dimes benefit golf tournament. Participating in the tournament program was the Bridgestone golf ball company. Bridgestone was there with their swing simulator that helped golfers find the right ball to match up with their swings. Seeing this it reminded Trent of his days competing in the long drive contest that the Mutual of Omaha sponsored and prompted Trent to have his swing clocked, more out of curiosity than anything else. Tent’s dad said, “Trey came running up to me out of breath saying the Bridgestone guy says you need to come to the range.”    

Maury, Trent’s father,  followed his son to the range to talk to the guy from Bridgestone. The Bridgestone rep told Maury that Trent had just set the record for the fastest swing speed that had been measured in over 800 events and all of Bridgestone’s touring pro staff.  Maury asked how fast Trent’s swing speed was and the guy said he averaged 142mph with a max of 147mph. Maury said, “At that time we just thought it was pretty cool but to realize that his shoulder was damaged and made me wonder what he could do if he was healthy.”   

A couple of months later at the Lenoir Golf Club member guest there was a long drive contest and of course Trent wanted to participate.  He won the event with a drive of 330 yards and it was very exciting.  After that Maury started researching swing speeds to find out what 147mph swing speed meant.  He found out that the average for touring pros, including Tiger Woods, swing the driver anywhere form 118mph to 125mph.  It was then that Maury realized that his son Trent had a very special talent.

Armed with that excitement the Scruggs decided to find some long drive competitions to see how Trent would match up.  They soon discovered that there are no junior long drive competitions and that if Trent was going to compete it would have to be in the open division of the Remax Long Drive competitions. Maury began to ask around the local golf industry if there was known to be anyone who competed in these types of events. A local guy by the name of Brian Harris who plays out of Brushy Mountain Golf Club in Taylorsville, NC was brought to Murray’s attention. After three months of trying to contact Harris Maury was able to reach him by phone.  

Harris not only gave Trent some great advice he even provided Trent with some of his old drivers to start practicing with. After getting use to those very long drivers the Scruggs began looking for some local qualifiers for the Remax World Championships. Trent’s practice field was the driving range owned by Don and Lori Teague who with their retail connections to golf club reps tried to help Trent find a company willing to help with the supply of clubs. By this time Trent had already busted the face of four of his drivers.

The Teague’s driving range and golf shop host a big annual demo day for all of its customers. All of the major club manufacturers are usually there. At the one held this past Spring the reps pulse was skyrocketing as they all watched this young man swing a club at speeds unseen by any of them. The Adams rep got out his video camera and began filming Trent’s swing. He even went so far as to put an Adams hat on him with one of Adam’s golf bags in each scene. 

The Ping rep offered to fly Trent to Arizona for a VIP club fitting and the TaylorMade rep suggested that Trent go down to Charlotte to hit on their simulator which he did. 

The trip to Charlotte validated all of Trent’s numbers such as swing speed (140’s), ball speed (195-205), launch angle that is between 12 and 16 degrees with a ball spin between 1500 and 2200. With the confidence these numbers offered a video was soon made to be sent to anyone interested in Trent’s talent.

While shopping the video around Trent entered his first Remax qualifier in April, 2011 in Greenville, SC. With a drive of 369 yards on a very wet grid Tent qualified in the North Carolina region. The following week Trent traveled to Tuscaloosa, AL to take part in a super qualifier that if won Trent would then qualify in multiple regions. Trent won three local qualifiers in one day that got him first round byes in the Southeast, Dallas and St. Louis regions.  

After crushing four driver faces the Scruggs found themselves with only one driver to continue competing. They desperately needed a club deal in order to keep competing. James Nelson, another long drive competitor from the Hickory, NC area who had hit with Trent was contacted for some advice on how to go about getting a club deal. Nelson suggested they call his contacts at Geek golf and Krank golf.

Geek Golf  located in Anaheim CA was called because Trent had broke 2 of their drivers and was hoping that they may replace the heads or at least give a discount on the purchase of new ones.  Steve Almo, the president and club builder, was sent a link to Tent's video.  Before watching the video Almo told Maury that they have a program that would allow him to pay $500 and Geek would provide 4 drivers, some hats, shirts and monitor Trent for one year. At the end of that first year they may offer him a position on Geek’s staff.   

Within the same day Almo called Maury back having just watched Trent's video to say he needed 24 hours to come up with a better deal.  24 hours later Almo called Maury back with shocking news. Geek offered Trent a spot on Geek’s staff because he felt that Trent had what it takes to do well in the long drive business. Additionally Almo got Aldila to provide some shafts to get Tent started.

Armed and outfitted with the Red and Black colors of Geek Golf Trent jumped right into the mix and traveled to the Tennessee Shootout which is one of five events that Remax sponsors as a qualifier for the World Championships. The event was held in Greenville TN. After arriving a day early to see the grid, how it works and is set up both Trey and Trent were asked to mark balls in the grid while competitors in a local qualifier were hitting.  

After the local qualifier was completed Trent was given the opportunity to hit a few balls before the day was over. While waiting for Trent to finish hitting Maury observed a lady who was sitting under the Aldila scoring tent. Maury had overheard someone call out her name which was Brenda Prudham who turned out to be the rep at Aldila in San Diego that had provided Trent the shafts for his clubs. After introducing himself as the father of the 16 year old that Geek was bringing on board Brenda said that Steve Almo of Geek told her to make sure she found Trent at this event.

She and Maury watched as Trent hit eight balls hitting the grid three times with drives of 375, 381 and 388 yards. This impressed Brenda very much and prompted her to call Almo right then telling him that she was taking the Scruggs to dinner that night and that Trent would then be taken care of.  

At dinner Trent was offered a spot on the Aldila long drive team and he accepted. Brenda then asked if Trent could obtain a passport because she wanted Trent to join the team in the World Match Play being held in Stockholm Sweden in July. Win lose or draw in the shootout the next day the trip was a complete success. 

As for the shootout Trent was not able to match his practice round hits managing only 356 yards in both rounds. Maury said, “It was not quite good enough to move on but the experience was great. In such a short time he has accomplished a great deal and we are excited about what the future holds for Trent.” Tent was the youngest participant in the 11 year history of the Tennessee Shootout.

Trent’s itinerary is as follows:

The Metter in Metter Ga…Longest running Long Drive event in U.S…Pro-Am Saturday July 9^th with long drive event following and 2^nd long drive event on Sunday July 10^th 

Aldila World Powergolf Match Play Stockholm Sweden July 21-24^th  Pro-Am on the 23^rd 

Remax World qualifier in St. Louis Mo Region 6 with 1^st round bye July 29-31 

Remax World qualifier in Viera FL Region 3 with 1^st round bye Aug 13-14 

Dixie Classic in Warner Robbins Ga Aug 19-20 with Pro-am on the 19^th 

Remax World qualifier in Greensboro NC Bryan Park Region 2 Aug 27^th 

Remax World qualifier Thackerville OK region 5 Sept.10 with a first round bye 

Remax World Championships in Mesquite NV beginning Oct.28^th*

^{*Trent need only to qualify in one of the above events to win a slot for the World Championship}Back to the top......

SALISBURY, NC – June 25, 2011 – The UGA Tour invaded Salisbury, NC over the weekend to hold its Crescent Summer Open at the Crescent Golf Club. The greens were in excellent shape providing ample opportunity to go low and a goodly number did so. 

After lying off for a season Ron Frady came back with a new outlook and a much improved game. Frady has been knocking on the door all season long. It would only be a matter of time for him to hit pay-dirt. At Crescent the time was now and what an exhibition he put on.  

Frady’s round did not start off like he would want it to but it is never about where you start it is where you finish that matters. After taking a three putt on number two he said, “I changed my putting grip and from there on in my putts started to fall.”

With a good round under way Frady soon found himself in a battle with two time Tour winner Jack Beach. Beach opened with a double on the par five first but settled down real quick. Beach’s double gave Frady the opening lead through the first two holes but Beach took over after Frady made his double at the 425 yard par four third. 

Beach had the lead by one which he kept all the way through to the turn. Beach came across at 38 and Frady at 39.  

Beach opens the door for Frady with back to back bogeys at ten and eleven giving the lead over to Frady but for only one hole as Frady bogeyed No.12. Now they are tied as they go into the last six holes.

Frady cards his third birdie of the day at thirteen taking back the lead. Beach answers with a birdie at fourteen bringing them back together and that is where it stayed for the remaining four holes. Beach cards a back nine of 37 and Frady cards an even par of 36 giving them both a 75. 

Both players had an excellent round but went about it in two different ways. Both Frady and Beach had almost identical stats for the front nine. The back nine was a different game all together.  

Frady’s game was a game of “fairways and greens” where as Beach had to scramble the whole back nine. Beach only hit four greens in regulation on the back nine. For the last six holes Beach hit only two greens requiring him to get up and down on four of the six holes. Beach used one put per hole for the last six holes to close it out with a tie.  

Frady’s exhibition was his accuracy. For eighteen holes Frady hit 79% of his fairways, 67% of his greens in regulation and used 1.7 putts per hole. This is the kind of golf one must play to score low. This is by far the best round Frady has produced on the UGA Tour and is his second Tour title. Full leaderboard......   Back to the top......

TAYLORSVILLE, NC – June, 18, 2011 – Brushy Mt. Golf Club – The UGA returned to one of its most favorite golf courses, Brushy Mt... The course at Brushy was found to be in excellent condition and was expected to yield some good scores however; Mother Nature had another idea in mind. 

Just as the field completed the front nine the siren’s sounded to clear the course as the on coming black clouds began to issue forth ear busting thunder. Head Pro Joe Ferguson estimated that it would take several hours for the danger to clear so a decision was made by Tour Director to call it a day.

As a result, the Brushy Mt. Summer Open was called after nine holes. This is only the second time in the eleven year history of the UGA Tour that an event had to be called after nine holes. This is especially tough for the players. Each UGA Tour event is a single event creating the feel of a sudden death playoff. Every hole counts and any errors made on the front side have to be rectified on the back – there is no cut. You either win or lose! So it is no easy task to call an event after nine holes.

At the turn Chris Murray of Hickory stood at 39 with Steve Shuford of Newton and John Ervin of Hiddenite chasing Murray at 40 and at 41 was two times Tour Champion Jack Beach along with a hoard of players following at 42. 

Murray’s 39 gave him his second victory in as many weeks as well as placing him at the top of the leaderboard. Murray’s win is tightening up the Tour Points race.  

The UGA Tour travels to Crescent Golf Club in Salisbury next Saturady for the Salisbury Summer Open..
Brushy Mt. Results........     Back to the top......

LENOIR, NC – June 11, 2011-06-12- Lenoir Golf Club – The UGA Tour made its second stop of this season at the 1928 Donald Ross designed Lenoir Golf Club, a Tour favorite when playing in the Unifour area. The course is in excellent shape and in particularly the greens. The putts rolled true all day especially for Chris Murray. Murray’s 71 is the lowest round carded this season for the Tour. 

Though Murray turned in the low round of the day and season it was done so with Rick Chapman, the 2011 UGA Open Champion in close pursuit. However both Murray and Chapman were both chasing Bill Hodge of Newton through the first 12 holes.

Hodge opened his round with a par, the first of seven in a row and capped those seven pars off with back to back birdies on eight and nine to give him a three stroke lead over Murray and Chapman at the turn. If you were counting that would give Hodge a front nine score of two under at 34.

Hodge continued his par run through the first three holes on the back nine. At thirteen Hodge recorded his first blemish, a double bogey which cracked open the door for with Chapman or Murray to get their toe in. 

Chapman and Murray both carded birdies at ten giving them a slight gain in the chase to run down Hodge. From eleven on in Chapman recorded five bogeys taking him out of the chase leaving Murray to continue his assault on Hodge.          Chris Murray

Hodge and Murray matched pars through eleven and twelve but when Hodge had his hiccup at thirteen it allowed Murray to take a share of the lead. Hodge may still have been rattled by his double at 13 as he backed that up with a bogey at 14 which surrendered the lead to Murray of which he took to the clubhouse by carding one birdie and eight pars the rest of the way in. Hodge finished in second.    Click here for more information on the UGA Tour

Results.......          Back to the top......

Thirty six players showed up for this year’s event. Among them were three of the state’s best junior golfers. Leading the list is Hickory’s JT Poston who has won everything he has ever entered except the Greater Hickory High School Classic. In fact he said today that he has never made par in this event. This being his senior year and the last time he can participate as well as the look in his face you could tell that he is going to do everything he can to change that.

Next on the list of notable junior golfers attending this year’s Classic is Thomas Lilly from Maiden who was the go to player for his high school team. Even though his team did not make the state playoffs Thomas did and finished in the top ten as an individual. 

Equally notable in this year’s event is Tyler Lail from Bunker Hill. Lail, like Lilly earned the right to play in the state championship as an individual where he finished tied for fourth

Both Lail and Lilly played in the 2A State Championships. 

Poston is currently posted as the states 16^th best junior player in the state and has signed to play college golf at Western Carolina in the fall.

Lail is ranked as the 56^th best junior player in the state and Lilly is ranked as the 116^th best junior golfer. 

The Greater Hickory High School Classic calls for a nine hole event and is played from the same tee box set up as the Champions Pro’s played from in the morning qualifier on the Jackson Course. The top five finishers earn the right to play in the Dale Jarrett Shootout on Tuesday. The top two finishers are offered an opportunity watch an official round from inside the ropes as honorary observers.  

One of the first sets of players to post a score was the threesome that included Tyler Lail from Bunker Hill and his score of 35 set off a buzz. They used a shotgun start in this event so the scores began to really roll in. Another buzz was set off when the score for a sophomore from Statesville High by the name of Jack Archibald was posted, a 33.

Sprinkled in and around Lail and Archibald were some 37’s but none were coming in any lower. Then across the patio in front of the scoreboard Poston comes ambling in showing no sign of emotion to indicate how well or how bad he had played. In the five years we have been covering this kid his demeanor never changes. A couple of years ago we nicknamed him “Cool Hand Luke.” 

Remember in the three years before that Poston has played in this event he has never come close, not even a par. But today that changed. He along with his game has matured and is fully prepared and ready to play college golf. Poston, JT to his friends, cracked the nut. Not only did he shoot par he shot four under par – a 32. What a way to top off a fine high school golf career. Coach Ben Hale, Poston’s high school coach, emailed me earlier after hearing the news of Poston’s victory and in it he said, “His win today was truly a defining exclamation point to an outstanding season and high school golfing career at Hickory! With his incredible work ethic and constant desire to improve his game, I look forward to following this outstanding student-athlete's progress for years to come as he will now attend Western Carolina on a golf scholarship!” I couldn’t have said it any better Coach Hale. JT – well done!

Full leaderboard......     Back to the top......

HICKORY, NC – June 4, 2011 – Catawba Springs Country Club – The UGA was excited to return to Catawba Springs for its second major of this season. The weather was terrific and the golf course was in excellent condition, especially the greens.  

All UGA majors are triple point events and thus draw a goodly number of players. This years Tour Points race is really heating up especially since first time title winner Rick Chapman won this years UGA Open. The 360 garnered by Chapman at Catawba Springs puts him within striking distance of the Points lead.

Rick Chapman is from the Conover area and has been a UGA Tour member since 2009 and this is his first title and major win since his arrival on the Tour. Chapman’s round today started off as most of the other players did. By the time he reached the turn he was tied for second at 44 with two times UGA Tour Champion Jack Beach. 

The turn leaders were Tim Cooke of Granite Falls, Chris Murray Sr. of Hickory, Brian Pitts of Hickory and Brian Johnson of Statesville. At tem both Pitts and Cooke birdie this short par five but from there on out it became Chapman’s event.

Chapman pared ten and bogeyed eleven. Then he went on a birdie-par run all the way into the clubhouse to win The UGA Open by three strokes over JP O’Renick of Granite Falls. Results....