Wednesday, May 5

Tarheel Junior Championship

The Robert Trent Jones Championship presented by the Tarheel Junior Golf Foundation was played on the Lake Course at Carolina Trace Country Club on Saturday and Sunday, April 24 & 25. The field consisted of middle school and high school boys and girls, a total of sixty-nine players from NC, SC, OH, FL, and Sweden and South Africa. Day one weather conditions were ideal for scoring and the leaders did just that. The winners of each division will go on to play in the Callaway World Junior Championship in San Diego, CA.

Mat NeSmith (pictured first) of North Augusta, SC took the first round lead with a 69 over Carter Jenkins who shot 70. NeSmith credited his opening round with his putting and said "he really liked the greens on the Lake Course." Leading after day one in the middle school division was Danny Gleeson (pictured second) of Raleigh, NC with a 68. Danny only used twenty-seven putts in route to his great score. In second after round one was Ben Griffin (pictured second) with 70. Griffin, from Chapel Hill relied on a strong driver and good iron play to shoot his opening round score. The high school girl’s bright spot in the first round was Kaitlin Matheson from Easley, SC who shot 73. She hit 17 out of 18 greens. “The round could’ve been a lot better if a few more putts would have gone in,” stated Matheson. Mathew NeSmith continued his strong play in tough conditions to post a second round 71 for a two day total of 140. NeSmith wins the high school boys division and will make his second trip to the Callaway World Junior Championship. Carter Jenkins finished second with adding a 75 to total 145 for two rounds.

Day two provided some crazy wind and it affected some of the play. Middle school first round leader, Danny Gleeson had nines of 43-33 to shot 76. Ben Griffin took advantage of his strong ball striking to shoot a great round of 66 to go with his first day round of 70 for a two day total of 136. In the girls division, Kaitlin Matheson (pictured third) with honors with a second 76 and a two day total of 149. Carolina Trace CC also had a special young lady playing in her first event. Shoomee Siranon, age 12, shot rounds of 91-90 for a two round total of 181. She shot 41 on the back nine of the Lake Course under high winds and tournament competition. This is a wonderful accomplishment and we are all very proud of her, especially her coach.