by Calhoun Times
Blake Rauzee (left) looks on while competitor Spen Oliver attempts a putt on the 16th hole at Fields Ferry on Wednesday. (Abbey Lennon, CalhounTimes.com)
slideshow Club Y and the Northwest Georgia Junior Golf Association teamed up this past week for a two-day, 36-hole tournament at Fields Ferry, and while they didn?t see the number of participants they had hoped for, both organizations still considered it an overall success.The tournament was the NWJGA Championship and was open to golfers 11-18 years old. It was played on Tuesday and Wednesday with the golfers being divided into different flights based on age.
Roger Rigney, the Club Y President said he was pleased with how the tournament turned out.
?We are happy to be a part of the Northwest Georgia Golf Association, especially being the first year, it?s a starting point, and I hope it will develop into something that we can do on a regular basis,? said Rigney. ?Club Y, that?s what we do. we try to sponsor any youth activites that we are able to.
?For the first year we are very happy with the turnout we have had. We are hoping it will be bigger and better next year, but it has started out well.?
The field was comprised of close to 25 boys and girls junior golfers from around the area. The entry fee was $50 per golfer, and the original goal was to have as many as 80 golfers in the field for the tournament.
?It was a decent response,? said the NWJGA?s Tommy Curtis. ?We would?ve liked to have more, but with it being so late in the summer and band camps and school getting going, there were a few kids that couldn?t play.
?The timing could?ve been better, but this is our first year. As long as this goes on, it will get even better and we will have a better turnout. We really have to thank the CLUB Y. They have gone above and beyond helping us with this.?
Winners in the 13-16 girls division were Dallas Vaughn (Flight 1) and Maggie Sullens (Flight 2). Boys winners were Taylor Gresham (12-under), Cole Ingram (13-14 Flight 1), Dylan Long (13-14 Flight 2) and Kurt Ingram (15-17 year old). (For full results and more photos, see page 2B of Saturday's Calhoun Times.)
The NWJGA holds tournaments around the area throughout the summer and fall and tries to make it more affordable for parents to afford to have their kids play. Curtis, his wife June and his son, Sam, started the association three years ago in order to get more local kids playing and interested in the game. They got the idea from the Rome Junior Golf Association which holds affordable tournaments each Monday throughout the summer for junior golfers.
In it?s three years, the NWGJA has had kids participate from Gordon, Bartow, Whitfield and Walker Counties as well as a few from as far as Cleveland, Tenn.
?We have put together a non-profit group kind of like what a lot of people do with baseball teams,? said Curtis. ?Basically, all we try to do is get kids out on the course to play and try to break even.
?There are some great players, and what?s great to see over the last three years, we have seen some kids who were not putting up very good scores that are now putting up really good scores. You see the improvement and this helps the middle school and high school golf programs.?
With the players $50 registration fee, the NWGJA provided lunch, green fees, range balls and awards for the tournament.
Curtis told the players and parents after the completion of the tournament that it will ?hopefully be an annual event,? and he thanked the parents for letting the kids come play and improve as golfers.
?Calhoun Times Managing Editor Abbey Lennon contributed to this report
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