The Callaway Junior Tour will have three golf events at local courses next week as the season continues to ramp up.
Youth golfers will compete in one-day tournaments at Guyan Golf and Country Club, Esquire Golf Course and Riverside Golf Club in back-to-back events from Monday through Wednesday.
ƵThe Callaway Junior Tour started this past week at the Greenbrier for its 42nd season,Ƶ Chris Slack, executive director of the West Virginia Golf Ƶsociation, said. ƵWe have over 300 kids playing, and as the events get closer, more and more of them are selling out. School is starting to let out, so more people are starting to play.Ƶ
Area players registered for the 17-18 boys division at Guyan include Trevor Boothe and William Johnson of Charleston, Caleb Duty of Hurricane, Jake Lilly of Point Pleasant, Bryson Mabry of Culloden, Gavin Martin of Scott Depot, Brady Meadows of Letart, Uriah Ruark of Mason, Carson Sergent of Huntington and Samuel Walker of Ironton.
Local girls among all divisions in the upcoming Guyan event include Scarlett Albertson, Tensley Heumann, Kamryn Stutler and Lexi Green of Charleston, Jadyn Snodgrass of South Charleston and Chastyn Viars of South Charleston.
The tour is broken down into boys and girls age divisions ranging from 12 and under to 17-18. Girls divisions are 10-14 and 15-18.
ItƵs one of the best ways for local youth players to see competitive action while preparing for high school seasons in the fall or growing their game as a young player. Slack said that just about every player who was in contention during this weekƵs West Virginia Amateur Championship played on the tour.
ƵThe junior tour is where every golfer in our state has gotten their start,Ƶ Slack said. ƵPat Carter is a 13-time state amateur champ. He played on the junior tour. Sam OƵDell is a four-time champ. He played on the junior tour.
ƵThereƵs also a lot of the college kids. (2024 State Amateur champion and former Marshall golfer) Christian Brand and I played on the junior tour together. In the Amateur this week, we have had a total of 24 juniors in the field. ThatƵs a testament to what our junior tour is and how it continues to get better.Ƶ
Guyan is an example of an otherwise private course that is on the tour. It allows for the younger players to compete on the best layouts in the state without full memberships.
ƵThe golf courses are great,Ƶ Slack said. ƵWe start the season at The Greenbrier, and our tour championship is at the Greenbrier Sporting Club. Almost every private course in the state from Morgantown to Huntington and Charleston and the resorts like Glade Springs, Stonewall and Oglebay, for instance, are good to open their course for a day for our junior events.Ƶ
Owen Elliott, who won the 106th State Amateur on Wednesday, played on the junior tour. In his experience, the ability to have consistent competition is what made his game accelerate.
ƵGoing out and playing with friends is different than when you have a 3-footer to take a match,Ƶ Elliott said. ƵThe more competitive golf that you get, the better you will be. Those junior events in West Virginia are huge because not every state has that type of stuff.
ƵWe were treated like tour professionals at those courses as kids. At the time, it means everything to the kids, and that keeps the game growing.Ƶ
Ryan Bilby, a champion of the West Virginia Open who just finished his college career at Marshall, is a former junior tour player who will soon turn pro.
ƵWhen youƵre like 13 or 14, playing in the junior tour is great,Ƶ Bilby said. ƵYouƵre playing against kids that are your age every week. Those tournaments are one day, but youƵre really competing. The more that the younger kids compete, the more experience that they will get and the better they will get. Playing against kids that are your age and trying to beat each other every day is great.Ƶ
ItƵs also allowed for major development in the womenƵs golf landscape within the state as girls divisions continue to grow on the tour each season. Last fall, the seventh high school girls state championship was hosted by the ƵSSAC and played at Woodridge Golf Course in Mineral Wells. It had a field of more than 125 players.
ƵProbably 10 years ago, we didnƵt even have a girls division,Ƶ Slack said. ƵWeƵve since created girls divisions, and now probably 15 to 20% of our junior membership is female. That number is really continuing to grow in high school golf.
ƵThey may not have taken the step to play summer tournaments, but there are a lot of girls that are coming out for high school teams, and some are starting to join the tour as well.Ƶ
