Preview To Junior Worlds

Move over Tiger Woods. Step aside Webb Simpson. Hold that tweet for a minute, Bubba Watson. It’s time for Brooke Seay, Ricky Castillo, Zecheng Dou, and Lilia Khatu Vu to take center stage. Now, you may think those are names from the LPGA tour or the newly minted, Web.com tour. And you may be right–in about five years. For now, these players are focusing on defending their crowns at the 2012 Callaway Junior World Golf Championships.

Next week, local golf courses around San Diego will host different age divisions as kids from around the world will battle for their respective titles. The tournament has some pretty good names attached to it and it serves as a great platform for many junior golfers. Last year, a kid by the name of Beau Hossler won the Boys 15-17 age division. Yes, that Beau Hossler. The same kid who finished T29 at this years U.S. Open. That finish earned him second low amateur for the week and captured our hearts with a boyish, and budding charge towards the lead. Hossler held the lead briefly during Saturdays third round.

Hossler will be back, too, to defend his title and hopefully keep this magical summer, well, magical. If he were to win, he’d join some pretty dexterous company. Eldrick “Tiger” Woods won his respective age division from 1988-1991. Lorena Ochoa won her age division from 1990-1994. To be fair to Hossler, that is quite the company. Winning any tournament two years in a row is a daunting task. I’m not the kind of guy to crown a player early, but if Hossler plays anywhere near how he did at Olympic, he’s a good bet to win. Hossler and his braces will tee it up with a full field of pubescent and precocious teens at Torrey Pines South Course, July 10-13.

Torrey Pines won’t be the only course bustling with kids and their always hopeful parents. Nine other local courses will host different age divisions for boys and girls. North county’s executive course Oaks North will be hosting the Boys Division 7-8. If you have played Oaks North in the past week, you have already experienced the diverse group of kids that have finally made their way to the states. From Vancouver to Thailand, families have flocked to San Diego to help their kids live out their dream. Let me tell you, these parents are very dedicated to their kids success. A few parents have been here a week already and have been at Oaks North for the better part of eight hours of the day.

Everyday.

Most might call that hardcore. For these parents and players, it’s just another day at the office. Talent is deeper than ever in junior golf. Just like the big boys on the PGA Tour, if these adolescents take a day off of practice, they’re falling behind their competent competitors. There may be language barriers but one thing is of sure: birdies will be the common term shared between these players. Hopefully. Maybe. Most likely.

If you love golf and would like to see the future of golf, get out to a local golf course and watch some worldly talent from these youngsters. You may just learn a thing or two.

Go get ’em kiddos!

For tee times and tournament site information, click here.

Hit ’em straight!

Eddie

Masters Hangover & Junior World Golf Championships

I don’t know about you, but I’m still nursing my Masters hangover. As much as the tournament was anticipated by every single living golf soul, The Masters delivered even more excitement than previous years. What started as an anticlimactic tournament on Thursday and Friday, the golf gods served up another beauty over the weekend. From Louie’s double eagle on Sunday morning to Bubba’s 164 yard shot from the pines that required 40 yards of hook to just find the putting surface, Sunday at Augusta kept our collective blood pressures accelerating.

Saturday’s round included a fluctuating leader board full of the ubiquitous Augusta roars and the big names making their move on Moving Day. With the exception of one name, Tiger Woods. Yep, the guy with four green jackets. The same dude that won two weeks ago at Bay Hill. By five strokes. That guy.

What happened to him? No one really knows. We can all speculate til we’re blue in the face. I don’t think even he knows what happened. But what we saw over the weekend is proof that he still isn’t “back.” Will he ever be the same again? Only time will tell. When Tiger was piling up major after major,  his fellow competitors wilted at the sign and sound of his name on the leader board. Guys choked when they heard the roars only Tiger could produce. They choked, Tiger won. It was simple as that. Now, it’s almost like roles have reversed.

Golf is great for that exact reason. The  young studs on tour have no fear and they have proved it. Just ask Keegan Bradley who’s batting .500 in his professional career for majors. Last I checked, that’s the best percentage on tour. Yes, he’s only played in two majors, but you get my point. These young guys are good!

Another guy that is pretty good is the naturally talented, long hitting left-hander, Bubba Watson. I mean, the guy sports an entirely pink driver! So much pink that it makes Paula Creamer jealous. You know a guy that uses a pink driver is fully comfortable in his own skin and more importantly, confident in his game. Confidence is priceless at Augusta.

Bubba owns his unique swing. He’s never had a formal lesson nor ever watched his swing on video. I don’t think he’d even want to watch that video. Augusta is all about the second shot. Ball striking needs to be at a premium and putting needs to be spot on. Bubba had both in high gear and he wasn’t going away. After Louie’s albatross on the par 5 second, which I’m still replaying in my head, Bubba kept his head down and stayed the course.

Literally.

Reeling off four straight birdies on the back nine, Watson found himself tied for the lead after the par 3 16th. Louie and Bubba parred the final two holes and were off to the 18th tee again to start the playoff. Both parred the first  hole in sudden death, so off to the 10th we go. Bubba finally had enough nonsense and decided to make things interesting. And tough. Pulling his drive way left and with his ball resting on pine needles, Watson’s only shot was to hook his ball 40 yards hoping to hit the green. Not only did he pull it off, he put it to within 15 feet. Louie failed to get up and down short of the green and Watson two putted for the win for his first major championship and the coveted green jacket.

Masters week also meant the kiddos here in San Diego were grinding themselves for spots in the upcoming Callaway Junior World Golf Championships, July 10-13. Oaks North held qualifiers on April 1 for boys and girls, 12 and under. As an instructor, I love watching junior golf. The practice greens and driving range were saturated with kids hailing from different parts of the globe. It’s really neat to see a diverse group of young talent displaying their precocious, yet budding personalities.

The qualifier, showcased by the San Diego Junior Golf Association, brought out some great local talent. Winning the girls division, ages 11-12, was local San Diegan, Waverly Whiston. Coming in with an impressive score of -4(56) in the boys division, ages 11-12, was Palm Desert resident, Charles Reiter. Fully clad in Payne Stewart knickers and hat, this colorful kid will be someone to watch out for come tournament time.

Junior golf is rapidly growing into a world-wide interest. An astonishing fifty-four nations have been represented by these youngsters and continues to grow each year. This year won’t be different. Come summer time, San Diego County will be cluttered with future PGA & LPGA stars. With ten local golf courses hosting different age groups, you won’t have to travel far to watch the youthful presence of transcendent swings and pubescent golfers.

These kids want your attention and I think they deserve it. Do yourself a favor and get out to your local muni or country club to catch the future of golf. While you’re at it, tee it up  yourself. You can thank me later. Need I remind you we live in “America’s Greatest City!” That’s code for, “We are lucky, now go play golf!” And watch out for those kids practicing for the tournament. If you find one of them in your foursome, save your Nassau money. My $5 bet is they’d take your money.

Hit ’em straight!

Eddie