Preview: 52nd NC Junior Boys' Championship

 

SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. (June 24, 2019) -- The Carolinas Golf Association will conduct the 52nd North Carolina Junior Boys' Championship at Lonnie Poole Golf Club in Raleigh, N.C. from June 25-28, 2019.       

Related: Championship Web Site | Full Field of Players | Starting Times | Scoring | History

Players to watch:

• Peter Fountain of Raleigh, N.C. already has several wins under his belt in 2019 including the NCHSAA - 4A East Regional, State Championship, the TYGA Pinehurst High School Invitational and the Neuse High School Invitational. Last Fall, Fountain finished in second place in both the Hope Valley Junior Invitational and the Dogwood State Junior Boys’ Championship. Fountain is the fourth-ranked golfer in the N.C. Junior Boys' Rankings; the highest-ranked player in the field.
• Garrett Risner of Holly Springs, N.C. is coming in hot off a win at the TYGA Bojangles’ Junior Open held at Jacksonville Country Club. Risner made it to the match play portion of this event last year. He is currently ranked 22nd in the N.C. Junior Boys' Rankings.
• Tyler Dechellis of Clayton, N.C. is the sixth-ranked golfer in the N.C. Junior Boys’ Rankings. Dechellis finished tied for sixth at the NCHSAA - 3A East Regional and tied for fifth at the 3A State Championship. He also finished tied for fourth at the TYGA Wedgewood Highschool Shoot Out. Dechellis made it to the round of 16 in this championship last year.
• Randall Hudson of New Bern, N.C. is currently ranked 10th in the N.C. Junior Boys’ Rankings. Hudson finished tied for second at the NCHSAA - 4A East Regional and tied for third at the 4A State Championship. Hudson has several other top ten finishes already in 2019 including a tie for fifth at both the Bojangles Junior Open and the Creed Boy’s Invitational. He also finished tied for second at the TYGA Pinehurst High School Invitational in April. Hudson also made it to the match play portion of this event last year.
• Zach Brown of Advance, N.C. has been playing some great golf lately. He finished first in the U.S. Junior Sectional Qualifying and will be competing at the championship being held at Inverness Club in July. He also finished in first place at the 2019 Carolinas Junior Boys’ PGA Championship. The win qualified him for the National Junior PGA Championship
• Eston Lee of Four Oaks, N.C. is the seventh-ranked golfer in the TYGA Junior Boys' Rankings. Lee has a plethora of top-ten finishes this year including a tie for second place at the NCHSAA - 3A East Regional, a tie for third place at the Archdale-Trinity Chamber Junior and a tie for fourth place at the UNC Tarheel Junior Championship. He also made the cut this year at both the N.C. Amateur Championship and the Carolinian Amateur Championship.
• Ethan Hall of Morehead City, N.C. is currently ranked 14th in the N.C. Junior Boys’ Rankings. Hall has several recent top-ten finishes including a tie for sixth at the NCHSAA - 3A East Regional, a tie for ninth at the Neuse High School Invitational and a tie for second at the Donald Ross Junior Championship where he shot 75-68--143 total.
• Jake Herring of Wilson, N.C. is currently ranked 15th in the N.C. Junior Boys’ Rankings. He has several first place finishes in 2019 including the NCHSAA - 3A East Regional, the Anderson Creek High School Elite and Keith Hills High School Kick Off. He also finished tied for fourth at the TYGA Wedgewood Highschool Shoutout and tied for 11th place at the Carolinian Amateur Championship.
• Caleb Surratt of Matthews, N.C. has been finding himself at the top of many leaderboards lately. He finished in first place at the Tarheel Golf Foundation’s Golf Pride Tour Championship, the UNC Tarheel Junior Championship, the NCHSAA - 1A Midwest Regional and the 1A State Championship.
• Christopher Sperrazza of Raleigh, N.C. finished in third place at the NCHSAA 4A Mideast Regional in May and made it to the round of 16 in this event last year.
• Zach Roberts of Holly Springs, N.C. won the Donald Ross Junior tournament in 2018 and earned runner-up at the NCHSAA 4A Mideast Regional in May. Roberts is looking to carry his momentum from May into this championship
• Matias La Grutta of Raleigh, N.C. has had several top-10 finishes in the past year including a tie for sixth finish at the 2018 Dogwood State Junior Boys' and a tie for seventh finish at the AJGA Rome Junior Classic in May.
• Todd Moyer of Cornelius, N.C. claimed the title at the NCISAA 4A State Champion in May. This win was preceded with two third place finishes in the TYGA Sandhills Flyers Shoot Out and Tarheel State Junior tournament.

 

Lonnie Poole Golf Club’s stunning layout was designed by Arnold Palmer and the design team at Arnold Palmer Design Company (including Erik Larsen and Brandon Johnson, both NC State graduates). The Lonnie Poole Golf Course bears distinction as the only collegiate course ever designed by golf legend, Arnold Palmer. It is a living laboratory for our academic turf sciences and water quality research in plant and soil sciences. The design represents the evolution of golf course architecture toward sustainability by fitting into and protecting the natural environment, leaning heavily on traditional Scottish designs while accommodating the natural landscape.

Championship format is match play with 18 holes of stroke play qualifying to determine the top 64 players on Tuesday, June 25. Once a player loses a match, they are eliminated from the tournament.

Entry is open to any male amateur golfer ages 8-18 as of June 28, 2019, who has not started college, is a legal resident of North Carolina, is a member in good standing of a club which is a member of the Carolinas Golf Association (CGA) and has a current USGA Handicap Index® at a CGA member club that does not exceed 18.3.

 

Schedule of rounds:
Tuesday, June 25, 2018
Stroke Play Qualifying: Tee times begin at 8:00 a.m. and 12:45 p.m.        

Wednesday, June 26, 2018
Round 1 Matches: Tee times begin at 8:00 a.m.            
Round 2 Matches: Tee times begin at 12:45 p.m.

Thursday, June 27, 2018
Round 3 Matches: Tee times begin at 8:00 a.m.
Quarterfinal Matches: Tee times begin at 12:45 p.m.

Friday, June 28, 2018
Semifinal Matches: 8:00 a.m.
Championship Match: 12:45 p.m.