Fairway poster child reports to U.S. Army

Columbia’s youth initiative guides newly commisioned second lieutenant Priester

By BOB GILLESPIE - bgillespie@thestate.com

Danny Priester was 13 when he became the de facto “poster child” for Fairway Outreach, Columbia’s golf-based youth initiative.

Ten years later, the “child” is a man.

On June 6, Priester, 23, who grew up in north Columbia, graduated from the U.S Military Academy, and will report to Fort Benning, Ga., on Aug. 1 as a newly commissioned U.S. Army second lieutenant. At Friday night’s participants’ dinner for the Fairway Outreach City Tournament at The Windermere Club, he was honored for his accomplishments, and talked about how the program influenced his life.

“This was the guiding light for me and a lot of other inner-city guys,” he said. “It put us with a lot of good and positive people who showed us outlets to be successful. It’s been a great thing.”

Also honored were former The State columnist Bob Spear for service to the golf community; Jerry Daniel, winner of the Scott Hannon Memorial Sportsmanship Award; Windermere for hosting the past two tournaments; and the Carolinas Golf Course Superintendents Association, the David Bennett Service to Golf Award winner.

Reeves rolling. Fresh off his win at the Carolinas Golf Association S.C. Junior Championship, Greer’s Crawford Reeves added a win on his home turf, shooting 7-under-par 135 for a five-shot win against Gaffney’s Adam Goins at The Blade Junior Classic at Greer’s Thornblade Club.

In the girls division, Anna Martin of Piedmont parred the final hole to win by a shot against Lexington’s Maureen Dunnagan. Greenville’s Louise Oxner won the girls 11-13 division by four shots against Lexington’s Lauren Stephenson.

Easley’s Adam Garret defeated Trace Crowe, also of Easley, in a two-hole playoff for the boys’ 10-12 title.

Chip shots. The team of juniors from Georgia won seven of a possible eight points Saturday to win the Georgia-South Carolina Junior Challenge 11½-4½ Saturday at Hawks Ridge Golf Club in Ball Ground, Ga. Columbia’s Thomas Bradshaw halved both his matches. Columbia’s Shane Rogan went 1-1 and Mark Joy went 0-2. ... Columbia’s Toni Buerkert defeated Lela Nixon of Denver, N.C., 7 and 6, to claim the tournament division title in the Carolinas Women’s Match Play Championship in Stanley, N.C. Nixon is an aunt of PGA Tour veteran Davis Love III. ... Clemson’ Ben Martin of Greenwood earned his second consecutive berth on the All-ACC Academic golf team. A junior this fall, Martin finished 29th in the NCAA Championship. ... Summerville’s Chris Couch edged Little River’s Sam Lyons in a playoff after both shot 71 to lead 17 S.C. Amateur Championship qualifiers at the Links at Stono Ferry in Hollywood. The S.C. Amateur is Aug. 7-10 at Clinton’s Musgrove Mill GC. ... Kayla Scuipider of Etowah, N.C., won the WSCGA Junior Girls title in Santee. Aiken’s Taylor Dodson won the junior division, and Aiken’s Leigh Oakley was second among sub-juniors. ... The Carolinas GA Parent-Child Championship is Friday at Longleaf G&CC in Southern Pines, N.C. Among favorites are Rock Hill’s Gary and Katie Garahan, the 2003 winners. ... Former Coastal Carolina player Lindsay Renolds earned his second consecutive Division I All-America Scholars honor by the Golf Coaches Association of America.