Columbia squad among teams in PGA Junior regional
The youngsters come and go because of age restrictions, but the beat goes on for Tom Mason, the PGA of America professional who owns the Par Tee Golf Center in West Columbia. For the fourth time in the program’s four years, he’s guided another all-star team from a Columbia area league into the PGA Junior League regionals – one step from a shot at the national championship.
Mason, whose Columbia Par Tee All-Stars are among four teams competing this weekend in Savannah, Ga., deflects credit and said, “Making the regional is a tribute to the kids and their commitment.”
The Par Tee team won four matches, the last against a squad from Fayetteville, N.C., to advance to the regional. Only 32 teams, four in each of eight regionals, remain alive in the national title quest. Regional champions in the round-robin format advance to the national finals in Glendale, Ariz.
Mason’s first two teams lost in the regional finals, then his 2015 team qualified for the nationals and finished fifth. Four players – Matthew Hutto, Elliott Pope, Spencer Benton and Guy Buffum – return this year.
“Needless to say, getting this far is a significant achievement,” Mason said.
The PGA Junior League, sponsored by the PGA of America, has grown in each of its four years, and more than 36,000 participated this summer. Only 320, 10 on each of the 32 regional teams, still harbor national championship dreams.
The Savannah field includes teams from Columbia, Orlando, Fla., Charlotte and the Atlanta suburb of Alpharetta, Ga.
Isabella Rawl, Luke Sullivan, Liam Spilwell, Will Buffum, Cheney Connell and Kennedy Gooding join the returnees in forming the South Carolina lineup.
The PGA Junior League program focuses on players 8-13, and Mason said the area program included a couple of 6-year-olds this summer. The format calls for two-player teams – substitutions are permitted – to compete in 9-hole matches, and Mason said the four Columbia groups combined to finish 12-under par against Fayetteville. Hutto and Rawl led with way at 5-under.
Dutch Fork alums
What are the odds that players who developed their games in the same state’s junior program (South Carolina) and played on state championships teams at the same high school (Dutch Fork) would earn player of the year honors on the PGA’s top tours in the same year? Dustin Johnson (Columbia/Coastal Carolina) is in line to capture the PGA Tour’s top individual honor and Wesley Bryan (Chapin/USC) is favored to win the Web.com Tour award.
Chip shots
Brian Quackenbush (Aiken) and Todd White (Spartanburg) advanced to match-play in the U.S. Mid-Amateur in Elverson, Pa. Quckenbush won his first match before being eliminated. White dropped his first-round match. Former Clemson golfer David May (Auburn, N.Y.), a reinstated amateur, won three matches before being eliminated in the quarterfinals by eventual runner-up Scott Harvey. … In the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur in Erie, Pa., Dawn Woodard (Greer) and Lea Venables (Simpsonville) advanced to match play. Woodard won twice before falling. Venables lost in the first round. … The U.S. Senior Amateur in St. Louis began with the first of two qualifying rounds Saturday. State players in the field include Steve Liebler (Irmo), Frank Ford III (Charleston) and Geno Berchaitti (Greenville).
This story was originally published September 17, 2016 at 9:24 PM with the headline "Columbia squad among teams in PGA Junior regional."