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Powell Produces NC Junior Boys' Title
Grant Powell of Colfax grabs first CGA title
WILSON, N.C. (June 24, 2016) -- Semifinal and final match results from the 49th North Carolina Junior Boys' Championship hosted by Wilson Country Club in Wilson, NC on Friday, June 24th (6774 yards, Par 36-36—72, Rating: 73.0/135).
Grant Powell of Colfax played 113 holes over four days of competition at Wilson Country Club before being crowned the 49th North Carolina Junior Boys' champion. Over his final 33 holes, Powell lost just four. The champion is going to have a difficult time driving away from Wilson Country Club for the last time this week. “Wilson is a great town full of great people. Without all of the help I got from them I would not have been successful. I would like to thank Wilson Country Club for the awesome week,” Powell said after clinching the championship.
Related: Photos | Interviews | Scoring & Matches | Championship History
Semifinals:
Ben Woodruff of Huntersville vs. Alex Goff of Kings Mountain
Grant Powell of Colfax vs. Rhodes Karriker of Matthews
Prior to leaving Wilson Country Club after his win in the quarterfinals Thursday, Grant Powell of Colfax preached about the importance of fairways and greens. Perhaps his opponent in the semifinals, Rhodes Karriker of Matthews overheard him. Combined, the two hit 12 of 14 fairways on the front nine and 16 of 18 greens in regulation. However, neither player was able to garner much momentum with their putters. Powell took an early lead when Karriker missed the green and was unable to get up-and-down on the par-3 3rd. The recent high school graduate extended his lead with a birdie on No. 8. Karriker was unable to make up any ground despite a birdie on the par 5, 12th. The rising senior missed his first fairway of the day on No. 13 when his drive ended up in the hazard to the right of the fairway. Powell took advantage with another birdie to extend his lead to three-up. Karriker continued to apply pressure with a birdie on the par 5, 14th but Powell, who has not lost a hole since the 3rd hole of his quarterfinal match, made a birdie of his own. After sharing pars on No. 15, the Greensboro College commit closed out the match with his fourth birdie in five holes to win 3&2. Coming into the match, Powell knew Karriker would be a tough competitor. “It was a tough match overall because I knew he would hit fairways and greens and I had to come back and do the same. All day was a grind out there but finishing 4 under for 16 holes helped a lot.” Though it seems like Powell dominated the match for most of the day, Powell recalls how Karriker continued to put up a fight. “The match was back-and-forth all day. Somebody had to make putts out there and luckily it was me.” As Powell prepares for his final match this afternoon, he plans on continuing the same mindset that he has had all week. “My mindset is just going out there and having fun. Whoever plays me in the next match will be fun no matter what and I wish them the best. It will be an honor to compete in the finals.”
Ben Woodruff of Huntersville defeated Alex Goff of Kings Mountain 1 up in the semifinals. The match was back and forth on the front nine until Goff won No. 6 and 7 to put Woodruff down two heading to the back nine. Although down two, Woodruff was not discouraged. “All week I’ve played the back nine really well so I felt confident in being able to put together a good nine holes.” The momentum in the match clearly swung Woodruff’s way after birding No. 11 and eagling No. 12 and pulling the match back to all square. Woodruff birdied No. 15 to gain the lead and then missed a three-footer on No. 17 to give it right back. Heading into No. 18 the two were all square until Woodruff rolled in a five-footer for par on the 18th to win the match and earn a spot in the semifinals. When asked what was going through his mind on the winning putt, Woodruff said he felt confident. “My putting wasn’t its best today compared to the other days this week but I was confident. I just thought about putting a good stroke on it and putting it in the back of the cup, and that’s what I did.” As for this afternoon, Woodruff says he’s sticking to his game plan. “I’m not going to change my mindset for this afternoon compared to all of the other matches (that I’ve played this week). Grant is a great player so I need to put together a solid 18 holes, if that, to take him down. I just need to stick with the game plan and get after it.”
Finals
Ben Woodruff of Huntersville vs. Grant Powell of Colfax
The fairways and greens mantra Grant Powell of Colfax rode all the way to the finals suddenly abounded the recent high school graduate on the first hole of the Final Round match. “I have never been more nervous in junior golf then on No. 1” Powell said. Powell’s approach missed badly to the right of the green, an unfamiliar sight after hitting 15 of 16 green in regulation during his semifinal match. The other finalist, Ben Woodruff of Huntersville hit a squirrely approach shot of his own. However, the rising high school junior hit a marvelous recovery shot to earn a conceded par and a one-up lead. Both players took advantage of their opponent’s bogeys on Nos. 3 and 4 leaving Woodruff one-up through four. “When I was down I knew I just had to get back to hitting fairways and greens,” Powell said. The No. 10 seed knocked in the first birdie of the day in on No. 5 to square the match. Woodruff looked to have the advantage on the par-5 7th when he reached in two but Powell made his birdie putt to take his first lead of the afternoon after Woodruff missed practically the same putt. The Greensboro College commit clung on to his one-up lead at the turn before making his move.
Powell slid in his third birdie of the day to go two-up. Woodruff was in a difficult position on the par-3 11th but showed his touch with a delicate chip inside of five feet before ultimately missing the par putt and giving Powell a three-up lead. Powell kept his foot on the gas and made yet another birdie on No. 12 to push his lead to four-up. “I’ve been comfortable all week when I am in the fairway and on the green so I am glad I got comfortable out there even though it took a while,” Powell said. With his back against the wall Woodruff made his situation even worse when his drive ended up in the lateral hazard that runs up the right side of the 13th hole. Nevertheless, the 16-year-old made a fantastic par and won the hole after Powell was unable to come up with a sand save. Woodruff continued his battle back by reaching the par-5 14th in two, making birdie, and trimming his deficit to two-down. After winning two previous matches 1up on No. 18, Woodruff looked like he might get the Final Round to the last hole. “I have always had that competitive edge. I’m never one to be a quitter so I kept fighting,” Woodruff said. With the momentum beginning to slip away Powell regained control of the match when he hit his approach on No. 15 to two feet. “It was a 132 yard 9-iron, my caddie Jake Taylor told me to hit it past the hole and it would spin back and it worked out well,” Powell said. That birdie gave him a three-up lead with three to play. Woodruff made a six footer for par on No. 16 and had to wait to see if that would be enough to get to the 17th hole. It was not, Powell calmly stepped up and sank his four footer for par to become the 49th North Carolina Junior Boys Champion.
Despite beating him 3&2 Powell was quick to recognize the promising future in store for his opponent, “Ben has a bright future in life and in college golf,” Powell said. “When I got a couple of putts to drop and started advancing I felt like I really had a chance. Even though I did not win there is a lot to take away from this. I feel like I played 114 holes of good golf,” Woodruff said when reflecting on his run to the finals. The champion is going to have a difficult time driving away from Wilson Country Club for the last time this week. “Wilson is a great town full of great people. Without all of the help I got from them I would not have been successful. I would like to thank Wilson Country Club for the awesome week,” Powell said after clinching the championship.
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49th North Carolina Junior Boys' Championship
Wilson Country Club
June 24, 2016
| Round -- (Semifinal) | ||||
| (41) Ben Woodruff, Huntersville, N.C. (2018) def. (5) Alex Goff, Kings Mountain, N.C. (2018), 1 up | ||||
| (10) Grant Powell, Colfax, N.C. (2016) def. (43) Rhodes Karriker, Matthews, N.C. (2017), 3 and 2 | ||||
| Round -- (Final) | ||||
| (10) Grant Powell, Colfax, N.C. (2016) def. (41)Ben Woodruff, Huntersville, N.C. (2018), 3 and 2 | ||||
About Wilson Country Club
Wilson Country Club was opened in May 1915 on the site that is currently known as Willow Springs Country Club. The club grew at a rapid rate following WWII and the size of the membership eventually grew too large for its initial home. Unable to expand the facilities, the club moved across town to its current site in 1973. Mr. William Byrd designed the new layout that we are so proud of today. Mr. Byrd designed and remodeled over 100 golf courses during his career which panned nearly five decades. His Wilson Country Club design still receives rave reviews for its beauty and overall playability. We have hosted eight Carolinas Golf Association majors: 2010 NC Men’s Amateur, 2009 NCWGA Ladies’ State Amateur, several US Open qualifiers, Web.Com Tour qualifiers, our annual Two Ball Invitational and The Buddy, our annual Pro-Am Invitational.
Wilson Country Club underwent a renovation in 2005 to modernize the course and improve the putting surfaces. The renowned architect Mr. John Lafoy was chosen to do the renovation and work began in May, 2005. John Lafoy has redesigned over 100 golf courses throughout the country and has redesigned many classic layouts, including those of architects A.W. Tillinghast, Alistair Mackenzie, Seth Raynor, Charles Blair MacDonald and numerous Donald Ross designs. The redesign of Wilson Country Club has certainly made it one of the finest golf courses in North Carolina.
About the Carolinas Golf Association (CGA)
The CGA is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit educational organization that was founded in 1909 to promote and to protect the game of golf in the Carolinas by providing competitions, education, support and benefits to golf clubs and golfers. The CGA is the second largest golf association in the country with over 700 member clubs represented by nearly 150,000 individuals.
The CGA annually conducts 43 championships and five team match competitions for men, women, juniors, and seniors. It also runs over 140 One-Day (net and gross) events and qualifying for USGA national championships. The CGA serves golf in the Carolinas with numerous programs such as: the USGA Handicap System; tournament management software and support; course measuring and course/slope ratings; agronomy consultation; answers about the Rules of Golf, Rules of Amateur Status, and Handicapping; Carolinas Golf Magazine; Interclub series; Tarheel Youth Golf Association; Carolinas Golf Hall of Fame; expense assistance for USGA Junior and Girls' Junior qualifiers from the Carolinas; and the Carolinas Golf Foundation (CGF). The CGF has distributed more than $1,500,000 since 1977 to benefit Carolinas' golf initiatives including junior and women's programs.
For more information about the CGA, visit our website.
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