Players to Watch at 68th Carolinas Junior Boys'

Defending champion Jacob Bridgeman of Inman, S.C.

SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. (July 20, 2017) -- The Carolinas Golf Association's 68th Carolinas Junior Boys' Championship will take place July 25-27 at Cabarrus Country Club in Concord, N.C. A total of 148 boys will be participating.

The Carolinas Junior Boys' format is 54-holes of stroke play. The field will be reduced to the low 60 and ties after 36 holes.

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

Top Ranked Players to Watch:

Defending champion Jacob Bridgeman, 17, of Inman, S.C. returns to defend his title. "Last year's tournament helped me prove my game was where it needed to be," remarked Bridgeman, a Clemson University commit. "It was fun seeing how deep I could go and how much I could win by." Currently second in the S.C. junior rankings, Bridgeman broke a ten-year-old tournament record at the Blade Junior Golf Classic on Wednesday, with a two-day total of 11-under, 131 overall.

A.J. Beechler of Pinehurst, N.C., is currently ranked second in the N.C. Junior Boys' Rankings. The UNC-Greensboro commit finished 8th at last month's North Carolina Amateur Championship. Beechler, 17, also claimed the Pinecrest High School Invitational in April and the 4A Boys' State Championship in May. He currently has nine top-10 finishes on the year.

Levi Moody of Greenville, S.C. is third in the S.C. Junior Boys' rankings and finished third in last year's championship, finishing with a three-day total of 71-73-72--216. Moody, 17, also recorded a second place finish at the Carolinas PGA Junior Championship at the end of June. Just two days later, he qualified for the Big "I", the nation's largest junior stroke-play golf tournament.

Last year's runner-up Zack Gordon, 17, of Gaffney, S.C. ranks fourth in the S.C. Junior Boys' standings and finished alone in second at the Blade Junior Golf Classic this past Wednesday with four-under-par, 138 overall. At last year's championship, Gordon birdied four of the first six holes to begin his final round. Last week, he won his first CGA championship at the South Carolina Junior Match Play. The Clemson University commit has 12 top-10 finishes in 2017.

Fulton Smith, 16, of Pinehurst, N.C. has committed to play golf at Wake Forest and is fourth in the latest N.C. Junior Boys' Rankings. In 2016, the rising high school junior was victorious at the CGA Dogwood State Junior Boys' Championship.

Chris Kim, 16, of Cary, N.C. is ranked fifth among junior golfers in North Carolina and has three first-place finishes this year. They include: the North Carolina Junior Golf Foundation - UNC Spring, Independent - Neuse High School Invitational, and the NCHSAA - 4A Mideast Regional. As the youngest player in last week's Carolinas Amateur, Kim made the cut and placed T26.

East Carolina commit Jack Massei of Cary, N.C. is sixth in the N.C. Junior Boys' Rankings. The 18-year-old recently competed in the U.S. Junior Amateur in Andover, Kansas. This past spring, Massei finished third in the CGA Jimmy Anderson Boys’ Invitational, the Carolinas-Georgia Junior and the NCHSAA 4A state championship. In 2015, he won the 48th NC Junior Boys' Championship.

College of Charleston commit Brady Hinkle, 17, of Lancaster made the semifinals of last week's South Carolina Junior Match Play Championship. He was also a runner-up at the Creed Junior Boys' in May. Currently, he is ranked as the sixth junior golfer in S.C.

Holden Grigg, 17, of Myrtle Beach, S.C. is ranked seventh among junior golfers in South Carolina and won the Carolinas PGA Junior last month. In May, he won the High School 4A State Championship.

Michael Sanders, 17, is eighth in the N.C. Junior Boys' Rankings. A rising high school senior, Sanders captured the NCISSA - 3A Boys' State Championship in May. He also won the Charlotte Observer's Boys' Golfer of the Year Award for 2016.

Scoring will be provided by the CGA throughout the championship, offering 9 and 18-hole updates. Live updates will also be available on the CGA’s official Twitter, @CarolinasJunior. Continue to visit the CGA website throughout this championship and all year long for complete championship coverage including scores, interviews, photos, and recaps.

 

Championship Facts

Event: 68th Carolinas Junior Boys' Championship

Playing Dates: July 25-27

Host Site: Cabarrus Country Club, Concord, N.C.
6,986 yards, par 72.

Defending Champion: Jacob Bridgeman of Inman, SC
Format: 54-holes of stroke play. The field will be reduced to the low 60 and ties after 36 holes.
Eligibility: Entry is open to any male amateur golfer who has not reached his 19th birthday by July 27, 2017, who has not started college, is a legal resident of North Carolina or South 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 18.4.

 

Schedule of rounds

Tuesday, July 25
7:30 a.m. – 9:09 a.m. Round 1 starting times
11:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Players’ lunch
12:00 p.m. – 1:48 p.m. Round 1 starting times

Wednesday, July 26
7:30 a.m. – 9:09 a.m. Round 2 starting times
11:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Players’ lunch
12:00 p.m. – 1:48 p.m. Round 2 starting times

Thursday, July 27
7:30 a.m. – 9:15 a.m. Final round starting times
12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Players’ lunch
2:00 p.m. Awards presentation

 

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 48 championships and five team match competitions for men, women, juniors, and seniors. It also runs over 150 One-Day (net and gross) events as well as 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 nearly $2,000,000 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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