Team for Carolinas-Virginias Jr. Matches

Pictured from top (L-R): Grant Powell, Walter Brinker, Zack Gordon, Fulton Smith, Ryan Marter, Matthew Sharpstene, Carson Ownbey, Levi Moody

Scoring Site

SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. -- (August 4, 2016) Reigning North Carolina Junior Boys' champion Grant Powell of Greensboro, N.C. headlines a group of eight junior golfers will represent the Carolinas against their Virginia and West Virginia counterparts at the 34th Carolinas-Virginias Junior Team Matches, set for Saturday-Sunday, August 6-7 at River Landing (River) in Wallace, N.C.

This annual team match competition is conducted by the Carolinas Golf Association in conjunction with the Virginia and West Virginia Golf Associations. The event alternates between its traditional Virginia home of Boonsboro Country Club and sites in the Carolinas. When the matches were last held at River Landing in 2014, the Carolinas team edged out a 9-7 victory to retain the Vinny Giles Cup for the fourth consecutive year. At last year's matches at Boonsboro Country Club, the Virginias team snapped the Carolinas winning streak by virtue of a 9.5 to 6.5 victory.

The championship format consists of foursome (starting at 8:20 a.m.) and four-ball competition (beginning at approximately 1:20 p.m.) scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 6, followed by eight singles matches, which get underway at 7:50 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 7.

A total of 16 points are awarded with each match being worth one point. The Carolinas need 8.5 points to win back the Vinny Giles Cup while the Virginias need to win 8 points to retain the trophy. Each team is selected based on their participation and finishes in junior championship over the past six months administered by the Carolinas Golf Association, the Virginia State Golf Association and the West Virginia State Golf Association.

Carolinas leads the all-time series 17-15-1.

Carolinas Team Roster

Walter Brinker of Sanford, N.C.: 18-year-old Brinker won the 2015 CGA Dogwood State Junior Boys' and qualified for the U.S. Junior. Ranked 22nd in N.C. by the Tarheel Youth Golf Association (TYGA), he will play golf for Appalachian State in the fall.

Zack Gordon of Gaffney, S.C.: This summer the 16-year-old rising junior won the Carolinas Junior PGA and advanced to the semifinals of the CGA S.C. Junior Match Play. Gordon is ranked 5th in S.C.

Ryan Marter of Columbia, S.C.: The 17-year-old rising senior at A.C. Flora was named to the 2016 All-Midlands Golf Team. Ranked 12th in S.C., Marter advanced to the semifinals of the CGA S.C. Junior Match Play.

Levi Moody of Greenville, S.C.: The 16-year-old rising junior is ranked 3rd in S.C. In 2016 Moody has collected two victories (GSA Winter Classic and PGA Superstore - Legacy on the Lake) and three runner-up finishes.

Carson Ownbey of Candler, N.C.: The 17-year-old rising junior currently ranks 10th in N.C. Ownbey qualified for the 2016 U.S. Junior and had top-10 showings at the TYGA North State High School Invitational and CGA Creed Boys' Invitational.

Grant Powell of Greensboro, N.C.: A recent graduate of Northwest Guilford, Powell earned the conference's Player of the Year honors. Powell most recently won the 2016 NC Junior Boys Match-play Championship while also recording four wins, five runner-up, and two third-place finishes in the 2015-16 Tarheel Junior Tour. Following the conclusion of the tour, Powell was named the Golf Pride MVP and Player of the Year. The 18-year-old, currently ranked 9th in N.C., will play for Greensboro College this fall.

Matthew Sharpstene of Asheville, N.C.: The 17-year-old rising senior has committed to playing golf at West Virginia University. Ranked 32nd in N.C., this year Sharpstene earned Citizen-Times All-WNC Player of the Year honors and qualified for the U.S. Junior.

Fulton Smith of Pinehurst, N.C.: At 15-years-old, Smith, a rising high school sophomore is the youngest player on the roster. Currently ranked 12th in N.C., Fulton captured the Tarheel Golf Foundation's Junior Championship in March then finished third in April's TYGA Pinecrest High School Invitational.

Team captain: Tom Thorpe of Clemmons, N.C.

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 www.carolinasgolf.org.

 

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