Columbia Station, OH – November 16, 2016 – First the Cavs came from a 3-1 deficit to win the NBA Finals. Then, the Cleveland Indians won the American League pennant. Now, another Northeast Ohio based team has a chance to win a National Title. On November 19, Mallard Creek’s PGA Jr. League team will compete for a national championship in Scottsdale, Arizona. This is the second year in a row that Mallard Creek’s team will represent both Ohio and and The Mideast Region at the National Championship.
The PGA Junior League was first brought to Mallard Creek two years ago. Mallard Creek’s Head Golf Professional, Jim Wise, joined forces with Chris Reed, Director of the US Kids Golf Tour in Cleveland and formed a 14 person team. The players and families enjoyed the program and had some success. The team went undefeated in the regular season and the all-star team advanced to Nationals, finishing fourth in the country in 2015!
The PGA Junior League is a national program that began 4 years ago. It was designed to bring the concept of little league baseball to golf. Golf courses form teams of 10-14 players. Ages of the players range from 9-13 years old and both boys and girls are welcome to play. Area courses then form a league and each team plays every other team in that league. The main goal of the program is to have FUN. Matches are played as two-person scrambles.
The members of the All-Star team are: Nicholas Piesen, Topher Reed, Michael Lee, Grant Gobezie, Gaege Gobezie, Josh Wright, Blaze Tanner, Solomon Petrie, Mason Witt, Ben Basta, and Alternate – Samantha Webb. This is a great group of kids who have worked hard to get back to The National Championship and their work has certainly paid off.
“Our league at Mallard this year was a blast. Some of the 62 players have been golfing for several years, some have just been playing a few years and some were just getting started. That allowed us to put players of different abilities on each team which created the perfect opportunity for the older kids to mentor the younger players and for the younger players to be inspired and learn the game. The 11 juniors on the post-season team are a group of special kids. They have all found an interest in golf through several avenues. Most of them were introduced to golf by their parents or grandparents but a few found golf thru the First Tee program and through friends. They have all taken a keen interest in golf and love the game. And as you can see from reaching the Nationals in two straight years, they have become pretty good at the game,” reflects Jim Wise.
Jonathan Palmer, General Manager at Mallard Creek Golf Club, explains, “This has been a really cool and fun thing to be a part of these past couple of years. We are always looking for new avenues to grow the game, so we were happy to host a team in 2015. But, what was even better was seeing the league expand from 14 players in 2015 to 62 players in 2016! To be a part of growing the game is great and seeing these kids and their families having fun is even better. I can’t wait to see what they do in Arizona this month!”
We can’t wait to see what Mallard Creek’s PGA Junior League team does in Arizona, either.
Another championship may very well be headed to Northeast Ohio.
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