AJGA Blog

News and Notes: FJ Invitational (Final Round)

By Chris Richards, AJGA Communications

The headlines will read the same: Matthew NeSmith won the FJ Invitational, thus earning him a spot in the PGA TOUR’s Wyndham Championship. Beyond the scorecard, the news reads like this:

Five years, five exemptions

The FJ Invitational champion has represented the AJGA at the Wyndham Championship each year since 2008. During that four-year span, Cameron Peck (2008), Justin Thomas (2009), Tanner Kesterson (2010) and Billy Kennerly (2011) have compiled a 70.78 scoring average at the TOUR’s regular-season finale.

A world-class golfer and a Class A pitcher

As the third-round leader, NeSmith had the opportunity to throw the ceremonial first pitch at Thursday night’s Greensboro Grasshoppers baseball game. When asked which was more nervous on the golf course or the diamond: “Definitely the diamond. I haven’t thrown a baseball in five years; I hit a golf ball every day of my life.”

‘Yeung’ competitor, old friend

To say the NeSmith-Yeung dual was a battle between friends would be an understatement. The two high school seniors have played with each other on several occasions, including as teammates at the 2011 Wyndham Cup and as foes at the 2011 Polo Golf Junior Classic. “It’s hard because I like him so much and we’re really good friends, and you want to talk and joke but it’s intense,” said NeSmith, who beat Yeung, 3 and 2, in the first round at Polo Golf Junior Classic. “You want to win and you know he wants to beat you, and I want to beat him. It’s definitely tough and not a position I’d want to be in, but I’ll take it.”

News and Notes: FJ Invitational Third Round

Written by Caleb Barron and Colvin Hedgepeth

Here are the top stories from the third round of the FJ Invitational:

PUTTING UNDER PRESSURE

Three months removed from a broken wrist, Jake Shuman, of Needham, Mass., stood on the 18^th green, staring down one of the biggest shots of his golf career.

“I had an idea I was close to the cut line,” Shuman said. “I’ve never had that feeling before, except for on the practice green saying, ‘This is for the Masters.’”

Shuman calmly approached his 25-foot putt, struck the ball with confidence and rammed it into the cup for a closing birdie, giving him a 54-hole total of 222.

Whispers amongst a smartphone-filled gallery noted Shuman had just moved above the projected cut line. Two hours later, he had officially made the final round of the FJ Invitational.

Playing in his first Invitational - he qualified for FJ by winning the 2011 Killington Junior Golf Championship – Shuman said making the cut boosted his confidence.

“The added exposure is nice,” Shuman said. “I’m happy to stay another night.”

Jake Shuman remained calm despite making his Invitational debut. With his third-round birdie on No. 18, Shuman became one of 51 players to make the cut into the final round of the 2012 FJ Invitational.

LEADERSHIP LINKS

Several players in the field are carding birdies for reasons beyond just a low score. Michael Pisciotta of Alpharetta, Ga., is working with the Children’s Tumor Foundation for our Leadership Links program, with a goal of raising $10,000. He stands in third place after the third round of competition, and has scored significant funds for his charity. His 2012 per-birdie pledge is $65, and so far he’s tallied 10 birdies. Read more about his fundraising efforts here.

Jake Goodman of San Antonio, has also added to his charity donations this week. He’s contributed $1,900 to CureSearch for Children’s Cancer in 2012.  His per-birdie pledge of $25 came into play in the third round when he recorded four birdies in his round of 2-over-par 72.

RECRUITING WONDERS

Competing in the Invitational isn’t the only opportunity players can seize this week. Recruiting chances are plentiful, ranging from additional tournament invites to college scholarships.

AJGA Wyndham Cup captains Mark Oskarson & Jason Miller were set up at the first tee recruiting juniors to play at Wyndham during the first two rounds. They headed to Rolex Girls in Bradenton, Fla., Wednesday afternoon to recruit girls for the team match play tournament.

Numerous college coaches have appeared on the scene, representing an array of conferences and regions. FJ Invitational provides exposure to the top male players in the game, and allows them to track performances over four rounds of competition. About 30 coaches have checked in, making the stakes of this competition that much higher.

CARDINAL CONNECTION

Grayson Murray is the only participant at this year’s FJ Invitational that also played at the 2011 Cardinal Amateur, which has been held annually at Cardinal Golf & Country Club since 1978. In August, Murray moved into the top 20 after carding a final-round 68, which gave him a 3-over-par 213 total and secured his automatic invitation into the 2012 Cardinal Amateur.

Short Game Savant

By James Millard

Short game wins championships, including recreational ones.

Members of the AJGA staff organized a Bunker, Pitch, and Putt competition for those playing in the FJ Invitational following round 1 of the event.  Involving three stages and over 30 participants, each person had to hit a golf ball out of a greenside bunker, over a greenside bunker, and attempt a coast-to-coast, 109-foot putt.

Scoring for the competition was done in the following manner:

· If a player’s ball was more than five feet away from the hole, his score was five feet

· If a player missed the green, his score was 10 feet

· If a player’s ball was five feet or less away from the hole, his distance from the hole was also his score

· The winner was the person with the least total distance after all three sections

Bunker shots were made especially difficult with a gallery of players, coaches, parents, and staff watching from a close distance. The crowd, however, proved to be a meaningless distraction after Michael Pisciotta, Tyler McDaniel, Jake McBride, and Matt Gilchrest all holed out from the sand, taking an early lead after the first station.

Tyler McDaniel of Manchester, Ky., was able to take control of his momentum, placing his final putt within three feet of the hole, close enough to secure the victory. With the win came a Scotty Cameron putter of his choice. Matt Gilchrest of Southlake, Texas, placed second and took home personalized MyJoys.

Brad Dalke (pictured hitting) was one of 36 juniors who played in the Bunker, Pitch and Putt competition.

News and Notes: FJ Invitational

Written by Caleb Barron and Colvin Hedgepeth

The 2012 FJ Invitational will mark the 11th playing of one of the AJGA’s most prestigious tournaments. For the fifth straight year, the event’s champion will be awarded a sponsor’s exemption to the Wyndham Championship (August 13-19). Here are thoughts from the first round at Cardinal Golf & Country Club in Greensboro, N.C.:

Atlantic Coast Contingent: 13 players in the field have made a commitment to play college golf in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Wake Forest (Tanner Owen, Grayson Murray, Clancy Waugh) and North Carolina State (Chad Cox, Stanhope Johnson, Jake McBride) both have three future players in the field. Commitments from Florida State, North Carolina, Clemson, Duke, Georgia Tech and Virginia are also represented.

McConnell Golf Volunteers: Even though the FJ Invitational is on a one-year hiatus from the Sedgefield Country Club, members of the club are still showing their support of the event. A joint-effort between Sedgefield and Cardinal Golf & Country Club members make up the event’s volunteer base, serving as host families, walking scorers and official timers.

First Tee Comes to FJ: Members of the First Tee of the Triad participated in the Junior-Am Fundraising Tournament. Anthony Akins, Noah Dunn and Lindsey Ball competed on a team with the No. 1 golfer in the Polo Golf Junior Rankings, Shun Yat Hak. The team shot 9-under-par 61 in a shamble format.

Pictured above (from left to right): Anthony Akins, Shun Yat Hak, Noah Dunn and Lindsey Ball

Sights set on Wyndham Cup

Tiger Woods, Rickie Fowler, Stewart Cink, Hunter Mahan.

For Chad Cox of Charlotte, N.C., and Byron Meth of San Diego, the possibility of adding their names to this list of notable Wyndham Cup participants is becoming more of a reality with each tournament played.

Heading into the FJ Invitational, Meth and Cox were both No. 18 on the Priority List and had work to do to make the Wyndham Cup teams, which will be finalized in less than a month.

“I have this tournament and Rolex Tournament of Champions to try to get on the team, and I really want to make the top eight,” Meth said.

Aside from the honor of playing in such a prestigious event, both players said they think participating would help them as they play at the next level.

“It’d be really fun to go out there and have fun in a tournament and not worry about, in this case making a cut, and to not be worrying about yourself but to worry about your team,” said Cox, who has verbally committed to NC State. “It gets you prepared for college golf.”

Meth, who has signed a National Letter of Intent to play at the University of the Pacific in the fall, echoed Cox’s sentiment.

“It’s a whole different vibe in the tournament because you’re rooting for one another, instead of a tournament like this where you want other guys to do well but you really want to do better yourself,” Meth said. “It’d be nice preparation going into college.”

Heading into the final round of the FJ Invitational at Sedgefield Country Club, Meth and Cox find themselves tied for second, six shots off the lead. With a PGA TOUR exemption on the line, Friday’s final round could pay even bigger dividends for these two Wyndham Cup hopefuls.

By Ben Marshall, AJGA Communications

One week, two cuts

On Saturday, Cory Sciupider finished on top in the Tarheel Youth Golf Association Qualifier to earn his spot in the FJ Invitational, shooting an impressive 6-under-par 29 in the rain-shortened qualifier at Sedgefield Country Club.

Now, Sciupider survived the 54-hole cut and earned his spot in the final round of his first Invitational and third AJGA tournament.

“This is definitely a special event,” he said. “It’s a lot different than the other AJGA events, but it’s a lot of fun.”

Last year, he finished fifth at the Woodward Video Junior at The Greenbrier and was the first-round leader at the Golf Pride Junior Classic. Sciupider, who lives 200 miles away from Greensboro in Etowah, N.C., hasn’t had the low score that he shot in the qualifier, but it hasn’t stopped his mother from supporting him.

“When she’s not moaning at me after missing short putts, then she’s cheering,” he said.

After three rounds, Sciupider is tied for 42^nd with an 8-over-par 218 (71-76-71) tournament total. With nothing to lose, he says he plans on playing aggressively in the final round.

“I’m just going to fire at pins and see if I can shoot in the 60s,” he said. “I’m going for everything. I’m not going to hold anything back for tomorrow. I might as well go as low as possible.”

By Tim Wing, AJGA Communications

Dalke proves age is just a number

Just two months ago, 13-year-old Brad Dalke was competing in the Under Armour® / Hunter Mahan Championship as one of the youngest juniors in the field. At the time, he was No. 858 in the Polo Golf Rankings and playing in his fifth AJGA event. Today, Dalke sits among some of the world’s best junior golfers at the FJ Invitational and has climbed to No. 7 in the Polo Golf Rankings.

Since April, Dalke finished second at the Laredo Energy Junior at Traditions and was victorious at Grayhawk Golf Club in the Thunderbird International Junior, becoming the youngest boy to win an Invitational in AJGA history.

“I went into Thunderbird just trying to get in the top half,” Dalke said. “After the first few days I had a chance to win and it was pretty fun to be able to go through from the first and last day shooting a good round felt awesome.”

As the youngest of seven children, Dalke found his niche to golf at a young age and he continues to improve as he grows older.

“My dad and I would always challenge each other,” Dalke said. “It really got my competitive spirits up.”

Dalke’s competitive edge continues to be displayed throughout his young golf career. Not only has Dalke jumped in the Polo Golf Rankings, his confidence to play with the best is always in mind.

His sights are set on earning a spot on the West Wyndham Cup Team this July, and he plans to play in tournaments ranging from the Junior PGA Championship to the Evian Masters Junior Cup in France.

“I go in there and I know I’m the youngest but I have to go in there and know that I can compete with these guys even on a bad day I’m still in there with them,” Dalke said. “You know to play your best and it doesn’t matter your age you still have to play well.”

By Denae Olberding, AJGA Communications

Kesterson’s comeback starts at Sedgefield

Tanner Kesterson’s FJ Invitational title defense started Tuesday with a ho-hum round of 72. Though he’s nine shots off the pace, his score doesn’t reflect the 246 days that have passed since he last posted an AJGA tournament round.

Last October, Tanner suffered from three fractured vertebrae when he fell off a 12-foot ledge onto concrete in a golf cart accident. Surgery wasn’t needed, but he was bedridden for six weeks and wasn’t able to walk outside the house until eight weeks after the accident.

“This is what I’ve worked for. This is what I do every day. These are my dreams, so it was tough when the doctor said it was going to be six months,” Tanner said. “It was scary, so I’m just thankful to be out here playing again. It makes me look at life a lot differently.”

He tried to play at the HP Boys Championship at Carlton Woods in February, but withdrew after nine holes. Even then, he didn’t have clearance to use every club in his bag – he couldn’t hit driver until mid-March.

“I played well with the 3-wood. It taught me how to score a little bit better, that you don’t always need to bomb it off the tee,” Tanner said.

According to his doctors, it will take 12 to 18 months for his vertebrae to completely heal. After adhering to ball count limitations for several months, Tanner can now practice at his own pace.

“I’ll feel it after a round, probably because I’m walking and I’m grinding everything out. But if I feel it, I’ll take a couple days off and just do short game,” he said. “This is something I want to do for the rest of my life so I’m not in any rush.”

A light summer schedule will include a couple amateur events, including a U.S. Amateur qualifier, but the recent high school graduate said that he’s focused on enjoying his summer before starting at Oklahoma State in the fall.

Tanner said he’s excited to be making his return at Sedgefield Country Club – a course where he claimed his first Invitational title and made his PGA TOUR debut last August. But above all else, he’s focused on the positives that have emerged from his accident last fall.

“I don’t know how most other kids would take it, but you can either take it in a negative way or a positive way. You have to look at the positive things through all of it,” Tanner said. “I just try to look at all the positives because if I look at the negatives, it’d be really hard because there are a lot of them. I just don’t think about them.”

By Chris Richards, AJGA Communications

Photo Finish – Twitter Rewind

With a sponsor’s exemption to the Wyndham Championship on the line, all six players in the final two groups had a piece of the lead during the final round at the FootJoy Invitational.

Read the updates from the AJGA’s Twitter (@AJGAGolf) and see how the exciting ending unfolded.

· Paolucci rolls in a sidehill 20 footer for birdie on No. 14 to pull within one of Kesterson.

· Kang chips in for eagle on No. 15 to get within 3 at 6-under-par.

· After stuffing his tee shot to 3 ft on No. 16, Kesterson answer back with a birdie and reclaims a one-shot lead.

· McCarthy hits his second shot on No. 15 to 15 feet...he doesn't convert the eagle, but taps in for birdie to get to 7-under.

· Paolucci fails to get up-and-down for birdie on No. 15 and settles for par on the short par 5. He remains at 8-under, 2 shots back.

· Kesterson's 3-putt on No. 17 brings him back to 9-under and in a tie with Thomas as they head to the long par-4 18th hole.

· Paolucci rolls in a 5-foot birdie putt on No. 16, which brings him to 9-under and creates a 3-way tie with 2 holes remaining.

· Kesterson pipes his drive on No. 18, Thomas finds the right rough.

· Paolucci smashes his drive on No. 17 and has only 90 yrds in to tucked back left hole location.

· From 205, Kesterson's approach finishes 15 feet behind the hole. Thomas short of the green in 2, tough third shot to front hole.

· Paolucci will have an uphill 20-ft birdie putt on No. 17.

· Thomas tries to use the ridge as a backboard, doesn't come back all the way. Will have a slippery 10 ft par putt to remain at 9.

· Kesterson's gonna give Thomas a bit of a read on his 15-ft birdie bid.

· Kesterson's birdie putt never has a chance, but easily taps in for par to post 9-under.

· While Kesterson was busy 2 putting, Paolucci dies his birdie putt in the side door to take the lead with one to go.

· Thomas also misses his putt on the low side, two putts for bogey and finishes at 8-under.

· With a 1-shot lead, Paolucci snipe hooks his drive into the trees on No. 18.

· Paolucci's drive ends up in No. 10 rough, about 50 yards left of the fairway. No chance to hit the green.

· http://twitpic.com/1xvrfo This was where Paolucci's drive ended.

· http://twitpic.com/1xvs3v After punching out, Paolucci hits hybrid right of green. Impossible up-and-down needed to force playoff.

· Pin sheet says Paolucci has 4 paces to work with. Great flop gives him a chance. Must make 18 footer for bogey and to force playoff

· Paolucci gives his bogey putt a great run, just misses on the low side. Finishes T2 with Thomas.

· Congrats to Tanner Kesterson, winner of the 2010 FootJoy Invitational and Wyndham Championship sponsor's exemption!

Helping Hands at FootJoy

I arrived to the FootJoy Invitational with an open mind. I knew I would have the pleasure of seeing some of the best junior golfers, but I never expected to hear about their incredible efforts off the course.

I helped shoot video for an AJGA video and had no idea what I was about to experience. I arrived to a driving range where Special Olympics athletes were practicing. It almost brought tears to my eyes as they each spoke about a junior, expressing their gratitude and love for him.

The junior everyone spoke so highly of was Drew Johnson, the 2010 winner of the USGA-AJGA Presidents’ Award.

The USGA-AJGA Presidents’ Award recognizes one boy and one girl junior golfer who demonstrate leadership, character and community service through their involvement with Leadership Links – a joint initiative founded in 2010 by the USGA and AJGA to further develop junior golfers through volunteerism and charitable giving.

Johnson spends time with the athletes at the driving range where he gives them lessons. He was unable to be there the day I went and you could tell he was missed. All I heard was, “Where’s Drew? Where’s Drew?”

Johnson has worked over the last eight years to raise money for the Special Olympics through his tournament. It was such an awe-inspiring experience as I was able to see the direct impact Drew has had in their lives.

“It started through a friend at church who’s a Special Olympic athlete,” Johnson said. “We all practiced down at a local driving range, so seeing what it meant to them and how much they enjoyed my company made me want to do more.”

Johnson has raised more than $20,000 from his tournament for the Special Olympics so they can continue to go on trips and buy new equipment.

“It’s a great feeling knowing you can help someone whose had obstacles in their life and can still be optimistic about it,” he said.

With hopes to make the tournament grow even more, Johnson said he plans to continue raising money for the Special Olympics.

“It’s just a great atmosphere,” he said “I’ve become great friends with all of them over the years.”

Johnson has proven himself to be more than just an avid golfer with his continuous efforts of helping others. Hearing his story inspired me to seek out ways to help others and make a difference. I can only hope that the other 98 players in the field can learn from Drew as well.

Written by Lauren Johnson, AJGA Communications