The Texas Junior Golf Tour’s Elite Mini Tour hosted the The Woodlands Panther Trails Mini Tour Championship at the prestigious Woodlands Resort & Conference Center on July 26 & 27. Four mini tour players, three from the Houston area and one from the Austin area, teed it up in sunny and humid conditions in the pine trees of The Woodlands. The lone girl in the event played from 5,007 yards, the boys 8-9 division played from 3,845 yards, and the boys 12-13 division played from 5,727 yards. The mini tour players were greeted on day one with tournament gifts that included golf balls, a cap, and nice workout shirt. They teed off on the first day behind the big tour, and this caused some problems with weather. After the players completed their twelfth hole, play was halted the first time for lightning. After a short delay, players resumed play for one hole and were delayed a second time for lightning. After resuming play for the third time, players were finally forced off the course due to a huge line of thunderstorms that rolled through the area. Rather than cancel the first round, it was decided that front nine scores would count for day one. Montgomery native Hailee Cooper, playing in the girls 10-11 division, opened her front nine with a 43. In the boys 8-9 division, Jason Marsh from Cypress opened with a 49. Both of these mini tour players will be playing at US Kids Junior Championship next week in North Carolina at the famous Pinehurst course. The competition was stiff in the boys 12-13 divison. Kennedy Grimes from Austin, TX, opened with a 41, while Cole Hammer, fresh off a long stint from tournament baseball, opened with a 43.
On day two, the mini tour players were the leaders in the field as far as pace of play is concerned. With an eight o’clock shotgun, each group of mini tour players began their round on the difficult par four eighteenth hole. With no players in front of them, each group of mini tour players played in an incredible three hours and forty five minutes. This allowed them to beat the inclement weather that blew through the area again at approximately 1 pm. Part of the reason the mini tour players played so quickly is because they played some great golf. With the course being softened due to the rains that blew through the area the day before, the mini tour players were faced with a much longer course than the yardage shows. Not only were they faced with difficult length, they were also faced with hard fast greens. While the rains dampened the fairways, they didn’t seem to have any effect on the greens. Hailee Cooper fired an impressive second round 83 that included a birdie on the long par three fifth hole. She also posted a 40 on her back nine to finish strong and win the title. Jason Marsh in the boys 8-9 division, fired a second round 100 to win his division. Jason played a good round of golf under difficult conditions. In the boys 12-13, Kennedy Grimes began the day with a two stroke lead, and finished the day with a two stroke lead. Both Grimes and Cole Hammer fired second round 83’s to keep the margin exactly as it was the day before. Grimes struggled on the front nine and actually gave up the lead, but roared back on the back nine to shoot 39 and claim the victory. Hammer had nothing worse than a bogey on his round. Both of these young men played a great round of golf on the difficult Panther Trails course.
This event marks the last event of the year for the Elite Mini Tour. Please continue to check the website for upcoming events. The schedule for the 2010-2011 season should be up no later than August 1st. Also, check the website for upcoming registration for the 2010-2011 year. A special thanks goes to the parents that caddied for these young men and lady, helping to get them around the course in such a timely fashion. A special thanks also goes to Mrs. Marsh for providing the staff with homemade muffins on day one and bagels on day two.
Girls 10-11:
1st Hailee Cooper Montgomery, TX 2018 42 83 125
Boys 8-9:
1st Jason Marsh Cypress, TX 2019 49 100 149
Boys 12-13:
1st Kennedy Grimes Austin, TX 2015 41 83 124
2nd Cole Hammer Houston, TX 2018 43 83 126
