Gary Wins 15th Annual Tom Dorsey Winter Classic in Pensacola

Today Gary won the 15th edition of this tournament at the A.C. Read Golf Course aboard the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida. This tournament is in memory of Mr. Dorsey who was an avid golf fan and supporter of youth sports in the Pensacola Area. The Dorsey family puts on this well-organized event, and this is the eighth time Gary has entered while Christmas vacationing with both sets of grandparents who live in Pensacola.

The course is in the flight path of NAS Pensacola and the Blue Angels frequently fly overhead.

On day one Gary shot a two-under par 70 (four birdies) to edge out Brandon Jowers of Fort Walton Beach by one shot and Ben Ervin of Pace High School by three shots. On the second day Gary (four more birdies) and Brandon each shot even par 72 to finish first and second. Brandon made a strong run on the back nine but Gary threaded a 265 yard drive into the center of the narrow 18th fairway and threw a gap wedge from 100 yards to ten feet from the hole to close out the tournament.

Mrs. Dorsey presented a beautiful champion's plaque at the awards ceremony.

Winning in Pensacola was very important to Gary as his Dad learned to play golf here and graduated from the University of West Florida in Pensacola where he was an Academic All-American golfer. His mother is a graduate of the local Tate High School and Pensacola Junior College Nursing Program. Both sets of grandparents were present along with his mother for every hole of this tournament.

The Pensacola News Journal has a tournament photo album at the following URL: http://www.pnj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Site=DP&Date=20081230&Category=SPORTS&ArtNo=812300804&Ref=PH&Params=Itemnr=1

Big Week in Golf, Golf Honors, and Hunting.

This was a big week for Gary III in sports.

Today he finished tied for first in the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour Tournament of Champions at the Saddlebrook Resort in Wesley Chapel, Florida, shooting the second low round of the day with 71 to go along with his opening round of 74 yesterday. He had one birdie (the first hole) and two boggies for the day to finish one over par. He lost in a sudden death playoff to claim second trophy. Here's the website: http://hjgt.cmiregistration.com/saddleresults.aspx

This tournament had a field of top players as points accumulation or a tournament win over the last year were required for an invitation. Several international players and several from elite golf programs were in the field making this tournament a severe test. I guess Gary's work, his Dad's instruction, his Mom's management, and grandparent cheering are doing quite nicely!

Also today the Tampa Bay Tribune and the St. Pete Times Newspapers each named their all county golf teams. Gary, only a sophomore, was named first team all county by each newspaper.

Here's the Tampa Tribune writeup: http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/dec/07/sp-tribunes-golf-teams-all-hillsborough-county/sports-prepsports/

And here is the St. Pete Times writeup: http://www.tampabay.com/specials/2008/PDFs/ALL_COUNTY_FALL/hil_boysgolf.pdf

Early this week Gary and his Dad traveled to Pennsylvania to the family farm for deer hunting. Gary shot a very nice six point buck; his fourth buck in five years of hunting.

Chiefs' Season Ends at Regionals Golf

East Lake (320) and Dunedin (332) advanced at the state Region Five Golf Tournament today at Wentworth Golf Club in Tarpon Springs knocking Plant (333), Chamberlain (346), and Gaither (the district 10 teams) out of the state playoffs. Ian McConnell with a one over par 72 and Matt Kotay at 73 were the individuals to advance to the state playoff next week.

The Chiefs' sophomore leader Gary Buffington shot a Chamberlain team leading 79 thus lacking six shots from making the state championship tournament. Gary had a tough start and was three over through five holes then had a birdie, but it was quickly followed by a double bogie. He hit just three greens in regulation as the iron game struggled, but the short game held him in the tournament with multiple up and downs and only 25 putts. In spite of the struggles, Gary maintained focus, played tough and finished eighth for the Tournament and low man for the Chiefs.

As Gary's Grandpa, I am very proud of the season he had. He led the team in scoring average (1.83 over par) for the 13 regular season matches and was team medalist or tied for team medalist in 12 out of 15 matches. He was match medalist or tied for medalist (winner) in five of 15 matches. In the playoffs he shot 74/79 to finish second and eighth and again led the team. These scores are about 4 shots better than his freshman year.

Chiefs' junior Brett Blair proved he can be helpful to the team as he took second for the Chiefs with a round of 83. If Brett can stay on the active play list next year he can be a contributor to the team. Far off their season averages Freshman Trevor Joseph shot 91 and Sophomore Skyler Estes shot 93. The scores reflect the difficulty of the course.

With one junior, three sophomores and a freshman, the young Chiefs should be a factor in the region in 2009. Check the 2008 statistics for an idea of what we have in store for the future of Chiefs' golf.

Final 2008 Chamberlain High Boys Golf Statistics (Click to View)

Gary Picked as a "Player to Watch at Regionals" by the St Petersburgh Times

Here is a write up from the St. Pete Times on the Regional Tournament.

Here are St. Pete Times Region Tournament "Fast Facts."

Gary Buffington Leads Chief's at District Tournament

See the Tampa Tribune Online writeup about this tournament action. Click the link and scroll down to 2A-10 Boys.

Gary shot a 74 to finish second individual in the district tournament of eight teams and forty players at Silver Dollar Golf Course leading the Chiefs to a tie for second in the Florida district 10 Class 2A boys golf championships (Tampa, Florida area). With today's results the Chiefs advance to the Region 5 Tournament next week at Stony Brook Golf Club. Also advancing are District Champion Plant with a score of 315 and Gaither which tied Chamberlain with a score of 335. Plant's senior Doug Letson won the individual title with a nice round of 72 to beat Gary by two shots. The other Chamberlain players did not fare too well as the course played extremely tough with water, out of bounds, and severe wind on the back nine holes. Skyler Estes shot 87, Trevor Joseph 86, Brett Blair 88, and Justin McCormick 100. All the teammates scores were significantly above their season averages; but, nevertheless, the team tied for second and moves on to the Regional tournament next week.

Gary points out the toughness of the course when the forty players shot a combined 70 over par on the first hole (where he made a par). On the 512 yard par five 16th they were playing into the wind. His drive was 279 from the pin, but he elected to hit a six iron layup to 139. From there he missed the green but got up and down for par. On the seventeenth hole, a 600 yard par 5, there is water and out of bounds trouble so Gary hit a four iron off the tee to the right rough followed by another four iron across the fairway to the left rough on the edge of the sixteenth fairway (on purpose!) and was still 220 yards from the hole. He then layed up to avoid water (the David Toms' approach in the US Open Several years back) with a five wood and made a nice up and down for a par. For the day he hit six fairways and nine greens and got up and down seven out of nine times with 29 putts. He double bogied the second hole but birdied three and eight to shoot even par on the front. He bogied 11, 12, and 13 and pared all the rest. It's of interest to me (grandpa) how many times he makes birdie after a double bogie! That says a lot about his mental approach to the game which was described as "fearless" by James Fitzgerald, the head professional at Chevy Chase Country Club (Washington, DC) last year.

Post Season Playoff Information

On October 13 the team will enter tournament play for state championship qualification at level 2A. There are both team and individual champions each week at two levels of qualifying tournaments: District 10 and then Region 5. The top two teams will qualify to move on at each tournament. Also the top two individuals not on a qualifying team with a score within 5 shots of the best individual on the qualifying teams will move on individually to the next level. This method gives the best teams and the best individuals a chance at state honors.

For full information, meeting notices, practice times, yardages, accommodations see the FSHAA Website.

District 10, 2A Playoffs, 18 holes: (Monday, October 13, 2008 at 8 AM). Hosted by Alonso High School at Silver Dollar Golf Club

Regional 5 Playoffs, 18 holes: (Monday, October 20, 2008, 11 AM): Hosted by Lakewood Ranch High School at Wentworth Golf Club

State Championships, 36 holes: (Practice Round Monday, October 27; Championship rounds Tuesday and Wednesday, October 28 and 29, 2008) played at Providence Golf Club

Chiefs Beat Gaither in Final Match of the 2008 Year

The Chamberlain Chiefs beat Gaither by nine shots at the Babe Zaharias Golf Course in the last match of the 2008 year; thus ending the season with 7 wins and 7 losses. Chamberlain's Skyler Estes won the match with a two over par score of 38. Gary and Trevor Joseph and Gaither's Josh Black each shot 40 with Brett Blair shooting a nice 41 after missing several weeks of play.

So the team enters state playoffs with a win, improved team scores, and Brett Blair back in the fold.

Way to go Chiefs! Check out the Team's final statistics spreadsheet and the state playoff information in adjacent entries.

Rain Cancellation at the Babe

Today's two team match against Alonso High School was rained out at the Babe Zaharias Golf Course. Gary hit the first four greens in regulation and made two birdie putts. He was two under par and in the middle of the fairway 60 yards from the fifth green when there came a gully washer and the match was canceled. There will be no makeup as another match is scheduled for tomorrow and then the high school regular season ends. State playoffs begin next week with districts, followed by regionals, and then the state championship finals. Gary and his Dad have reviewed and practiced on the site of the district tournament at the Silver Dollar Golf Course. The FSHAA site has all the particulars about the playoffs.

National Junior Golf Scoreboard Rankings (Click to View)

Chiefs Split at Rogers Park Golf Club; District, Regional, and State Playoffs Near

Playing their second match in two days the Chiefs split with Catholic High and Jesuit High in a three team match at the city's Rogers Park Golf Course. Both Sophomores Gary Buffington and Skyler Estes shot 3 over par 39 and Freshman Trevor Joseph and junior Justin McCormick shot 41 as Chamberlain came in with a team score of 160. Jesuit won the match with a score of 156 and a nice even par score of 36 by xxx Silver and a 39 by yyy Towney. The Chiefs beat Catholic lead by Trent Stoker with a one over par 37 and a team score of 162.

There are just two regular season matches left in the 2008 season and then the boys will participate in district and regional playoffs trying to earn a spot in the state playoffs. There are both team and individual state honors in golf. Several years ago Arnold Palmer's grandson Sam was Florida State High School Golf Champion.

The Chamberlain Chiefs are in District 10, Class 2A, of the Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA).

Chief's Win, Chief's Win

After a nice writeup in the Tampa Tribune (click to view) yesterday , the Chief's pulled through with a win over Berkley Prep with the lowest score of the year. CHAMBERLAIN 150, BERKELEY PREP 155 Gary shot a 35 to tie with BP's xxx Worth for match medalist. But that 35 was followed closely by Skylar Estes at 36, Trevor Joseph at 38, and Jacob Schuyler at 41. With only a six stroke differential from low to high, the Chiefs have now shown potential for being a tough team to beat.

Gary Comes 5th At The Greater Tampa Junior Golf Association Falcon Watch Tournament

The Greater Tampa Junior Golf Association has started up the season. GTJGA generally holds one-day tournaments throughout the school year on weekday school holidays. With high school golf as a priority, this is the first GTJGA event for Gary this year. Last year Gary was the boy's player of the year for the GTJGA.

The tournament was played at Falcon Watch Golf Club in Sun City, Florida. Gary started in good shape and was under par on the front nine when like a race horse, he "threw a shoe." He hit one into the water and walked in to play it out "making a good shot in length but not in direction" and hit it back into the water making a record (for this year) nine on the hole. He managed some good golf after that but ended with a season high 83 and a fifth place finish. The scores are on the GTJGA web site.

Chiefs Lose at Emerald Greens

Gaither High School beat the Chamberlain Chiefs at Emerald Greens in Carrollwood by six shots (169 to 163). Gary shot 38, Skyler Estes 40, Trevor Joseph 41, and Jacob Schuyler 50 for the Chiefs. Gaither's Josh Black won the individual match medalist title with a nice round of 37 on the tough par 36 course. The suspended team mates should be back next week. Maybe they can help make a difference with more bunching of scores if they can stay in focus.

Chiefs Lose in Playoff

Coach Bill Workman's Chiefs lost to Riverview in a one hole playoff today at The Babe. The boys team shot their second lowest score of the year with Gary Buffington and Skyler Estes each shooting one over par 36, Trevor Joseph at 41, Jacob Schuyler at 45 and Hunter Chewning at 49. The team total of 158 tied Riverview who were lead by Ian McConnell who shot even par 35 to win the match medalist honor. With the teams tied at the end of the round each sent out their number one player on the eighteenth hole for a "sudden victory" playoff. McConnell birdied the hole to beat Gary and won the match for Riverview. The Chiefs' record is now 4 and 5.

Gary Picked as Tampa Bay Fox TV 13 Athlete of the Week

Each week, Tampa TV station FOX 13's sports team profiles a scholar-athlete from Tampa Bay area high schools. This week's pick was Gary and he was interviewed by sports director Kevin O'Donnell. The piece aired on September 23, 2008, on the Five O'clock News in the Tampa Bay Area. Here is an online link to the video archives:
http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/myfox/pages/Sports/Detail?contentId=7495745&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=6.1.1

Chief's Win one Match and Lose one This Week

The Chief's boys golfers won one and lost one this week losing to Newsome on Thursday at River Side and beating Hillsbourough on Wednesday at the PGA'S Tournament Players Championship Course. Gary won both matches with scores of 37 and 37 (one over each day). But the team has had a bad week with two (not one, two!) players suspended by the coach for on course etiquette incidents. Way to go coach, but too bad for the team. Skyler Estes and Trevor Joseph (each with 40 and 41 scores this week), and Gary have been steady all year and pulling their load. The team was looking like a good contender for making the state playoffs but if the fourth and fifth players can't stay on the course the team can forget any success this year.

Fifth Place at the Florida State Golf Association The Majors

Here's "The Majors" final leaderboard: http://www.floridajuniortour.org/ Note the tournament writeup mentioning the course and weather difficulties.

Gary shot a final round two under par 70 (tied with Travis Huston for low round of the tournament) to move from a first day 25th to a fifth place finish out of 66 players at the Florida State Golf Association junior tournament at The Majors Golf Club. There were 66 players in his age group consisting of most of the state's best junior players. On the first day (Saturday) of the 36 hole event he shot 78 and was tied for 25th place. The final round 70 was tied for the low round of the tournament. The Majors, located on the Space Coast of Florida, is an Arnie Palmer designed course with some rolling fairways, plenty of water and an island green. It is said to look more like a North Carolina course than a Florida course. The course played to about 6600 yards and was in great shape with a course rating of 74 and a slope of 138. For the uninitiated, this means it is a very difficult course! On day one Gary had one double bogie and one birdie. The day one birdie was on the 17th with a Driver seven iron to a 510 yard par five (down wind), where he had a twenty foot eagle putt. On day two he had five birdies (four on the front nine) and three bogies. Day two he had a great ball striking round by hitting 11 fairways and 15 greens in regulation. The wind was different as he again birdied the 17th but this time it took a three wood to hit the green from 253! Although he holed four birdie putts in the final round, he missed two three footers and two six foot putts! Check out the scoreboard at the following URL: http://www.floridajuniortour.org/tournaments/leaderboard.asp?tID=548&boardID=3
Check out the course at http://www.majorsgolfclub.com/

Chiefs Beat Robinson at MacDill Air Force Base in Hurricane Ike

As Hurricane Ike blew through the Gulf of Mexico, the Chamberlain Chiefs golf team played at MacDill Air Force base on the shores of Tampa Bay. Coach Bill Workman's boys beat Robinson High School at the par 36 Bay Palm Course. Play was slowed by high wind gusts and several bursts of driving rain as Gary and Skykler playing in the same group hid behind a tree and held the umbrella perpendicular to the ground to block horizontal blowing rain. In spite of the conditions, it was the second lowest team score of the year with the Chiefs' 164 to Robinson's 197. Gary led the Chiefs with a tournament low score 37 while Skyler Estes was close behind at 39. Trevor Joseph, Justin McCormick, and Jacob Schuyler each shot 44, with Hunter Chewning at 47. This was Jacob's first match, and he had a score that counted (the low four scores make the team score). The team is showing more of a bunching of scores which should bode well in future matches. This victory raises the Chiefs season record to 3 wins and 3 losses in five matches. (Explanation: In the first match there were three teams. The Chiefs beat one opponent and lost to another so had one win and one loss in the same match. All other matches have been two teams only as the golf courses usually limit this donated free play to two teams.)

This weekend Gary will play in a Florida State Golf Association 36 hole event on "The Majors" course at Palm Bay, Florida. This tournament is independent from school golf. Here is the URL: http://www.fsga.org/championships/infoArchive/fsgapairings/8873.html The tournament requires an invitation exemption for prior performance and will include many of the state's best juniors. The link will give the tee times. Tampa resident Travis Huston, son of PGA multiwinner John Huston, is in the event. Travis, different from his Dad, is a lefty. Gary and Travis have competed in The Greater Tampa Junior Golf Association events since they were each about 8 years old.

Plant Beats Chiefs at The Babe

Plant High led by tournament medalist Doug Letson (one over par 36) beat the Chiefs 154 to 174. The Chiefs playing at their home course were led by Gary at 39, Trevor Joseph at 42, Skyler Estes at 46, and Hunter Chewning (playing his first match) with a 47. Plant is one of the toughest teams in the area, and the Chiefs did not play their best.

Chiefs Win at Heritage Harbor

The Chiefs traveled up Dale Mabry to Heritage Harbor at Lutz, Florida and won their second match of the year in this two team match. http://www.heritageharborgolf.com/page/53-1391.htm

AJ Kuhn of the Sickles High School shot even par 36 on his home course to win the medalist honor with Gary and Skyler Estes each shooting one over 37. With Trevor Joseph at 38, Justin McCormick at 42 and Brett Blair back from medical leave and shooting 44 the Chiefs had their lowest team score of the year at 154. Gary went bogie, birdie, bogie on the first three holes and then pared the final six for the one over finish.

Chiefs lose second match in a week.

The Chamberlain High Golf team traveled to Summerfield Crossings Country Club http://www.summerfieldgc.com/ for the second match of the year--a two school match against Riverview High. The team had never seen this course before, but were very impressed with the beauty and difficulty playing the back tees of some 3400 yards. In the first tournament the boys were somewhat errant with tee shots so today Coach required a three wood off the first hole which was a long par four. Gary missed the first green with a fairway wood, threw a high lob from deep rough to six feet and made a par saying, "The coach's strategy worked!" However, the team lost to Riverview High School by a whopping seventeen shots! Gary, however, was the tournament medalist with an even par score of 35. He had it one under par through hole five, but bogied hole six and then parred out for the even par 35. Riverview star Ian McConnell was one shot back. Gary describes the course as a links type with pot bunkers and a beautiful island green which he was proud to par. Skyler Estes was second for the Chiefs followed by Trevor Joseph, Justin McCormick, and Bryce Veller. Next week Brett Blair, recovering from surgery, should be back to help the team.

Chamberlain High School Match 1.

The Chiefs played their first high school match of 2008 playing a home match against Jesuit High School and King High at the Babe Zaharias Golf Course. King High won the match with Chamberlain finishing second. Sophomore Skyler Estes lead the Chiefs with an even par score of 35. Gary finished fourth in the tournament and second on the team shooting a 38. Also playing for Chamberlain were freshman Trevor Joseph, Justin McCormick, and Bryce Veller. One of last years stalwarts, sophomore Brett Blair, is out recovering from surgery but due back in play in a week.

Second at Belleair Country Club Junior

Gary came in second at the prestigious Belleair Country Club Junior in Clearwater, Florida, two strokes behind the winner Dustin Dingus. Belleair is a Donald Ross design and the oldest club in Florida. You can read more about this club at the following URL: http://www.belleaircc.com/

I don't have all the details at this time but he did have the lead through the middle of the round, but made a triple on the 14th hole which included a penalty stroke shooting a final round 75. The field included many of the highest ranking players in the central Florida area.

High School golf starts this week with the first nine hole match at the Babe Zaharias Memorial Golf Course in Tampa. "The Babe" is the most famous American female athlete and was one of the founders of the LPGA. http://www.babezahariasgc.com/course/default.asp?SD=29DA3680-3EC8-4C26-898C-5DC15282CF2D&TM=163

Tenth at the Ryan Wells Memorial at Innisbrook

August 16-17, 2008: Playing 6600 yards on two courses at Innisbrook Resort, Gary finished tied for tenth at the Ryan Wells Memorial Tournament at the Island and the North Courses. The tournament is put on by the Ryan Wells Foundation in memory of a young man who was killed in a tragic accident. The awards ceremony was a touching event as Mr. Wells, Ryan's father presented all awards: http://ryanwellsfoundation.com/events.html

The first day was on the Island Course with a rating of 76 and a slope of 141 thus being the toughest course most people ever heard of. On the first day Gary was playing well and conservatively when he put a ball in position on the seventh hole a par five and then came a major downpour. Although no one was playing, he put on the rain suit and hit the second shot into a pond. Bill Newton and I were in the gallery about 75 yards away and we could barely see him in the rain and never did see the ball! He proceeded to take a double bogie and two others to shoot 80. Lee McCoy, a fellow competitor in the Tampa area for eight years shot a great score of 75 to take the lead. On day two Gary thought being four back was not out of the tournament and then proceeded to hit his first shot of the day (a four iron layup on a short par four, ie. a birdie hole) deep into a swamp with the alligators. He took a penalty drop about 170 yards out and in ankle deep Bermuda rough. He hit a great shot (probably an eight iron) out of the rough over the flag to the fringe about 20 feet from the flag and missed the putt-chip for a bogie 5. His fellow competitor Dustin Dingus birdied the hole and within six holes Gary had made three more bogies to go four over and Dustin made two more birdies to go three under for a seven shot difference. It didn't look good. However, by the 16th hole Gary had birdied two holes and parred all the rest to get to two over for the day. The last hole (number five) is a birdie hole with an island green, but Gary hit his tee shot behind a tree and had to punch out. He then hit a great wedge to eight feet, but missed the par put to shoot three over 73 and lose to Dustin by one shot on the day. It was a nice comeback, but not enough as tenth place was "out of the money." So we went home empty handed. Lee McCoy shot a 72 and won the tournament--some fine golf on tough courses.

Here are the official results:
http://golf.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ/Ya&sdn=golf&cdn=sports&tm=41&f=10&tt=14&bt=1&bts=1&zu=http%3A//www.juniorgolfscoreboard.com/

Gary Wins NSJGA Tournament of Champions

Today Gary won the North Suncoast Junior Golf Association Tournament of Champions at the Nationally famous World Woods course near Brooksville, Florida. He shot a 71 yesterday and said he "could have or perhaps should have birdied all of the first seven holes." He lead the T of C by 4 shots. Today he played 2 under par until lightning stopped play after eight holes. The tournament then had to be canceled for weather and he was declared the winner at overall three under par. Today's highlights included one birdie and one bogey and one eagle on a 511 yard par 5 (driver, seven wood, long putt). The putter really kept him in the hunt as he two-putted from monstrous lengths all day.The final results are at the following site: http://www.worldwoods.com/fw/main/Results_Page-318.html

Next up is a two day tournament on Saturday and Sunday of this week at the Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Florida. The following is a press clipping from Innisbrook:

Ryan Wells Memorial Junior Classic
August 16-17: Highlands North & Highlands South courses. This 36 hole tournament annually attracts all of Tampa Bay’s top junior players. The event is a kick-off to the school year and the high school season.

Then on Monday Gary returns to school (tenth grade) at Chamberlain High School in downtown Tampa. Woody Austin of the PGA tour is a graduate of Chamberlain and has all the course records at the Babe Didrickson Golf Course which is the school's home course. Woody's Mom still works in the grill at the course.

Tampa Team Comes Third at State Team Championships at Disney World

The Florida State Golf Association held the Junior Team Championship at Disney World. Gary's team came in third although only the top two teams are mentioned in the FSGA writeup at the following website: http://www.floridajuniortour.org/docs/news/showNews.asp?sID=817 Check out the Greater Tampa Junior Golf Association web site for a report of the team competition at Disney World. Gary, Skyler, and Conner won spots to represent Greater Tampa at the GTJGA Tournament of Champions last month. Gary said it was an interesting tournament as Disney visitors in buses on the road and people in canal boats shouted out and waved to the players on the course--sometimes in the middle of a swing! There were also fake Disney Theme buildings along the edges of the course.
http://www.gtjga.com/exec/results/

NSJGA Seven Rivers

Gary shot 74 for two over and finished second by one stroke. He boggied 5, 6 and doubled 7 and then played the next 11 holes in two under par. But it was not enough to beat local favorite Brad Kidd who shot 73 to win. There were some fans at the event who made it fun rooting for all of the players but mostly for Brad. Gary said it was nice he won on his home course. Here are the results: http://www.worldwoods.com/fw/main/RESULTS_7_RIVERS-583.html

On August 11-12 he will play in the NSJGA Tournament of Champions at the World Woods Resort. World Woods has two top 100 golf courses both designed by Tom Fazio and has been voted as the best practice facility "in the world." Check it out at the following link:
http://www.worldwoods.com/fw/main/Home-1.html

Here is the link to the NSJGA:
http://www.worldwoods.com/fw/main/NSJGA_Junior_Golf-17.html

Babe Didrikson Zaharias Junior Memorial Tournament

Gary won "The Babe" tournament (16th annual) for the third year in a row. He shot 100 for 27 holes (32, 68 five under par) with nine holes canceled for stormy weather on the first day. The most memorable shot was driving the green on hole number 1 and sinking the putt for an eagle "2." Here is the link: http://www.babezahariasgc.com/course/default.asp?HID=628&ACT=5&INO=698082&IPN=
This was Gary's first tournament under par.

FSGA Disney Parent Junior

Two years ago Gary III and Gary Junior won the age group in the FSGA Disney Parent Junior. The event is over two days and is an alternate shot tournament. Each player hits a drive and a second shot, then the best shot is selected and the players hit alternately until holed out. My Dad has been playing great and I have been winning Junior tournaments, but we shot around par and finished sixth in the "Mickey First Flight!" It was a good thing grandpa wasn't here, since we had no hardware to take home. Here is the link: http://www.fsga.org/championships/infoArchive/fsgaResults/1840.html

Hardware Tour Summary

Well this is Grandpa writing. We have finished the hardware tour with success beyond my dreams.

Don McNab Junior at Palatka

My grandpa and grandma took me to the 34th annual Don McNab Junior Tournament in Palatka, Florida, some 150 miles north of Tampa. This was a two day event over July 24-25, 2008, with Junior players in three age groups--12-13; 15-16; and 17-18. On Wednesday we played a practice round. I took notes.

The course is the Palatka City Golf Course, par 36-34, and measures about 6200 yards--another short course with Bermuda fairways and greens and a 1925 Donald Ross design.

The big news at the course was that Greg Norman flew his helicopter in to bring his son to the Azalea Golf Tournament (an adult tournament) last month landing on the course. Everyone said Greg was a nice guy and his son finished in the middle of the pack. After that, all of Palatka rooted for Greg in the British Open. You can read more about the course at the following link: http://www.palatkagolfclub.com/upcoming%20events.htm

I shot 74 the first day and was in second place in my age group behind Alex Perkins who shot 73. I played with Roman Cenizal, & Kelly Allen (78) from Jacksonville, and Matt King from St. Augustine.

It was a good group of guys who hit some great shots. It was hot and we drank a lot of stuff.

We stayed at the Quality Inn on the St. John's River which is about a half mile wide and flows north to Jacksonville. Grandpa says only five rivers flow north and then wants the names! (St. Johns, New, Amazon, Nile, and another one.) There were supposed to be Manatees and alligators, but we didn't see any. We ate at a great restaurant on the river and then had a good nights sleep.

The second day it was blazing hot at over 90 with high humidity and bright sunshine. My kind of weather (with sunscreen). We were allowed a caddy so grandpa hauled the bag in a cart. The pro Mr. Spanky Aaron said the caddy rules were the same as the PGA. He said, "The caddy could do anything but hit the shot!" Grandpa told Mr. Aaron I didn't want him hitting any of my shots--which I didn't say, but was true!

On Friday we were regrouped and I went off in the final group with Kelly Allen (78), Emmanuel (Nico) Pagkanlungan (76) from Naples, FL, & Alex Perkins (from Jacksonville) the leader with 73.

I shot the lowest score on the second day (75) and won over Nico by three shots. Alex got third. I shot 39 (three over) on the front and 36 (two over) on the back. At the turn Alex and Niko were only one shot back. I was even par on the back through 15 but then realizing I had a four shot lead I played conservatively and boggied the 16th and the 18th. There was no need for any chance at big numbers on those troublesome holes. I got another nice trophy.

Tomorrow grandpa and grandma go home to Pensacola and my Mom and Dad and I go to Disney World for the state Father-Child team championships. Two years ago Dad and I won our age group in the Father-Child and were state champs. We lost last year.

Many of these tournaments are nationally ranked by The National Junior Golf Scoreboard. You can check rankings at the following URL:http://www.njgs.com/

Lakeland Junior Citrus Open

Lakeland Junior Citrus Open On July 21 and 22 we commuted daily to the Lakeland, Florida, Cleaveland Municipal Golf Course. You can read more about it at their homepage. It was a nice course. I won my age division with scores of 78-77 and got another nice trophy. http://www.lakelandgov.net/chgolf/home.html

HJGT TPC JUNIOR CLASSIC

THE Hurricane Tour came to my backyard in Tampa to play the Junior classic at the TPC Tampa Bay, home of the Senior PGA Tour's Outback Steakhouse Pro-am. The course was fairly short at 6300 yards but it had stormed the previous day, so it was wet. I opened on day 1 with 7 straight pars but faltered with bogeys on 8 and 10. But, on the par 5 12th I stuck a 215 yard 5-wood to 8 inches for an eagle and went on to an opening 74 and a 2 shot lead. Day two was still wet, and I opened the round with a tough bogey on two, but birdied 4. I then missed two 5 foot putts and hit two bad chips and as I headed to hole 10 my lead was evaporated to zero. But then on twelve, the par 5 I hit 236 yard 3-wood to 30 feet and made another eagle for the dagger to the heart. I parred in for a two-under par back nine and a 72, giving me a win at 4 over for the tourney.

NSJGA at Southern Hills Plantation Club

The World Woods Golf Club sponsored NSJGA held a one day tournament at the beautiful Southern Hills Plantation in brooksville, FL. It was a shotgun start to try to beat the afternoon thunderstorm, but it failed. We were stopped after 13 holes with lightning and severe rain. Although the rule book says nothing about rain, it allows us to stop with any fear of lightning. A warning horn blew as we could see the storm coming. My fellow competitors ran further down the course to mark their ball since we had just hit our drives on the par four, but I headed for cover at the clubhouse. It rained buckets and they canceled further play. At the time me and two others were three over par, but we had not played the same holes because of the shotgun. So they figured out what holes we all played and I had to count all three boggies and they didn't, so I got third place.

This was the first tournament of what Grandpa calls our "Hardware Tour." He wants to take me to some tournaments and he says when I win he'll carry out the hardware. So he got to carry away a small medal at this our first stop of four tournaments.