At least 100 golfers hit the links Monday at Owensboro Country Club for the Northern Series Championship of the Go Junior Golf Series, with a few locals grabbing tour titles.
Incoming Owensboro Middle School 7th-grader Alexa Salamah, 11, carded an 85 in the girls’ 13-15 Championship Division to take not only the victory Monday but the tour championship as well.
Founder/director Mark Price said it was a close battle between Salamah and Ainlee Cruce, of Bowling Green, going into the final event of the series.
A 40 on the front nine was enough for Salamah, as she came back with a 45 on the back for the Northern Series Championship.
Despite playing on her home course, Salamah said she didn’t worry about what advantage it might give her.
“I tried not to think about it,” she said.
Salamah is heading into 7th grade at OMS, which means she can play on the high school squad for the Lady Red Devils.
“I’m really excited about it,” she said.
Salamah said she’s looking forward to playing with the other girls and getting to know her fellow competitors.
The first group of the day went off around 9:15 a.m. with the event wrapping up around 5 p.m. Price said he anticipated the day to be a bit longer.
“It really ran smooth today,” Price said. “Friday night, Saturday, I was not sure what it was going to look like. I was preoccupied with my youngest son’s wedding but it all came together and it just went a lot smoother than I could ever hope for. A lot of it has to do with these kids, just keeping the pace of play up, parents helping and urging them on.”
In the boys’ 16-18 championship division, Griffin Payne won the event with a 79 but the tour title went to Madisonville’s Aaron Munger. Nick Johnson, Nathan Payne, Ethan Dych, Jayden Lanham and J.T. Payne all won medals Monday.
In the girls’ 13-15 nine-hole division, Owensboro native Mary Ann Lyons carded a 51 to finish second on the day in the Championship Flight. But, she accumulated enough points throughout the season to grab the tour title in the division.
In the girls’ 9-10 six-hole division, Ryann Kasey carded a 42 and even though she didn’t finish in the top three Monday, she won the tour championship for the season.
Briley Billingsley was the tour runner-up in the girls’ 8 & under division as she shot a 16 in their three-hole tournament.
On the boys’ side in the 8 & under division, Cade Kasey finished tour runner-up while Jax Hayden finished third in the tour championship standings.
In the boys’ 9-10 division, Andrew Powell was runner-up in the tour rankings while Colby Vanover and Cameron McLaird won flights.
In the 13-15 championship division, Jax Malone finished as the tour runner-up after he carded an 84. Malone finished first in Monday’s event after a scorecard playoff. Will Hume, Houston Danzer, Grayson Powers, Hunter Smith and Trevor Cecil are all locals that went home with hardware in the division.
When the golfers finished their round, they would take their scorecards to Price and he’d go over them. He had them check and sign their cards prior, something the older players will have to do this season as the high school season nears closer.
Price said the right way to do things is something they focus on for all the athletes.
“Being a former high school coach for 23 years here at Daviess County, I know what that’s supposed to look like,” he said. “We’ve started with the 8 & under, 9 & 10 division about how to do that … We start that at a young age so when they get competitive, they’ve done it and they know what to do.”
While several players did win tour championships Monday, Price said it wasn’t a great day on the course for all players.
“Sometimes the golf course wins,” he said. “It really does. I always tell them that when you play a competitive round of golf, when you’re not playing a scramble, it’s all you. You learn something about what you need to work on.”
The Southern Series Championships tees off Thursday at Hopkinsville Golf & Country Club.
