Emma Talley’s win this weekend was a feat of its own – but it also tied the girls division record for most consecutive AJGA wins.
Talley’s even-par score of 216 for 54 holes carried her to a third consecutive win at the AJGA Franklin Junior presented by Reliant Bank, played at Westhaven Golf Club in Franklin, Tenn.
Talley, No. 10 in the Golfweek Junior Rankings, is from Princeton, Ky., and will be a senior at Caldwell County High School. She has committed to Alabama. The win in Franklin was not only her third consecutive win, but her ninth total AJGA victory.
With a field of 96 players, Talley said she was focused on the competition and wasn’t even aware she was close to matching a record.
“I didn’t know that there was a record. It didn’t even enter my mind,” she said. “Before the announcement that I won, I heard I had tied the record. That was really exciting.”
Next for Talley is the prestigious Rolex Tournament of Champions in Sunriver, Ore., June 28 to July 1.
“If I win next week, it would be a great win and I would beat a record at the same time,” she said. “But I’m going to try to keep that out of my head throughout the week and just play my game.”
– CJ Lotz
BEGINNER'S COURSE: Nick Duffield erased a five shot deficit in the final round of the AJGA’s Natural Resource Partners Bluegrass Junior. Duffield scorched the Bellefonte Country Club, tying a tournament record with a 7-under par 63.
Playing in his first AJGA event, Duffield was confident in his swing, but unsure of what to expect from the competition.
“I came into the tournament shooting for a top-5 finish,” Duffield told AJGA staff. “I just had to keep playing how I was playing in order to have a chance for the win.”
After shooting 71 in each of the first two rounds, Duffield trailed Stephen Stallings (Louisville, Ky.) by five shots. Consecutive birdies at holes 2 and 3 got the 16-year-old from Chesapeake, Ohio, rolling, and he never looked back. He finished the front nine at 3-under 32, but his barrage of birdies was far from over. Duffield would complete his bogey-free round with birdies at Nos. 11, 13, 14 and 18. Duffield made six of his seven birdies on par 4s.
Fred Allen Meyer finished second, closing with a 3-under 67 after shooting 69-71 in the first two rounds.
– Matt Bernstein
FAMILY AFFAIR: The Pepsi Little People’s Golf Championship was founded in 1974, and almost four decades later, second- and third-generation families still come back to play in the weeklong event.
Sisters Libby Pancake and Kelly Matthews were among some of the first Pepsi Little People golfers when they started playing the tournament in the late 1970s. Now Pancake, a mother of four, and Matthews, a mother of three, take their kids every year.
“We’ve had members of our family coming for about 23 of the 37 years that they have had the tournament,” Matthews said.
Matthews, who played in the tournament nine times, said her three daughters have also played in the event, including her youngest who is 6. She said she takes her children every year to Quincy, Ill., to spend time with family and make lasting friendships with kids from all over.
“They will have pictures of their friends from when they were teeny," Matthews said. "I went to SMU, and I met one of my future teammates when we played at the Little People’s as kids. You just get to know these people really young and you see them forever.”
Matthews said the reasons that keep her family coming back include the founder of the tournament, Nan Ryan, and the volunteers in Quincy.
“Nan makes sure that every single person in the tournament feels like a member of her family,” Matthews said. “It’s fun because you’re getting the highest level of competition and the warmest level of welcome from the volunteers.”
Ryan founded the tournament after a reporter mentioned that it was too bad there were no junior tournaments in the Midwest like the ones in Florida. Since the organization started, Ryan has created a tournament that is focused on family and good sportsmanship, while offering the participants the highest level of competition.
“We emphasize having fun and try to make it a family affair,” Ryan said. “We try to make it fun for everyone, and know that as they get older they get more serious because they are trying to put something on their resumes for college.”
Ryan said it is a thrill to see all the kids playing and learning about the game, especially the younger ones.
“It’s amazing to see a 3-year-old hit it 50 yards and seeing little girls with matching bows in their hair and little boys wearing knickers,” she said. “It’s fun to see them grow up and you hate to see them leave.”
This year the 16-17 boys’ division champion was Chase Hanna, of Leawood, Kan., who won in a playoff after shooting 72-78. Maggie Ambrose, of Springfield Ill., was champion of the 16-17 girls’ division, shooting 83-82 and winning the third playoff hole.
Ryan said she was happy the organization had another successful year, which included 322 participants from 27 states, South Africa, Mexico, England, Germany, Canada, France and Thailand.
– Christina Thomas
Talley’s even-par score of 216 for 54 holes carried her to a third consecutive win at the AJGA Franklin Junior presented by Reliant Bank, played at Westhaven Golf Club in Franklin, Tenn.
Talley, No. 10 in the Golfweek Junior Rankings, is from Princeton, Ky., and will be a senior at Caldwell County High School. She has committed to Alabama. The win in Franklin was not only her third consecutive win, but her ninth total AJGA victory.
With a field of 96 players, Talley said she was focused on the competition and wasn’t even aware she was close to matching a record.
“I didn’t know that there was a record. It didn’t even enter my mind,” she said. “Before the announcement that I won, I heard I had tied the record. That was really exciting.”
Next for Talley is the prestigious Rolex Tournament of Champions in Sunriver, Ore., June 28 to July 1.
“If I win next week, it would be a great win and I would beat a record at the same time,” she said. “But I’m going to try to keep that out of my head throughout the week and just play my game.”
– CJ Lotz
BEGINNER'S COURSE: Nick Duffield erased a five shot deficit in the final round of the AJGA’s Natural Resource Partners Bluegrass Junior. Duffield scorched the Bellefonte Country Club, tying a tournament record with a 7-under par 63.
Playing in his first AJGA event, Duffield was confident in his swing, but unsure of what to expect from the competition.
“I came into the tournament shooting for a top-5 finish,” Duffield told AJGA staff. “I just had to keep playing how I was playing in order to have a chance for the win.”
After shooting 71 in each of the first two rounds, Duffield trailed Stephen Stallings (Louisville, Ky.) by five shots. Consecutive birdies at holes 2 and 3 got the 16-year-old from Chesapeake, Ohio, rolling, and he never looked back. He finished the front nine at 3-under 32, but his barrage of birdies was far from over. Duffield would complete his bogey-free round with birdies at Nos. 11, 13, 14 and 18. Duffield made six of his seven birdies on par 4s.
Fred Allen Meyer finished second, closing with a 3-under 67 after shooting 69-71 in the first two rounds.
– Matt Bernstein
FAMILY AFFAIR: The Pepsi Little People’s Golf Championship was founded in 1974, and almost four decades later, second- and third-generation families still come back to play in the weeklong event.
Sisters Libby Pancake and Kelly Matthews were among some of the first Pepsi Little People golfers when they started playing the tournament in the late 1970s. Now Pancake, a mother of four, and Matthews, a mother of three, take their kids every year.
“We’ve had members of our family coming for about 23 of the 37 years that they have had the tournament,” Matthews said.
Matthews, who played in the tournament nine times, said her three daughters have also played in the event, including her youngest who is 6. She said she takes her children every year to Quincy, Ill., to spend time with family and make lasting friendships with kids from all over.
“They will have pictures of their friends from when they were teeny," Matthews said. "I went to SMU, and I met one of my future teammates when we played at the Little People’s as kids. You just get to know these people really young and you see them forever.”
Matthews said the reasons that keep her family coming back include the founder of the tournament, Nan Ryan, and the volunteers in Quincy.
“Nan makes sure that every single person in the tournament feels like a member of her family,” Matthews said. “It’s fun because you’re getting the highest level of competition and the warmest level of welcome from the volunteers.”
Ryan founded the tournament after a reporter mentioned that it was too bad there were no junior tournaments in the Midwest like the ones in Florida. Since the organization started, Ryan has created a tournament that is focused on family and good sportsmanship, while offering the participants the highest level of competition.
“We emphasize having fun and try to make it a family affair,” Ryan said. “We try to make it fun for everyone, and know that as they get older they get more serious because they are trying to put something on their resumes for college.”
Ryan said it is a thrill to see all the kids playing and learning about the game, especially the younger ones.
“It’s amazing to see a 3-year-old hit it 50 yards and seeing little girls with matching bows in their hair and little boys wearing knickers,” she said. “It’s fun to see them grow up and you hate to see them leave.”
This year the 16-17 boys’ division champion was Chase Hanna, of Leawood, Kan., who won in a playoff after shooting 72-78. Maggie Ambrose, of Springfield Ill., was champion of the 16-17 girls’ division, shooting 83-82 and winning the third playoff hole.
Ryan said she was happy the organization had another successful year, which included 322 participants from 27 states, South Africa, Mexico, England, Germany, Canada, France and Thailand.
– Christina Thomas