When the field tees off in January for the 4th Annual Carolinas-Georgia Junior Championship, the boy’s division will welcome the players
of the year from all three states represented, not to mention one of those players is also the American Junior Golf Association’s
Rolex Player of the Year for 2011. Cody Proveaux of South Carolina, the current AJGA Rolex and SCJGA Player of the Year will
join North Carolina’s Player of the Year, Miller Capps and Georgia’s Player of the Year, Greyson Sigg, as they lead their respective
states in the annual event at Mount Vintage Plantation. In addition to these players, the field welcomes Matt NeSmith of North
Augusta, the 2011 AJGA Polo Classic Champion and 2011 Junior Heritage Champion, Parker Derby of Columbus, the 2011 Bobby Chapman Champion
and runner-up to NeSmith in the AJGA Polo Classic. Davis Womble, a Wake Forest signee, and Victor Wiggins, an Auburn signee,
will give the Tar Heel team a huge boost in the chase for the team title. The field includes 18 of the top 20 ranked players
in South Carolina, 12 of the top 20 ranked players in Georgia, and 14 of the top 20 ranked North Carolina players based on respective
state rankings and the National Junior Golf Scoreboard.
The girl’s division includes two of the three players of the year in
the states represented. The division is headlined by our defending Champion, 3-time South Carolina Player of the Year and 2011
Junior Solheim Cup Member, McKenzie Talbert of North Augusta and 2-time North Carolina Player of the Year, Sara Bae. Bae boasts
an impressive 10 victories in 2011 and highlighted her year by participating in the U.S. Women’s Amateur in Rhode Island. Georgia
will be led by Clemson signee, Sloan Shanahan, and 15 year old Michaela Owen, both of Suwanee. The field includes all 10 of the top
10 ranked players in South Carolina, 10 of the top 16 ranked players in Georgia, and 10 of the top 13 ranked North Carolina players
based on respective state rankings and the National Junior Golf Scoreboard.
Players will be welcomed to Mount Vintage by the staff and volunteer members over the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday weekend. Play will be conducted over the Chester and Vintage nines with
official play beginning at 10:00 AM on Sunday, January 15th. Spectators are welcome and play can be followed at www.juniorgolfscoreboard.com.
NeSmith Charges To First Round Lead With 4-Under 68
Stephenson and Mao Share Girl’s Division Lead
North Augusta’s Matt NeSmith
continued his impressive play Sunday afternoon at Mt. Vintage Plantation by firing a first round 68 to grab a 4 shot lead over a pair
of North Carolina players. NeSmith started slowly with a bogey on his first hole, but quickly got back to even par with a birdie
on the third hole. He posted another birdie and bogey on his front side to make the turn at even par. A birdie on the
10th hole and bogey on the 12th hole left him even par for the day. He would not make another par on the way in. The South
Carolina signee reeled off 5 birdies on his last 6 holes to go along with a bogey on the 17th hole to fire a 4 under par 32 on the
inward half. A winner in his last two tournament starts, NeSmith enters the final round in a comfortable position, out front. Zach Seabolt, of Raleigh, made 4 birdies and 4 bogeys on his way to a share of 2nd place, while Drew Johnson, of Oak Ridge,
played an impressive round of even par by posting 1 birdie and 1 bogey over the Mt. Vintage course. Three golfers are 5 shots
back after firing 73’s and 5 players are 6 back after posting 2 over par 74’s. Leading the group firing 74 is Cody Proveaux
of Leesville, the 2011 AJGA National Player of the Year.
Lauren Stephenson of Lexington and Janet Mao of Johns Creek share the
girl’s division lead after the first round. Each poured in 3 birdies to go along with 4 bogeys to fire first round 73’s. One shot back is Sloan Shanahan from Suwanee. Two shots back are Sarah Bae of Cary, the 2011 North Carolina Player of the Year
and defending champion, McKenzie Talbert, of North Augusta. With eight players within 5 shots of the lead, the girl’s championship
is up for grabs on Monday.
In the team competition, which includes the top 8 boys scores and top 4 girls scores from each state,
the first round lead belongs to South Carolina. The Palmetto State team holds a 13 shot lead over the Georgia team and a 16
shot lead over North Carolina.
TALBERT SUCCESSFULLY DEFENDS HER TITLE
NESMITH MAKES IT THREE IN A ROW
Isabella Skinner Achieves Rare Feat
McKenzie Talbert
captured the girl’s title by a single stroke and Matt NeSmith held on to win the boy’s title by two strokes Monday afternoon at Mt.
Vintage Plantation.
Talbert began her day trailing overnight leaders, Janet Mao and Lauren Stephenson by two shots. With a tightly bunched leaderboard, five different girls held or shared the lead in the final 18 holes. The biggest move came
from sixteen year old Isabella Skinner of Cumming, Georgia. Skinner aced her second hole of the day, the third on the Chester
nine, and immediately threw herself in the title chase. As she approached the second hole on the Vintage nine, Skinner knew she was
close to the lead. With one swing, she not only took the lead in the tournament, she recorded her second hole-in-one for the
day. Word quickly spread around the course that she had achieved one of the rarest feats in golf. Her excellent play led
her to a runner-up finish. First round co-leaders, Mao and Stephenson matched scores again by shooting 78 to tie for third. Sarah Bae followed up her first round 75 with a 77 on day two to take 5th place. Low round of the day went to Michaela Owen
as she fired an even par 72 to finish in a tie for 6th place.
In the boy’s division, first round leader, Matt NeSmith, opened
his final round with bogeys on the first two holes. He sandwiched two birdies around seven bogeys over the afternoon to finish
with a 77. With everyone feeling the difficulty of the Mt. Vintage course, Matt was able to hang on a capture his third consecutive
tournament. The biggest move of the day came from Davis Bateman of Charlotte. His 2-under par 70 was one of two rounds
under par on day two. His fine play gave him a share of runner-up with Davis Womble of High Point. Tying for fourth place
were David Mackey and Zach Seabolt after rounds of 75 and 76, respectively.
In the team competition, South Carolina took bragging
rights with a six shot victory over North Carolina and ten shot victory over Georgia.
The tournament committee would like to
thank all of the volunteers, sponsors, and Mt. Vintage staff for making the event a wonderful success. We would also like to
thank the numerous college coaches for attending our event.