MANSFIELD — Not every pair of eyes in the golfing world is trained on England’s Royal Liverpool, site of this weekend’s Open Championship.
Fans of the game’s rising stars are keeping a close watch on Mansfield.
For the seventh time, Westbrook Country Club is hosting a PGA Junior Series event. The three-day tournament started Monday and concludes today.
“There are only eight PGA Junior Series events nationwide and if you win one, you earn a spot in the Junior PGA Championship, which is like a junior major,” Westbrook Country Club golf pro Greg Smith said. “We have been fortunate enough to host this event for seven years now. I really enjoy getting the chance to showcase the course and I love watching youth golfers play.”
The tournament — the seventh of eight events before the Junior PGA Championship at Miramont Country Club in Bryan, Texas on July 29 to Aug. 1 — features an international field. Players from seven countries and 17 states are in town this week.
“We had a total of 158 entries,” Smith said. “There is very good competition at these events.”
Smith’s son, Lexington junior-to-be Kaleb, agreed. The younger Smith is one of five Richland County players in the field.
“The level of competition is outstanding. I played with a kid (Monday) from Oklahoma and he was a very talented player,” Kaleb Smith said. “You really have to be on top of your game to compete in these events.”
Smith shot back-to-back 7-over 79s and heads into today’s final round tied for 34th at 158. He turned in the shot of the day Tuesday, chipping in for a birdie on the 18th.
“It was my only birdie of the day and it came from off the green,” Smith said. “I’m not pleased with the way I have played through two rounds, but I still have one more day to make up for two bad rounds.
“I need to hit more greens, especially with the way the course is playing. The greens are fast and the pin locations today were difficult.”
Lexington’s Chuck Mikelait followed his opening round 80 with a 77 for a two-day total of 157. The rising senior is tied for 28th in the 94-player boys 15 to 18-year-old division despite closing with four straight bogeys.
“Displeased would be a bit of an understatement,” Mikelait said of his uneven round. “I started off really poorly. I went bogey, double-bogey on my first two holes but finished the front at 4-over. I was pretty happy with that considering the way I started.
“I birdied three of the first five on the back, so that felt pretty good.”
Tuesday’s blustery conditions wreaked havoc on the field.
“The wind really messes with your approach shots,” Mikelait said. “You’ve got to adjust. It makes things a bit more challenging.”
Insider knowledge has served Mikelait well on Westbrook’s tricky putting surfaces. He is a member at Westbrook.
“I guess you could say it’s a little bit of a home-court advantage,” he said. “The consensus is the greens are really tricky here. I kind of understand them, so there is a little bit of a competitive edge there.”
Clear Fork’s Luke Watson has shot back-to-back 87s on the 6,787-yard course. The rising junior is tied for 81st.
In the girls division, Lexington rising senior Alexandra Sazdanoff shot a 97-102—199. In the boys 12 to 14-year-old division, Lexington’s Taylor Wittmer carded a 110-106—216.
Mikelait would like to continue to move up the leaderboard. Garret Buckley of Novi, Mich., leads the boys 15 to 18-year-old division with a 2-under 142 after back-to-back 71s. Dublin’s J.D. Fletcher shot the round of the day Tuesday, carding a 3-under 69. He is alone in second place at 145.
“There are a lot of good kids here and there have been a lot of low scores,” Mikelait said. “With the high school season just around the corner now, it’s good to face this level of competition. When you are going against kids your own age, it puts you in the proper frame of mind.”
Follow Curt Conrad on Twitter @curtjconrad.
“The level of competition is outstanding. I played with a kid (Monday) from Oklahoma and he was a very talented player,” Kaleb Smith said. “You really have to be on top of your game to compete in these events.”
