Following seven weeks of instruction and competitive play, the young golfers in Mount Vernon Junior League action at Vernon View Golf Course have completed their weekly divisional play, with a week ahead focusing on a 9-hole scramble.
The final scores are in, the scorecards have been signed and the divisional winners are Somi Bright – Wendy’s Division; Cooper Lowe – Mount Vernon GMC Division; and Sutton Quinlivan – Savage Pools & Patios Division. The overall Mount Vernon Junior League winner for 2022 was Justin Hammond.
The Junior League is a golf instruction-competition group limited to 30 players (boys and girls) ages 10-18. Instruction focuses on putting and chipping, basic swing mechanics, the rules of golf and on-course play. Split into three divisions of about 10 golfers each, the divisions are sponsored by Wendy’s, Mount Vernon GMC and Savage Pools & Patios.
Under the tutelage of T.T. Crouch, the former Mount Vernon High School Yellow Jacket golfer who is an assistant golf coach at Mount Vernon Nazarene University, a back-to-back Division II national champion (2013-14) at Florida Southern College, Ohio Open (2016) winner and PGA Tour of Canada (2018) winner; and Mount Vernon H.S. golf coach Anthony Savage, the student-golfers showed skill level progress each week.
Levels for golfers are: Level 1 – putting; Level 2- 25 yards; Level 3 – 50 yards; Level 4 – 100 yards; Level 5 -0 150 yards; Level 6 – 200 yards. To advance levels, the player must shoot a 36 or better. The player who has advanced the furthest after week seven will be the champion of their division. If multiple players have advanced to the same level, the player with the lowest score was deemed the winner.
In last week’s play, the division and overall winners were crowned, and many of the golfers finished up with strong rounds.
Wendy’s Division
Following a week in which six golfers moved up levels by recording a 36 or less, three golfers shot a 36 or less in the final round. Griffin Beach had the best Level 6 score, with a 37. At Level 5, Somi Bright fired a 36 and Tyler Marsell fashioned a 38. At Level 4, Silas Bailey shot a division-low score of 34, followed by Tanner Nutter’s 35.
While Marsell's and Bailey’s cumulative division totals of 215 tied for lowest scores, the overall title went to Hammond, as he shot a 216 but was advanced to the highest level (Level 6). Somi Bright’s cumulative total of 222 earned her the division crown as her Level 5 advancement (she would have advanced to Level 6 with her play last week) was the deciding factor.
Mount Vernon GMC Division
In a tough week on the links, no GMC division golfers shot a 36 or under, but several came close. The division’s only Level 5 golfer, Cooper Lowe, fired a 38, and three Level 3 players were within two stokes of the prize. David Bright and Evan Palmer each carded 37s, and Leo Bailey fired a 38. Jack Scott shot a 38 in Level 2 play. The overall Mount Vernon GMC winner was Lowe, with his 204, for a commanding 16-stroke lead over the second-place golfer, Bailey.
Savage Pools & Patios Division
The hottest division of the week was the Savage Pools & Patios Division, which saw three golfers shoot 36. In Level 3 play, Scott Quinlivan and Wyatt Artrip each carded 36s, and in Level 1 play, Jolie Cooper shot a season-best 36. Trygg Waugh just missed at Level 2 with a 38. The Overall Savage Pools & Patios winner was Quinlivan, with a cumulative total of 230, which was 11 strokes better than Jaydn Rowe’s 241. Colin Fox, at Level 4, was the leader going in, with a 172, but missed last week’s action.
This is the last week for Junior League. With division competition completed, the league will pair the golfers in groups of four and play a 9-hole scramble. After the 9-hole event, players will be treated to food, drinks, awards and prizes to conclude the 2022 Mount Vernon Junior League.
