INTERNATIONAL
TOURNAMENTS
USA Tour June - July 2004
Callaway
World Junior Championship - San Diego, California 13-15 July 2004
" I have finished the last competition of my 8 week tour
of the United States by playing in the biggest tournament in the
world for juniors. The tournament was held at Singing Hills on
the Pine Glen Course. I was very nervous as I was in the 7-8 year
old category and the children who are 8 were hitting very far.
However I tried to make as little mistakes as possible and ended
the first day on 61 and 3 shots off the lead. There were 69 children
in the field from all over the world and the USA. There were 18
players within the leader who was on 58 for the first 18 holes.
On
the second day I had my worst day of golf ever and recorded a
69 for the 18 holes. I just made so many mistakes and I don't
know why. I suppose you can't keep on finishing in the Top 3 all
the time and sometimes we all have a bad day. My mom tried very
hard to help me as she was my caddy with my dad been all the way
back home in South Africa. But there are no remarks on the scorecard
and my final score was 61 + 69 = 130 and missed the cut by 3 shots.
They only take the top 25% into the final day. I am not too unhappy
though as amongst the 7 year olds in the field I finished a credible
9th. I have travelled over 31,000 kilometres in my stay here and
stayed in 11 different hotels. I am glad my friend Matthew Plunkett
made the cut and hope he finishes well. I leave a lot of friends
behind and hope to see them all next year.
Thank
you to my mom and dad for helping me and giving me the support
and I know they are very proud of me and what I have achieved.
I love them very much. I hope you all have enjoyed reading about
my trip and I am arriving back home in 6 sleeps ( Wednesday 21
July ). Thank you to Craig for updating my site and also again
to all those who made my trip possible. Thank you from Bryce.
Peoria
Junior Masters - Peoria, Illinois 6-7 June 2004
I won the Peoria Junior Masters 7-8 Age Division which was held
in Peoria, Illinois. During the practice days the best score I
managed was a 41 for 9 holes as the course was playing very long.
The Par 3's were up to 150 metres long and the Par 4's around
260 metres. Remember I am only 7 so it is a long way. There was
a little water around and bunkers and the rough very long. The
rough was as high as my knees. The first day I played out of my
socks and recorded a 36 which put me 2 shots ahead of the second
placed player David Basa who finished 6th in the 8/9 Division
at the Country Youth Classic the week before and he is much bigger
than me. I was very excited to be the overnight leader.
The second day I pared the first four holes to maintain my lead
but then had a double bogey and bogey which allowed David to get
within 1 shot of me. However I held on and recorded a 39 for the
nine holes and finished on a 75 and four shots clear of the field.
We played at the Kellogg Golf Club and the fairways were quite
damp following a heavy downpour. During the late afternoon there
was a tornado warning and we had to all sit in the lounge of the
hotel until it was over. I was quite scared as I have seen tornado's
on TV.
We fly to San Diego now via Chicago and prepare for the Callaway
World Junior Championship where I play in the 7-8 year old division.
I will be playing against many of those I have played against
in my previous 7 tournaments so please hold thumbs for me."
Country
Youth Classic - Bloomington, Illinois - 28 -30 June 2004
" I have just completed my sixth tournament in the USA by
playing in the 4th largest tournament staged for juniors.It was
held at the Lakeside Country Club in Bloomington. The course was
very narrow and had very tricky greens. On day one I was paired
with the # 1 player Allenby Ramos and of course this meant I had
to play well. I had a bad day although I still shot even par.
I bogeyed one hole, eagled another and parred the balance. I don't
know what happened but I kept on hitting left. After the round
was completed I was in fourth place but only two shots behind
the leader.
The second round was much better and I recorded 1 under for the
9 holes which moved me into tie for second place and another playoff.
I was very nervous as I had lost a playoff earlier in Greenville.
I then hit "the" drive of my tour to within 2 feet of
the hole and a simple tap in to win and finish in second place
3 shots behind Allenby. He is a good player and a good sportsman.
I also managed to win closest to the pin competition for my age
group and won another trophy. I have a few days off now and I
am going for a long swim at the water park. I then leave to play
in the Peoria Junior Masters. My mom was my caddy and she was
great."
Craig
Lamporte Memorial Championship : 24-25 June (Cancelled) -
Replaced
by :- Pepsi International Team Event - Quincy Illinois 24 June
2004
Round
of 35 and 1st Place held at Westview Golf Club in Quincy Illinois.
"
We were told rather unexpectedly that the Craig Lamporte Memorial
which was due to take place was cancelled at last minute. I was
very upset and cross and we believe it was because of a conflict
in date for the venue and competitions. The people from Pepsi
and the Canadians put together a international 1 day event over
nine holes where we played with countries from Canada,South Africa,
Switzerland, Barbados, China, Philipines, Mexico, Germany and
USA. I was in the team that shot a 1 under 35 and was tied for
first place. We had to have a playoff and we eventually won on
the second hole. The event was staged at Westview Golf Club in
Quincy. I recieved my fifth trophy and was crowned as champion
of the Post Pepsi International Tournament. I was glad as well
as Shannon Aubert partnered me and she is also from South Africa.
It was a much more easy round and not as tense as the others.
I have left for Bloomington, Illinois to play in the Country Youth
Classic, the 4th biggest junior golf event in the USA and the
world.
I am sad as my dad is leaving to go home and I will be playing
the last 3 tournaments without him. I gave him my tournament participation
trophy for being a good caddy."
Tournament
Details - Scores
Pepsi
Golf Championships - Quincy, Illinois 21 - 23 June
"
Whew, I have just finished my fourth tournament in Quincy, Illinois.
The Pepsi Championship is in it's 31st year and is the 2nd biggest
tournament for juniors in the world. Well it was another tense
two days on a course with the trickiest greens I have ever played
on. You had to be on the green in regulation else you were struggling
for par. The fist day I recorded a 31 for the 9 holes and was
tied for 2nd place behind the USKids World Champion, Allenby Ramos
from the Philipines by 1 shot. It was very hard as the I was also
playing against the top children from over 36 states and 16 countries.
I hated Hole 6 as in the practice rounds and on the first day
I recorded double bogeys. The first day I hit a tree and it it
almost went into the creek. I was in the final fourball on the
last day and was even with Ramos and Curbelo after 4 holes. Ramos
droped a shot to fall back into a three way tie. I then had 3
bad, bad holes in a row with a bogey, double bogey and then par
to be 2 off the pace. Ramos and Curbelo then had a eagle and birdie
and I was three off the pace. I managed a birdie and then par
and finaly finished on 34. This was good enough for third place
as Ramos and Curbelo ended up in a tense playoff which Ramos won
on the 3rd extra hole. In the end the were 9 children within 5
shots of the leader and I am very proud to have finished 3rd and
recieved a nice trophy.This was a very prestigious event. Nan
Ryan was great and helped us so much. I was CBS news and also
on the front page of the Quincy newspaper.I also met with with
some good friends from other tournaments, Matthew and Joshua.
All the people were very nice and friendly. I wish we had this
at home. I play again tomorrow in the Craig Lamporte and then
off to Bloomington."
Tournament
Details - Scores
Starburst
Junior Golf Classic 14 -16 June - Waco, Texas
I
have just finished playing my most intense competition of the
tour. I was playing in the 7-8 Division so the older boys were
hitting a lot further and the course was long, about 2,200 metres
for 9 holes and it was hilly. I suppose that is why they call
it Rolling Oaks. After the first day I shot a 45 and was tied
with 4 other players in fifth place. I lost 3 shots on one hole
when I went in the water. On the second day I played much better
and recorded a 39 closing with four par's in a row and recording
1 bogey and one double bogey. The NBC Channel 6 TV Team was there
and filmed the last two holes and also interviewed my dad, my
mom and me at the end of the round. They showed it in the Sport
Section at 10:00 pm and was 2 minutes long. Anyway I was now in
4th place on my own 2 shots off the pace and knew I had to do
well to finish in the Top 3 . I played well and was a bit unlucky
with some birdie chances and managed to record a 41 which featured
no double bogeys at all. The course was a lot slower due to the
dew and slowed my ball down but I still managed to creap ahead
and finish in 3rd place and recieved my third trophy. I was very
excited as there were over 900 children playing here in Waco in
the 3rd largest tournament in America and I also managed to beat
the 8 year olds. I was also in the Waco Herald newspaper where
they featured an article on my travels and competitions. I am
now off for two days and flying to St Loius and onward to Quincy
for the Pepsi Junior Championship.
Thank
you again to all the people who helped me at my golf day and Rodney
at Suburban
Services for making this trip posssible. I am very greatful
for your help."
Tournament
Details - Scores
Wildwestshootout
Championship 7-11 June - Arlington Texas
"This
was a tough event as I had to play 72 holes over four days just
like the pro's do and also 18 holes a day. We also do not stop
halfway and play straght through 1-18. I played in the 7-9 Age
Group and was the youngest player in this event. The course measured
from 4,500 to 5,000 metres and we played mostly off the ladies
tee. This was very long for me. However I shot a 92 the first
day in very windy conditions and was good enough for tied 4th.
The
second day at Lake Arlington Golf Club we played in the rain the
whole time and in some places the course was waterlogged. I still
managed a 94 and moved to 5th place. The ball never ran on the
fairway as it was so wet. On the third day at Chester Ditto Golf
Course it was still under the "lift,clean & place"
rule and I shot a 90. The other kids were bigger and I knew I
had to keep my drives staight on the last day. They have a rule
in place at Terra Vierde that you may not retrieve your ball from
the rough due to the rattlesnacks. We played our final day here
and I shot a 86 while my other two players in my group lost shots
due to this rule. I finished in 4th place overall. I will think
again about playing this long at my age and so will my caddy (my
dad) as he has big blisters from the heat and rain. I am now on
my way to Waco to play in the Starburst Junior Golf Championship."
Tournament
Details - Scores
Exxon-BFI
Future Tour Championship
"I
played in my first tournament of my USA tour at the Exxon-BFI
Future Tour Championship which was held in Greenville Mississippi.
The temperature is around 28ºC. It was not too humid! The
first day of play saw me record 2 over par for the round after
I double bogeyed the last hole, this left me in 2nd place going
into the final day.
I
started off well with an eagle, birdie and was one under for the
tournament, however, my wedge shots let me down and I finished
with a score of 1 over par. I finished tied 2nd and we had to
have a sudden death play-off, which I lost on the 2nd extra hole.
I was very proud to finish 3rd especially when you have competitors
from 38 states playing. I won a big trophy which I will bring
home with me. Our flag flew high next to the American flag as
I had travelled so far to compete. I was also featured in the
Delta Democratic Times Newspaper and my photograph was published.
My
Dad and I were also on NBC television which was broadcast live
from the course. I also finished tied first place in the putting
competition in this tournament. The people were so friendly and
so well organised and I was very proud to represent our country
at such a prestigious event which was held at the Greenville Golf
and Country Club. I have now left for Dallas for the Young Guns
Wild West Shootout Championship."
Tournament
Details - Scores
Doral-Publix
Junior Classic - Miami USA December 2003
[ Scores ]
Bryce has just returned from the United States where he qualified
to play in the prestigious Doral-Publix Junior Classic in Miami.
The event was held at the famous Doral Golf Course Estate which
features the Blue Monster course. There were over 800 competitors
from over 41 countries and 40 states participating and all players
qualified on Grade Point average scoring system( stroke average).
The Doral-Publix is rated as one of the Top 10 Junior events in
the world and exemptions to other tournaments are granted here.
The championship is also a ranking tournament where the players
accumulate points and feature in the Junior Rankings Table.
Bryce
recorded a 36 in the first round and was joint fourth going into
the final day. Water was in play at 70% of the holes and demanded
accurate shots into the green. The final day saw all players playing
their first 7 holes in pouring rain and blustery winds. The weather
was unusually cold at between 8 and 15 deg C on the day. Bryce
recorded two birdies on the final day but double bogeyed the last
after a tough bunker shot to leave him on a score of 35 and good
enough for 8th place overall. He finished 6 shots behind the winning
score of 65.
The majority of the children in his age group were playing their
8th tournament for their respective age group in a row. These
tournaments are held each weekend and are part of the training
camps established for the youngsters. Bryce is now training for
the next event in the USA when he leaves in June for 2 months.
He has received invitations to three of the tournaments and has
qualified for the others on his finishes during 2003 in the USA.
He finished 1st in the USkids South African Qualifier, 3rd at
the Desert Invitational in Palm Springs and 23 rd in USKids World
Junior Championship in Virginia. Coupled with his 8th place at
the Doral-Publix grants him entry to numerous events to be held
in American Summer Vacations.
