 Youth Golf |
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Sea to Sky Junior Tour - Tour Wrap Hastings wins Nicklaus but Sellers takes title
Matt Hastings, 15, won the seventh and final event of the 2001 Sea-to-Sky
junior golf tour last week at Nicklaus North with a stirling round of 75,
one shot better than Parker Wright, 16, and two better than Shawn Crichton,
18, but the season title went to 16 year old Scott Sellers, of Squamish, who
finished tied for sixth with a 79.
The win by Hastings propelled him into third place on the Order of Merit but
Sellers arrived at Nicklaus North with too much of a commanding lead for
Hastings or Crichton to threaten his position at the top of the heap. In
fact, his victory was of the wire-to-wire variety since he won the first two
events back in June and never occupied any position other than first for the
whole season. His performance was a model of consistency as he was never out
of the top ten in any event all season.
His sister Stephanie, also 16, won the girls division after a close race
with Ashley Hogg. The age group titles in the boys division went to Gordon
Yakura (14 year olds), Hastings (15), Sellers (16), Bryon Thom (17) and
Crichton (18) after the best season of golf since the tour began in 1997.
With seven players breaking 80 at Nicklaus North, it was the best single-day
performance in the tour's young history. The whole season was a series of
record-breaking moments high-lighted by the first-ever rounds of par or
better when Sellers and Thom went red at Squamish Valley back in July with
rounds of 71 and 70. Thom's 70 is the new scoring record for the tour which
indicates we may see rounds in the 60's next season from these gifted young
athletes. When the tour began four seasons ago, rounds in the 70's were
rare. Now you have to break 80 to get in the top ten.
The tour, brainchild and creation of Nicklaus North GM Rod Cochrane, was run
this season by assistant pros Pat Miller and Matt Steele who did a superb
job organizing the play and getting the results to the media. The tour's
mission is to introduce corridor kids to tournament golf and prepare them
for bigger tournaments down the road. This season was the realization of
that goal as four members of the tour moved up to the prestigious American
Junior Golf Association's Whistler Future Links Classic played two weeks ago
at Whistler GC.
Sellers was exempted straight into the AJGA field by being the Order of
Merit leader but Thom, Fraser McClennan and Gordon Yakura also got in when
the AJGA made the Pemberton Sea-to-Sky event an open qualifier.
At least three former tour members, Sarah Moodie, Danielle O'Reilly and Matt
Woods, have accepted University golf scholarships which is the ultimate goal
but many more have moved up to the next levels of junior golf in Canada, the
Western Canada Tour and the national Canadian Junior Golf Association.
The entry-level tour emphasizes participation, rules, etiquette and
sportsmanship over winning at all costs but recognizes winning is important
in any sport.
Since Sellers is only 16, the youngest overall champion in tour history, he
is already the favourite to repeat next season. However, the way the tour is
attracting unknown young golfers who have game, nothing is a cinch and
Sellers will have his work cut out for him in 2002 to repeat.
Scott Sellers named to AJGA field at Whistler GC
True to their word, the organizers of the American Junior Golf Association’s
Future Links Whistler Classic to be played Aug. 20-23 on the rebuilt
Whistler GC have lived up to their verbal commitment and exempted the leader
of the local Sea-to-Sky junior golf tour into the field of the prestigious
international tournament which starts a week Monday.
Scott Sellers, 16, from Squamish, is the lucky local although his selection
had everything to do with skill and little with luck. Sellers has been
winning the local tour since the beginning of the season as he recorded two
first places finishes, a second and, last week at Furry Creek, a fourth. He
has shot tournament rounds of 80-78-71 and 80 for a season scoring average
of 77.5 to win the honour.
The field of golfers aged 13-18 has 49 Americans and 41 Canadians. The
Canadians are from Ontario, Calgary, Vancouver, Langley, White Rock,
Abottsford, Victoria, Mission, Williams Lake, Sydney, Dawson Creek, Surrey,
Whitehorse, Terrace, Prince Rupert and, of course, Squamish.
The Americans are primarily from Washington, Oregon and northern California
but there are also entries from Minnesota, North Dakota, Colorado, Arizona,
Montana and Alaska.
Sea-to-Sky Junior Golf Tour Order of Merit
Updated July 25th, 2001
After two of seven tournaments on the 2001 Sea-to-Sky junior golf tour,
Scott Sellers, 16, of Squamish Valley G&CC, has opened up a 60 point lead on
the Order or Merit over Shawn Crichton, 18, of Whistler. Sellers tied for
first in the first event at Chateau with 14 year old Jordan Coren, of West
Van, when both shot 80 and came back with a 78 at Whistler GC last week for
a scoring average of 79. This week the tour played at Squamish Valley on
Tuesday (after deadline) and we’ll have those results for you next week.
Sellers, whose sister Stephanie, also 16, is leading the girls’ division,
has been playing on the tour since he was 13 and progressing steadily down
the Order but this season has emerged as the man to beat. Normally, the tour
is led by older golfers since the age grouping is 13-18 but Sellers appear
ready this season to break the stereotype. In fact, the entire tour seems to
be going through some kind of youth movement as there are only two 18 year
olds, Crichton and Ryan Worrod, in the top ten and one 17 year old,
Whistler’s Ben Heaps.
In fact, the majority of the top ten so far are not old enough to drive a
car even though they have no trouble driving golf balls: Coren, 14, is in
third place, Fraser McGlennan, 14, is in fourth, Gordon Yakura, 14, is in
sixth and Pemberton’s Jason McLean, who is only 13, is in seventh. If
teenagers weren’t so sensitive about the maturation process, we would call
them all "Baby Boomers."
At Chateau Whistler in the opener, Sellers won the long drive with a 305
yard poke. Last week, at Whistler GC, he made the highlight comments
provided by tour organizer Pat Miller by driving the 280 yard, par four,
fourth green and draining the putt for an eagle two. What’s next, a hole in
one? The tour has never had one or a round of even par or better.
Nadine Sykora, also 14, won the girls title at Whistler GC with a 92, four
strokes better than Stephanie Sellers who nonetheless held onto female first
place on the Order.
This "Ode to Youth" continues all the way down to the other end of the
leaderboard also. Even though the tour is ostensibly for kids aged 13-18,
Miller and tour commissioner Rod Cochrane have no qualms about letting
pre-teens play so long as there are openings. Accordingly, 12 year old David
Rose shot 87 at Whistler and finished ninth, Mike Rose, 12, shot 92 for 13th
and Nadine Crowe, who is just 11, shot 157 to bring up the caboose.
Not only are these kids young and good, they are also fast. Miller noted the
entire tour got around Whistler GC in 3 hours, 45 minutes in a howling wind
which is a torrid pace in tough conditions.
The big Question this week: Can "Old Man" Crichton close the gap on young
Sellers who is playing on his home course?
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