The Junior-Am is the fundraiser portion of the tournament that gives local golfers the chance to play with the prospective future stars of golf.
“I played last year and this is always a lot of fun. The Coosa Country Club has a great golf course. It’s challenging and fun,” said Sloan Shanahan, 16, from Suwanee, who is competing in this week’s Rome Classic that officially tees off this morning.
Those who donated to the American Junior Golf Association were given the opportunity to play the course with some of the junior players.
“I think this is a good thing for the future of golf. The more help they have, the better,” said John Swede, a Rome resident who played in the Junior-Am.
The junior players and sponsors/donors were split into small groups, four adults to one junior. There were 18 teams that participated in the fundraiser.
“Playing with these guys is pretty exciting,” said Tim Bringard, 17, from Wilmington, N.C., also participating in the Burgett H. Mooney Jr. Rome Classic.
All the proceeds from the fundraiser will benefit the Floyd County Junior Golf Association and the AJGA Foundation.
“It serves as the fundraising aspect of the event. This gives the sponsors and donors a chance to play with the top junior golfers in the world and they also get to enjoy a nice day,” said Brian Albertson, the head gold professional at Coosa Country Club.
The Junior-Am fundraiser is an opportunity for Romans to benefit young golfers while getting to know them.
“This is really quite gratifying,” said F. Joseph Butler of Rome. “These juniors play so hard that it makes you want to play harder. It’s a really good experience and I’m glad we can contribute.”
Tiger Woods, Charles Howell III, Lucas Glover, Paula Creamer and Morgan Pressel are just a few of the talented players who participated in AJGA Junior-Ams as teens.
“I’m really enjoying playing with the members of Coosa Country Club. They’re very helpful,” said Rome Classic competitor Matt Plummer, who hails from Mechanicsburg, Pa.
When the drivers and putters were all put away and the scores tallied, the Junior-Am winner was the State Mutual Insurance team of Dee Yancey, Harley Yancey, Richard Burton and Patrick McShane, a Rome Classic alum who went on to play at the University of Georgia. They were joined by junior competitor Chris Sells from Savannah.
The first of three rounds of the Burgett H. Mooney Jr. Rome Classic tees off this morning at 7:30 a.m. at Coosa Country Club. Admission is free to spectators who would like to come out and watch the tournament.
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