Opportunity beckons Junior golfers at National course

Source: The Star

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Photos by Jim Barcus | The Kansas City Star

Curtis Yonke (above) and Harry Higgs (right, top) were two of the names at the Lockton Kansas City Junior, but other talent abounded at the National Golf Club, including Henry Simpson (right, bottom).

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Just as the rain clouds hovered over the National Golf Club in Kansas City, North on Tuesday morning and as the early groups prepared for their first day of competition in the Lockton Kansas City Junior tournament, Steven Ihm thought about the benefits of playing in this American Junior Golf Association event.

In the recent high school season, Ihm, a rising senior at Wahlert High School in Dubuque, Iowa, dominated his home conference and districts and even finished sixth at the state championships. Now he wants to test his skills against the “heavy hitters.”

“You get to measure up against kids on a national level,” Ihm said. “You don’t know how good they are until you start getting (beat).”

It is with this expectation of good competition that 99 boys and girls ranging from 12-18 have come to Platte County week. The AJGA event is one of 86 tournaments across the country this year. Although the players hail from 18 states plus Canada and China, several local players also are competing among the best.

Last year, Ryan Zech of Kearney won the boys’ division, but he is not participating this time. Thus, Overland Park residents Curtis Yonke (Blue Valley West High School) the reigning Kansas Class 6A state champion, and Harry Higgs (Blue Valley North), who finished third in Kansas 6A state, head the local pack. Other familiar names in the tournament include Duncan Laner of Pembroke Hill School and Jimmy Thode of Raytown South High School and recent graduates Charles King of Smithville High and Chris Reinert of Park Hill South.

Reinert might even have an advantage on the field, if one were to exist on this challenging course, because his home is near the No. 1 tee at National.

“You’d think I would have (home-course advantage), but we’ll see,” Reinert said. “I know they’ve had Champions Tour events here and some of the senior players complained. You know it’s hard when past champions are complaining about how tough it is.”

Although Reinert already has a golf scholarship from William Woods University in Fulton, Mo., tournament director Annie Giangrosso said several players use this tournament to attract attention from colleges.

Giangrosso, a 2004 graduate of St. Thomas Aquinas, who credits her participation in AJGA events for helping land a scholarship to the University of Kansas, estimates that 10-20 college recruiters will attend.

“You’ve got kids from all over the United States, not just Curtis Yonke and Harry Higgs,” Giangrosso said. “We do have a few groups teeing off early (Tuesday) who are heavy hitters so to say. … They know this is where the college coaches are.”

The second round of the Lockton Kansas City Junior continues today at 7:30 a.m. The final round is scheduled Thursday.

submitted by CANDACE BUCKNER The Kansas City Star - 2009-07-21 12:32:01