Two junior golf events to be featured

The next phenom, such as Ty Tryon, could be playing in the area in the next two months.

Two tournaments featuring some of the nation's top junior golfers will be held in the area in the next couple of months. The International Junior Golf Tour will hold the Sierra Nevada Junior Open this weekend at Sierra Nevada Golf Ranch.

Then on June 19 and 20, a PGA Junior Series event will be held at the Golf Club at Genoa Lakes.

The IJGT event at Sierra Nevada will be held on Saturday and Sunday. Tee times are set for 7:16 to 9:16 a.m. each day, with a practice round to be held on Friday. The event is open to the public free of charge.

The event will feature a 54-hole tournament for boys and girls ages 15-19 and a two-day 36-hole event for 11-12-year-old and 13-15-year-old boys and 11-14-year-old girls. The 54-hole event will consist of 36 holes on Saturday and 18 holes on Sunday.

The IJGT tour has grown out of the Internatonal Junior Golf Academy in Hilton Head, S.C. Ninety percent of the golfers who attend the academy go on to earn college scholarships and many of the players who have attended the academy are expected to compete in this weekend's event.

Among the players who have participate in the tour is teenage phenom Ty Tryon. Among the local players scheduled to compete this weekend is Dayton's Kevin Goles in the 11-12 boys division.

This weekend's event is one of 45 tournaments on the IJGT tour this season. Winners of the event will qualify to play in the IJGT Tournament of Champions in Orlando, Fla.

Players from 14 states are among those entered so far in the PGA Junior Series event at Genoa Lakes. A field of 150 players consisting of boys and girls ages 13-17 are expected to play in the 36-hole event.

The Genoa Lakes event will be the fourth of 11 tournaments on the PGA Junior Series tour's coast-to-coast schedule this summer. Points are awarded to boys and girls in the top 15 in the 16-17 age division. The top two point leaders in the boys and girls divisions in the first seven events will earn berths to the PGA Junior Series' showcase event -- the Westfield PGA Junior Championships to be held July 17-20 in Westfield Center, Ohio.

One boy and one girl leader in the first six events will qualify for the Junior World Championships to be held July 16-19 in San Diego.

The PGA Junior Series was begun to provide affordable and competitive golf for junior players.

Charles Whisnand is the Nevada Appeal Sports Editor.