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It's so hard to believe that this is Kyle's 6th time to compete
in the US Kids World Championship and his 5th time in the Pinehurst area. Last year we were at Pinehurst No 8 and we
stayed at the Residence Inn as usual. The Boys 10 division would again be at the Little River Golf Club - and
this year, since it was located about 5 miles north of Pinehurst, we made the decision to stay on site. It was a totally awesome experience. We had a very spacious 2 bedroom villa that was a great "home away
from home" and it meant no more driving to the range or the course. We were on the back end of the property where
it was very quiet, with a great view of the area. The course was stunning as well. Not perfect (a couple of holes
had some minor issues) but overall - a great - comfortable experience.
We arrived on Sunday and since we had to leave DFW so early,
we unpacked and settled down for about an hour to rest before going out to check on the course. We were looking forward
to seeing friends from previous years and meeting new friends, as there were a large number of golfers making their first
trip to Worlds this year. Right off the bat, we met up with Shaun Jones all the way from South Africa. Last year
was Shaun's first trip to Pinehurst and we played a practice round with "Little Easy" (as he's known back home,
in homage to his resemblance to Ernie "The Big Easy" Els). I didn't have my camera on the practice round last
year and never got his picture - so I made sure I snapped one of Shaun and Kyle this year.
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| Kyle and Shaun Jones, South Africa |
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| Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly |
We hadn't seen much of Noah Goodwin over the summer, so it was
great to catch up with him. The high humidity and heat had the boys wearing a lot of white. Much congratulations
to Noah, who finished 40 places higher than last year - a truly spectacular job, Noah!!
One of the practice rounds was with Liam Powderly, from Maryland. This was Liam's first time
to compete at World's and he truly epitomized what US Kids is all about. He was so polite and courteous, always smiling
and really seemed to enjoy the whole experience of competing with kids from all over the world. What a great representative
of the US Kids philosophy. Footnote
- 2013 - Liam finished T127 on his first trip to Pinehurst but he returned in 2013, playing in the Teen World Championship
and finished T54th. He also competed in the Drive Chip and Putt Championship, where he finished 2nd at his Local Qualifier.
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| Kyle and Liam Powderly, Maryland |
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It was no surprise that our tee time for Round 1 was at 7:10. I don't think we'd know what to do
if we ever got to sleep in on the first round. Fortunately, it all worked out. We got to go 18 holes with Crosby,
who was competing in Worlds for the very first time and Cody Transou, who we hadn't seen since 2006 when Kyle was first
and Cody was 4th. Not only did we manage to finish most of the holes before it got really hot, but I was able to ride
along in a cart with Cody's twin sister, Molly, to keep me company. Kyle had a phenomenal round, shooting a 68, and
was finally able to say he was the first round leader - since traditionally, the first round at Worlds wasn't his best one.
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| Crosby Guercio, TX, Cody Transou, S. Carolina, & Kyle |
The manager of Little River did a Facebook entry spotlighting Kyle's
opening round and took Kyle and Paul's picture on the putting green.
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Round 2 was going to be with AJ Beechler (North Carolina, 5th in 2009) and Patrick Welch (Rhode Island,
3rd in 2009). We were the final group, with Kyle in the lead by 3 shots. However, this round didn't go quite as
smoothly as the day before. The boys all struggled to find a rhythm and some issues out of our control on the back 9 resulted
in an almost 6 hour round. When we got back to the scorer's table the damage had been done: Kyle and AJ shot 75
and Patrick a 77.
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| Trent Phillips, S.Carolina, Kyle, & Brian Terlesky, Ohio |
The final round had Brian Terlesky, Ohio in the lead by 2 shots over Kyle, who was 3 shots ahead of Trent
Phillips, South Carolina. I give all the credit in the world to Kyle who didn't let yesterday's round get him down.
He went out and shot another 68 to close out with a 3-day total of 211. Brian Terlesky shot his best round, matching
Kyle's 68, to win his first World Championship. We are so incredibly proud of Kyle. His record of two wins and
two runner-up finishes at Worlds is the very best in his age division. This year, Kyle and Brian were the only
two to have rounds in the 60's (Kyle 68 & 68 - Brian 68 & 69) and only 5 others had a round under par.
Next year, the course set up will be almost 500 yards longer and Kyle will get to play 18 holes locally as well as at Worlds.
He's eager to tackle the challenge.
Kyle received his 2nd Place trophy, from Dan Van Horn.
Joining him on stage was AJ Beechler in 5th place, Harry Reynolds, South Carolina in 4th and Brian Terlesky in first.
A special shout out to Harrison Corbin from South Carolina, who finished in 3rd place - his first trophy at Worlds.
As excited as we are for Kyle, we were also very proud of Brad Dalke, now 12, who closed out
his years of competing for US Kids with his first World Championship. He went on to win his match in the World Cup -
Match play competition on Pinhurst No. 2. Brad has had a 4th place finish, two 3rd place finishes and was so close last
year, finishing 2nd. To close out with a win was just awesome. Scott Roden, 8, from Dallas returned to the
podium to claim 4th place after placing 2nd in 2008. Our Texas girls, also made a strong showing.
In her first visit to Worlds, 7 year old Melana Barrientos, Dallas was 3rd. Improving on last year's 5th place finish,
was Sadie Englemann 8, from Austin finishing 4th. On just her second trip to Worlds, Hailee Cooper, 10, finished in
2nd place. Since 2005 - this is the first time we've had 3 girls in the top 4 at Worlds.
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