All-star members of the Blue Ridge Junior Golf Tour and the Tri-Cities section of the Sneds Tour got together for a match play competition at Glenrochie Country Club in Abingdon on August 11.
Nine matches were contested on the fair but challenging 18 hole layout in southwest Virginia. In the end the Sneds Tour garnered six points to win the friendly battle.
Three matches were played on the opening nine holes. Players were paired with a partner in a four-ball format.
In this style of competition, the best score is counted for the team on the particular hole. The Blue Ridge Tour won the first match as Patrick Smith of Beckley, West Virginia and Daniel Goode of Wytheville gained a 2-1 win over Tarun Hoskere of Johnson City and Seth Robinette of Blountsville, Tennessee.
The Sneds Tour equaled the score in the second match as Sean Anderson of Johnson City, Tennessee and Zac Fletcher of Kingsport, Tennessee defeated Trey Sparks of Tazewell and Jason Hall of Dublin, 4-3.
Match 3 also went to the Sneds Tour as Zach Wood of Greeneville, Tennessee and Caleb Brummitt of Abingdon won 5-3 over Seth Walker of Christiansburg and Tyler Galligher of Princeton, West Virginia.
With the Sneds Tour leading 2-1, the competition turned to the inward nine holes with the singles format. Tarun Hoskere defeated Daniel Goode 2 -1 in match 4 to give the Sneds Tour a 3-1 lead.
However, the Blue Ridge Tour showed life as Patrick Smith defeated Sean Anderson 1 up in the thrilling match 5. Smith had the upper hand early in the match and when Anderson’s ball took an unlucky bounce into a greenside pond on hole 14, Smith had a commanding 3 up lead with 4 holes to play.
But Anderson, a rising high school senior who has committed to play college golf at Tennessee Tech, wasn’t through quite yet. He won the difficult par 4- hole 15 to get within two and then won the par 4 on the 17th hole to force an exciting finish on 18.
Knowing that he had to win the hole to gain an important a half point, Anderson played a wonderful tee shot to within 50 yards of the flag.
The play was strategically down the right side to gain an ideal angle for the left front hole location. Smith now had a pressure shot but saved his best play of the day for the occasion.
The soon to be freshman at Davis and Elkins College hit driver just to the left of the green. A short chip and two safe putts followed allowing him to halve the hole and gain the 1 up win. That allowed the Blue Ridge Tour to creep to within one point of the lead.
The Sneds Tour rebounded with wins in matches 6 and 7. Seth Robinette defeated Trey Sparks in match 6 by a score of 1 up.
The match was sealed when Robinette exhibited a deft touch by pitching his bal gently over the greenside bunker and landing it softly near the hole perched at the edge of a slippery slope.
Robinette then was safely home in 2 putts to secure the win. Zack Wood defeated Jason Hall 2-1 to win match 7 and give the Sneds Tour enough points for the victory with a 5-2 lead. Match 8 went to the Blue Ridge Tour as Seth Walker defeated Zac Fletcher 3-2.
Caleb Brummitt defeated Tyler Galligher 2 up in match 9 to make the final score 6-3.
Steve Lilly coached the Blue Ridge side and was gracious in defeat. “The players from both sides really played good golf today. It was enjoyable to watch all of the players.”
Cody Weems coached the Sneds Tour echoed the sentiments of Lilly saying “I’m proud of these young players for their skill and sportsmanship. It has been a fun and rewarding day.”
–Blue Ridge Junior Golf Tour.