The Pleasant Valley Hot Springs All-Stars golf team arrived in Arizona this week to compete in this weekend's national PGA Jr. League Championship for the second year in a row.
PGA Jr. League provides instruction from PGA and LPGA professionals, who serve as captains of the teams. Barry Howard, general manager and director of golf for the Hot Springs Country Club, captains the team.
Leonardo Di Marino is the team's coach. He is also the director of instruction and the director of the Hot Springs Country Club's junior program.
"We always try to aim to not only get there but win," Di Marino said. "All you can do is get them ready one at a time and, hopefully, they perform.
"It is so tough. There are so many kids. They started at 60,000 this year."
"You are one of 12 teams that has 10 kids," Howard said. "So, 120 players out of 60,000. We are one of those 12 teams out of 5,000 teams."
The national PGA Jr. League Championship presented by National Car Rental expanded this year from eight teams to 12 as participation hit record numbers. A previous record of about 42,000 participants were part of PGA Jr. League in 2017.
The Pleasant Valley Hot Springs All-Stars won the PGA Jr. League Region 9 championship in September in Missouri to qualify again for nationals. They qualified for the regional competition by South Central Section championship on Aug. 26 at the Club at Indian Springs.
"I did not really see any nerves," Howard said. "I think the format helps with that being a two-person scramble. I think that really helps. It's not individual. You're not on your own. You have a teammate to help you."
Nationals will be held at Grayhawk Golf Club's Raptor course in Scottsdale, Ariz., for the third consecutive year. The 36-hole facility has been selected to host the NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Golf Championships for 2020-22.
Members of the team from Hot Springs include Graham Dolan, Towle Douglas, Will Gordon, Gray Manning and Scott McLaughlin. Team member Brooklyn Bourland is from Hot Springs Village. Anna Kate Nichols, Peyton Robinson, Adam Squires and Robbie Vaught represent the Pleasant Valley Country Club in Little Rock.
They placed sixth at the 2017 national tournament. Dolan, Gordon, Manning and Nichols return from the 2017 team.
"No question about it, that was the goal to get back to nationals, because they wanted to do better," Howard said. "Unfortunately, you lose some good players, but you replace them with other good players and you never know, being an all-star team, of what you are going to get."
Players can compete up through 14 years of age. This year's consists entirely of 12- and 13-year-olds, including one who was 11 for much of the season.
"When you go out there and you see these kids that are 6-1, 6-2, they are 14 years old and they play from the same tee box that other players play from, the competition is tough," Di Marino said. "But it was a good experience to realize what we have to do in order to eventually have a shot at winning it."
Pleasant Valley and Hot Springs make up the only team to return without the benefit of being an academy or public teaching facility with an expanded player pool.
"It is one of the big things they talk," Howard said. "We are pretty rare to have made it how we are set up. Leo has done a really good job of preparing those kids to get ready for that."
Team Arkansas will compete in the Wanamaker division at the Championship, which was previously announced on Facebook. Six other teams will compete in the Ryder division.
"We're delighted to showcase a field of talented junior golfers, and it's very exciting to watch their teamwork and dedication propel them through the postseason and ultimately to the PGA Jr. League Championship presented by National Car Rental," said PGA President Paul Levy. "We also look forward to seeing their friends and families have fun and make lasting memories in Scottsdale."
Also in the Wanamaker division are Team Delaware, with players from the Hartefeld National Golf Course in Avondale, Pa., Wilmington Country Club in Delaware, Rock Manor Golf Course in Wilmington, Del., and Kennett Square Golf and Country Club in Pennsylvania; Team Texas with players from the Axis Golf Academy in Montgomery, Texas; Team Georgia, from TPC Sugarloaf in Duluth, Ga.; Team Illinois, from Cog Hill Golf and Country Club in Lemont, Ill.; and Team Minnesota, from TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, Minn.
The Ryder division consists of Team Connecticut, with players from Fairview Farm Golf Course in Harwinton, Conn., Chippanee Golf Club in Bristol, Conn., Crestbrook Park Golf Course in Watertown, Conn., and Watertown Golf Club in Connecticut; Team California, with all players from Encinitas Ranch golf Course; Team Washington, with players from Bellingham Golf and Country Club and the Skagit Golf and Country Club; Team Virginia, from 1757 Golf Club in Dulles, Va.; Team Ohio, from Mallard Creek Golf Club in Columbia Station, Ohio; and Team Louisiana, with players from David Toms Golf Academy, East Ridge Country Club and Southern Trace Country Club, all in Shreveport, La.
Both divisions will play 18 holes on Saturday, 18 holes on Sunday and nine holes on Monday morning. The two teams with the best division records will compete for the national title Monday afternoon. The division runners-up will compete for third place overall.
"Hopefully, the process has gotten them prepared and playing in the other regional events has gotten them prepared to play in the nationals," Howard said.
"It is really not a cutthroat, individual deal," Howard said. "It is a team environment where they are enjoying it. It is a fun thing."
Two former national champions are in this year's field, including reigning champion Team Georgia. Team California captured the 2015 championship at Disney's Palm Course in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
A two-hour prime-time special will highlight the event on Dec. 4 at 7 p.m. on the Golf Channel.
The team arrived in Arizona on Wednesday with plans for practice rounds Wednesday, Thursday and today. Special events are held for players and captains throughout the event.
"There is so much going on and it is a lot of fun," Di Marino said. "It's just a nice experience. It is a nice journey. You have 10 kids, but last year we had about 50 parents and family members. This year, we have about 70."
"Every team we have will probably see some type of success, and it is always fun to see that," Howard said. "They may get beat overall and they may win overall, but just to see the smiles on their faces when they hit a good shot. That is what is rewards. That is really it."
Preparation and practice continues almost year-round. Howard said signups for the next events will start on Nov. 28.
"It is not like you get ready for nationals," Di Marino said. "You just keep them working year-round. Nationals are kind of like a consequence."
"In my mind, we are all a team, all of us here," Howard said. "The members are a big part of it. Obviously, the parents bring them here. Leo does a great job in teaching them, but there are a lot of people behind the scenes that do things people don't know to be able to allow Leo and myself to do what we do."
Sports on 11/16/2018