North & South Junior
PINEHURST • June 15-17 – Jonathan DiIanni of Kernersville and Lane Gakeler of Greensboro posted top-10 finishes in the North & South Junior Championship at Pinehurst.
DiIanni opened with 78 at Pinehurst No. 8 but came back with back-to-back 70s at No. 5 and No. 2 to advance to fifth on the final leaderboard. He finished five shots off the pace.
Gakeler shot 76-76-81 and placed ninth in the girls division.
Trusted Choice Big I
The Trusted Choice Boys Big I State Championship is set for July 10-11 in Southern Pines with Mid Pines playing host to some of the state’s best players.
Boys who finished in the top 10 a year ago, those ranked among the top 20 in the Carolinas Golf Association and the current year’s high school state champions were exempt from qualifying.
Meanwhile, regional rounds were held at eight different sites in June to complete the field.
Eric Mitchell of Winston-Salem posted one of the top scores in qualifying when he shot 67 at Pine Brook Country Club in Winston-Salem on June 14 to earn medalist honors. Andrew Kennedy of Winston-Salem shot 72 and finished tied for third. Another score of note was posted by Ben Schlottman of Advance. He shot a 66 at Rock Barn to finish second in the June 15 event.
A list of the regional qualifiers can be found in the junior golf scoreboard on page 28.
The girls event will be played on July 10-11 at Pine Needles. There was no regional qualifying for the girls.
AJGA
RINGGOLD, Ga. • June 7-10 — Eric Edwards of Salisbury posted a top-10 finish in the AJGA Evitt Foundation RTC Junior All-Star Tournament at WindStone Golf Club.
Edwards opened with 68 and followed with a pair of 73s to claim seventh place in the 75-player field.
Ben Schlottman shot 71-73-75 to tie for 18th.
BRASELTON, Ga. • May 29-31 — Michael Borton of Winston-Salem shot a 1-over-par 73 and tied for 12th in the rain-shortened Pre-Season Junior at Chateau Elan.
Borton finished four shots off the pace in the 78-player event.
Tarheel Golf Foundation
PINEHURST • May 29-30 – Tanner Owen of High Point fired 7-under-par 65 in the second round and held off Benjamin Griffin to win the Middle School Division of the Junior Memorial Tournament at National Golf Club.
Owen and Griffin each opened with 71 and battled for the lead throughout the second round with the lead changing hands a couple of times before Owen birdied Nos. 13, 15 and 18 to end with a two-shot margin.
Ty Palmer of Kernersville tied for second in the Freshman/Sophomore Division with 74-75, finishing just a shot back of Kendrick Vinar of Chapel Hill.
In the Junior/Senior Division, Kane Wilkerson of Winston-Salem was the Triad’s top finisher with 84-73. He ended in a tie for ninth.
Peggy Kirk Bell Girls Tour
SALISBURY • May 29-30 – Kristi Ingram of Winston-Salem fired 72-74 at the Country Club of Salisbury and finished third in the Open Championship of Salisbury, a major on the Peggy Kirk Bell Girls Golf Tour.
Ingram finished five shots off the pace of Sarah Bae of Raleigh (71-70) in the 66-player Bell Division. Andrea Robbins of Liberty finished sixth with 76-75.
The event was scheduled for 54 holes but the third round was canceled because of rain.
In the Futures Division, shortened to one round because of rain, the Salisbury duo of Grace Yatawara and Isabella Rusher tied for fourth with 82.
Atlantic Coast Junior Tour
GRAHAM • May 29-31 – Tanner Gross of Archdale edged Christian Hodge of Whitsett 1 up to win the Atlantic Coast Junior Tour Spring Match Play at Southwick Golf Course.
Gross shot 73 in qualifying to finish a shot back of Hodge then won four matches on his way to the boys 14-18 title in the round robin format.
In the boys 12-under division, Ben Fisher of Julian placed second.
SOUTHERN PINES • June 5-6 – Thomas Bonney of Pleasant Garden won the Atlantic Coast Junior Tour Championship in the boys 17-18 division at Hyland Golf Club, holding off Davis Hoke of Jamestown.
Bonney shot 71-75 while Hoke rallied from five shots down after the first round, shooting 76-71. Bonney’s 12-foot birdie putt on the last hole made the difference.
In boys 14-under, Tanner Gross shot 73-78 and finished second. In boys 8-under, Zach Brown of Bermuda Run took first place with 74-79.
