Pennson Badgett capped a fantastic 2024 season with a college commitment.
The East Surry High junior gave a verbal commitment to the University of Tennessee last week. The commitment came after a recent visit by Tennessee coach Brennan Webb, who came to see Badgett at Maple Chase Country Club, where Badgett works on his game with instruction Brad Luebchow.
Pennson Badgett burst into the junior golf spotlight last year by winning a high school title and qualifying for the U.S. Junior Amateur.
It was a big day at Maple Chase. By coincidence, former Tennessee football star Peyton Manning was at Maple Chase having lunch with member Clyde Christensen, his former quarterback coach with the Indianapolis Colts. No, Manning wasn’t there to help Webb recruit.
Badgett, who plays out of Pilot Knob Park in Pilot Mountain, saw his recruiting stock rise dramatically this year thanks to three victories on the American Junior Golf Association Tour. Badgett, who led East Surry to a state high school title in 2023, was profiled in Triad Golf magazine’s April 2024 issue.
His ascension began in April when he won the AJGA’s Goldsboro Junior with 5-under-par 211 at Lane Tree Golf Club. In late May, he added a victory at the AJGA’s Adam Scott Junior Championship in Lake Worth, Florida, by three strokes, with an 11-under 205 total.
“He had the opportunity and he took advantage of it,” said Luebchow.
The Adam Scott victory got him a late berth into the AJGA Wyndham Championship two weeks later at Sedgefield, where he tied for fifth in an international field of 72 players.
The early AJGA success made Badgett a well-known recruit.
Padgett’s third AJGA victory came later in June at the RLX Ralph Lauren Junior Classic, a 32-player match play tournament at regular U.S. Open site Bethpage Black in New York.
With his success, Badgett received a berth in the AJGA’s Junior Presidents Cup in Quebec. Badgett was one of the 12 U.S. players who defeated an international team 15-9 in the Sept. 22-24 event. After a tie in fourball and a loss in foursomes (alternate shot), Badgett earned a halve in singles.
GRANDFATHER, ELK RIVER HIT HARD, BOONE REOPENS
Wind and flooding from Hurricane Helene devastated many courses in the N.C. High County. Many are shut down for the year. Some may not be ready to reopen at the start of the spring season.
In Avery County, Grandfather Golf & Country Club and the Elk River Club were among the hardest hit prestigious private clubs. Both lie in valleys along rivers and streams that overflowed onto the courses.
The flooding at Grandfather could be seen on holes running along N.C. 105. At Elk River Club, water from the Elk River covered several of the holes visible along N.C. 194.
Sources told TriadGolf.com that Linville Golf Club, LInville Ridge Country Club and Diamond Creek Club suffered some damage, but are expected to be require only minimal renovations to be ready by the spring 2025 season.
Specific information is hard to attain — many of the courses haven’t answered phone calls since the storm. The damage wiped out the final month or so of golf in the region. Most courses typically are closed by early November.
Sugar Mountain Golf Club, a popular par-64 layout open to the public, suffered some serious damage. General manager Tom McAuliffe told TriadGolf.com that two holes will require significant changes due to flooding of creeks that run along the layout.
The biggest change at Sugar Mountain will come at No. 16 a downhill par-4, where a creek overflowed, destroying the green and altering the flow of the hole.
Playing Golf isn’t the biggest concern in the Banner Elk area. The Sugar Mountain pro shop has been converted into a place where local residents, whose property was damaged or lost, can receive meals. McAuliffe donated much of his shop’s golf apparel to flood victims.
In Watauga County, historic Blowing Rock Country Club reportedly emerged without serious damage. Flooding from the Watauga River overflowed fairways at Hound Ears Country Club.
Boone Golf Club (pictured above), a popular public layout designed by Ellis Maples, had water from creeks overflow much of the course, but was able to reopen gradually during the past week.
Assistant golf pro Art Adams told TriadGolf.com, that the course reopened with 14 holes on Oct. 12. By this past week, all 18 holes were open, though the par-4 No. 2 was played as a par-3 due to the damage to the grass in the fairway and none of the bunkers were in use.
