Middle schoolers get into the mix in girls District 4-1A golf tournament

Junior golf keeps getting better on the First Coast.And they're progressing at a faster pace.Consider the girls' District 4-1A Tournament on Oct. 27 at the Golf Club of Fleming Island. Bolles won as expected, with Providence coming in second and Episcopal and Christ's Church scoring at-large bids. All four of those teams will play in the Region 1-A Tournament Nov. 3 at the Eagle Harbor Golf Club, for a chance to advance to the Class A state tournament Nov. 17-18 at the Mission Inn Resort in Howey-in-the-Hills.Here's what was extraordinary about the tournament: Almost half of the players who finished among the top 20, nine in all, are in their freshman year in high school or in middle school. According to FHSAA rules, middle school students can play varsity sports if they share the same campus with the high school.It wasn't all that unusual for freshmen such as Simryn Chokshi of Episcopal (tied for second with her sister, senior Sahana with a 73), Honor Donaldson of Providence (74 for solo fourth) or America Upchurch of Christ's Church (86, solo 14th) to post high finishes.But consider eighth-graders who are headed to the regional tournament: Chloe Pierce (11th with an 82) and Ellyn Park (13th with an 85), both playing for Bolles, plus Wynn McCann of Providence (18th with a 105).Then take seventh-grader Victoria Upchurch of Christ's Church, who finished 12th with an 84. And, incredibly there were two sixth-graders in the mix, Harbor Donaldson of Providence (sixth with a 79) and Lauren Leitten of Christ's Church (15th with a 92).The scores weren't lights-out but they were playing the same course, from the same tees, as senior medalist Chloe McGrath of Bolles and co-runner-up Sahana Chokshi. District 4 looks deep for a few years to come.That district wasn't the only example of youth being served. District 2-3A champion Lily Wachter of Beachside (who shot 66 at Eagle Landing) is a freshman and District 4-2A champion Sophia Moody of Fleming Island (a 67 at Palatka) is a sophomore.TPC Sawgrass captures JAGA team eventThe TPC Sawgrass team proved to be too much for the field in the 44th Jacksonville Area Golf Association Club Team Presidents Cup on Oct. 26 at the King & Bear.With professional Brian Riddle and club members Brad Rollinson, Rick Root and Shawn Heinchon, the TPC team posted at 4-under 212 under a format of one best gross ball and two best net balls per hole.Deerwood (Mike Broderick, Jim Kagiliery, Gee Sprague, Chris Lewis) was second at 218 and two teams tied for third at 220, Palatka (Joe Moseley, Ron Jerin, Ron Mullis, Rick Parker) and Deercreek (Neil Schroeder, Lee Fields, Mark Rutland, Rick Scott).It was the first time the TPC Sawgrass had won the event, which dates back to 1954. On a windy day, all four TPC players shot 80 or less on their gross balls, Rollinson with a 74, Heinchon a 78, Riddle a 79 and Root an 80.Bolles players acing it in the classroomThe Bolles girls golf team keeps the student first in "student-athlete." Coach Mike McGrath said the high school players on the team have an average 3.89 grade point average on a scale of 4.0 -- unweighted. The seven middle-school players are all on the fall semester honor roll. … Therese Quinn of Jacksonville made it to the semifinals of the Florida State Golf Association Senior Women's Match Play Oct. 26-29 at the Tara Golf and Country Club in Bradenton before falling 3 and 1 to Adrienne MacLean of Tequesta. MacLean then lost to Kim Keyer-Scott of Bonita Springs in a 19-hole final. Quinn advanced to the semifinals by beating Marie Arnoux of Miami in 22 holes, matching her opponent with pars at the 19th, 20th and 21st holes before winning with a birdie. Taffy Brower of Boynton Beach defeated Christine Hunt of Ponte Vedra Beach 1-up in the Super-Senior finals; and Barb Matteson of Orange Park defeated Cynthia Shen of Largo 4 and 2 in the middle division bracket.This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Middle schoolers get into the mix in girls District 4-1A golf tournament