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Complete Forecast for  Jul 24 2008

By PHIL HICKS
Sports Editor

BULLARD - Some of the top junior golfers around will compete this weekend in the inaugural Tyler Rose Junior Invitational Golf Tournament.

The Texas Junior Golf Tour event is scheduled for the beautiful, but challenging Eagle's Bluff Country Club course which lines the shores of Lake Palestine.

The 36-hole event is sponsored by SPORTyler, the Tyler Morning Telegraph and HealthFirst.

Shotgun starts are scheduled for each day, 1:30 p.m. on Saturday and 8 a.m. on Sunday.

More than 100 players in four divisions - boys 12-15 and 16-18, and girls 12-15 and 16-18 - are set to play.

Golfers from Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Mississippi and Mexico will be competing.

Also, TJGT Player of the Year honors are at stake with three of the four age leaders scheduled to compete - Jesse Droemer of Sealy (Boys 16-18); Teejay Shanks of Texarkana (Boys 12-15) and Mei Liu of Austin (Girls 16-18).

The Girls 16-18 category has nine of the 15 leaders in the field, including runner-up Mariah Montoya of Lubbock and No. 13 Kelsey Kipp of Tyler. Also joining No. 1 Liu is No. 4 Katie Paxton of Spring and No. 4 Lauren Ballenger of Caldwell.

In Boys 16-18, three top 10 golfers join Droemer - No. 3 Jeff Hageman of Grapeland, No. 7 Brad Mason of Dallas and No. 8 Jade Scott of Daingerfield. Zachary Sadau, No. 13 in the race, of Southlake is also playing.

In Boys 12-15 POY race, No. 2 Taylor Mihok of Aledo is in the field as well as No. 10 Michael Culin of Plano.

There are several East Texans competing in the event.

Joining Kipp from Tyler are Nichole Birdsong, Greyden Blevins, Cal Clyde, Will DeShazo, William Estes, Jeffrey Juillerat, and Katelyn Sepmoree.

Other area players joining Shanks and Scott are Paris' Jay Cox, Longview's Jason Fiscus, Lufkin's Will Griffin, Lindale's Jared Johnson, Hideaway's Stetson McMillan, Winnsboro's Joe Ross, Henderson's Sam Sadler, Marshall's Joel Thelen and Hallsville's Nathan Weant.

The Tyler Rose Junior is the third junior golf tournament in the area. In March, the Azalea Trail Junior Golf Classic, conducted by the Northern Texas PGA, was held at Hollytree Country Club, while the TylerPaper.com Tournament, a 54-hole event run by the Legends Junior Tour, is scheduled for Sept. 27-28 at Hollytree.

The Tyler Rose Junior tournament offers exemptions into the American Junior Golf Association tournaments and it is a Golfweek ranked-event.

The Texas Junior Golf Tour (TJGT) was founded in 1989 in Austin, when several Austin High School golf coaches and parents realized a need for a higher level competition during the fall and winter season that would supplement high school golf along with regional PGA events and provide more national exposure to collegiate golf programs.

The TJGT started with just eight tournaments and has since expanded to include more than 40 events during the 2007-2008 season. Tournaments in 1989 consisted of only local Austin/San Antonio players and have grown into some of the strongest fields in junior golf. Players from coast to coast as well as many international countries, such as Mexico, Scotland, Venezuela, Ecuador, Canada and Korea, are now participating.

The TJGT has produced more than 550 collegiate golfers at all levels of the NCAA, not to mention many additional players who have received academic scholarships that supplemented their golf scholarships.

DIRECTIONS - To reach Eagle's Bluff Country Club, from Tyler take Highway 155 south toward Frankston. At the signal light next to Brookshire's, turn left onto Highway 344. Take a slight right at the sign to Eagle's Bluff and the road will take you to the country club.