October 12, 2015
Junior Tour of Northern California Kids Play With the Pros at Frys.com Open
Almost every golf fan dreams of teeing it up with a member of the PGA Tour.
On Sunday at Silverado Resort in Napa, the dream became reality for 12 members of the Junior Tour of Northern California.
For the second year in a row, a dozen members of the JTNC got a chance to play with the pros at the Frys.com Open Pro-Junior Pro-Am as part of Frys.com Open week.
The JTNC 12 consisted of the top six boys (Thomas Hutchison, Scott Mitchell, Noah Woolsey, Brad Sparrer, Eddy Lai and Ashkaan Hakim) and top six girls (Sabrina Iqbal, Amanjoty Sangha, Kaleiya Romero, Quynn Duong, Ty Akabane and Yoonhee Kim) from the 2014-2015 season points standings.
Participating pros were Cal alum and 2015 Northern Trust Open winner James Hahn, former No.1 world-ranked amateur Ollie Scheiderjans, Scott Langley and Jarrod Lyle.
Langley knows where the JTNC members are coming from. He was the first former member of The First Tee to earn his PGA Tour playing card. The inspirational Lyle, meanwhile, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia at 17. The cancer returned in 2012, and Lyle has been on the comeback trail since.
During the 18-hole round, the JTNC members got to interact with the pros, which included getting some questions answered and some on-course lessons.
“Being able to play with a Tour pro is such a great opportunity for the kids. Just to see how they operate and how they play,” said JTNC Operations Manager Aaron Hartesveldt. “They do everything on such a different level.”
This is the second year that the Frys.com Open, hosted by Johnny Miller, is being held at Silverado Resort. This week’s tournament, which officially begins Thursday, kicks off the 2015-2016 PGA Tour season.
-Jerry Stewart
