June 28-30 proved highly successful for the BirdieSisters at the Country Youth Classic in Bloomington-Normal, IL. The temperatures were perfect for golf, mid-high 70s. We arrived in the afternoon on Monday, 6/28, rushing to get in 18-hole practice rounds at two different golf courses and to participate in the Golf Skills Challenge at yet another golf course before 7:00pm. Erica made it through all 18 holes but Myah only made it through 16.
Well, the rush was worth it. At the Links Golf Course in Bloomington, IL Myah Jackson led the girls 10-11 division in all categories. Myah won the longest drive with a distance of 175 yards. She also won the putting and overall short game contest. Although Erica Jackson drove her ball 208 yards, she was out-driven by one of her competitors. Nevertheless, Erica won the putting and overall short-game contest for the girls 12-13 division.
Then the 2-day, 36 hole tournament began the next day. Erica Jackson played at Ironwood Golf Course in Normal, IL. After day one, Erica was leading the girls 12-13 division by 6 shots with a score of 86. However, on day-2, Erica stepped up her game with a finish of 6 over par — a score of 78. With a combined 2-day score of 164, Erica Jackson took home the gold.
Although Myah Jackson struggled on day one, she ended the day in the lead of the girls 10-11 year-old division by 25 shots. Myah’s goal for day 2 shifted to improving her golf game against the course — Highland Golf Course in Bloomington, IL. Although the front nine holes left her feeling frustrated, Myah turned her game around at the turn and shot 4 over par on the back 9 (39). Myah finished with a combined 2-day score of 177, which entitled her to the gold.
Both girls were noted in the Bloomington Pantagraph for their accomplishments over the 3 day period. Congrats to the BirdieSisters and we hope this winning streak continues in San Diego at the Callaway Junior World Championships in July! For results and more info see http://www.countryyouthclassic.com/home.html.
Finally, after 5 years of participating in the Pepsi Little People’s Golf Championships in Quincy, IL one of the BirdieSisters, Erica Jackson, brought home a trophy. Pepsi Little People’s was the first major tournament in which Erica played at the age of 7. Erica’s two-day tournament became a one-day tournament after the course became unplayable due to massive rain falls leading up to and on day one of the tournament. With only 18 holes of play on day 2, Erica managed to pull out a second place finish at Arrowhead Golf Course.
Myah Jackson struggled a bit on day one after an hour rain delay on her course — Westview Golf Course in Quincy, IL. However, she dropped her score by 5 shots on day two and finished in 9th place. The temperatures in Quincy were in the mid-high 90s during our entire stay — making 36 holes of golf very tough for Myah Jackson, who just started playing 18 holes consistently this year.
Although the fields were much smaller this year, the competition was very steep — especially for Myah. Both Erica and Myah were in the bottom of their age divisions, girls 10-11 and girls 12-13. As always, Pepsi Little People’s brought together some of the best junior golfers from around the world. Thanks to Nan Ryan and her volunteers for a wonderful event and for the scholarship she provided to both Erica and Myah to help defray expenses from the tournament! For results and more info see http://www.littlepeoplesgolf.com/.
Myah Jackson participated in the Optimist Qualifier June 14-16 in Decatur, IL. Since Myah was the only girl in her age group, she played with the girls 10-11. Myah finished the tournament with the lowest score of all the girls and received an exemption to participate in “The Optimist International Junior Golf Championship”, July 22-27 in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. However due to funds, or the lack thereof, Myah will not be able to capitalize on this opportunity this year. Congrats to Myah on your accomplishment!
Finally, Erica Jackson had the opportunity to execute her golf skills as part of a team. This proved to be a great experience for Erica, who really enjoyed meeting and bonding with her teammates from around the world. The World Youth Challenge was a 4-day tournament that consisted of 2-rounds of team play each day. See http://www.ijgc.com/main.htm for more information about this tournament.
The 2010 Challenge was held at Bolingbrook Golf Course in Bolingbrook, IL, June 12-15. The temperatures were warm but the rain was steady. In fact, there were several rain delays over course of the 4-day tournament. As a result, Erica was engaged in the world of golf from sunrise to sunset for 4 consecutive days — again, a new experience for Erica.
Erica Jackson played on the USA Mid-West Team. Although the Mid-West team did not win, they remained competitive. Erica stated, “I really enjoyed playing golf with a team. We look forward to more opportunities like this in the future!”
The BirdieSisters played this weekend in the “Dupage County Classic.” Erica Jackson played at Maple Meadows Golf Course from a distance of 5200 yards. Both days the front nine proved to be an insurmountable opponent. The season is young and the slope was high. Erica had some unforgettable shots. Maybe one day they’ll all be that great. For more info and photo’s see: http://dcjc.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/dcjc10/event/dcjc103/contest/4/leaderboard.htm .
Myah Jackson played at Green Meadows Golf Course. She played 9 nine holes from a distance of 2500 yards. High level nine hole junior golf tournaments are unforgiving. Myah played well both days and I think she learned a a lot more about the level of focuse she is going to need to win at this level. For more info and photo’s see: http://dcjc.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/dcjc10/event/dcjc104/contest/19/leaderboard.htm .
Yes, opening of the golf season is here but no one told the weather man in Chicago! The temps were in the mid 50′s and rain ( making for a bad hair day). The tournament was held at St.Andrews Country Club in West Chicago, about 34 miles form home.
We think the most important part of any junior golf tournament is that no matter where you finish, the winner is the person who gains knowledge from the lessons the course and tournament have to teach. We will start with BirdieSister Myah Jackson. Myah was in a field of 6 with some very strong competition, featuring some of the Mid-West’s best players in her age group. The conditions were tough and so was the scoring. The girls played from a distance of 4800 yards. After day one Myah found herself down 5 shots to the leader and 2 shots ahead of third place. Myah was not able to overcome the deficit that she put herself in, but did manage to hang on to second place by 4 shots.
Erica Jackson also opened her season with a lot of rust. Her level of focus on day 1 was nowhere near where it should have been. However, with the help of a 4 shot deficit after day one, she regrouped and refocused the second day to pull out a well fought victory. For more info see: http://juniorclassicgolf.net/ .
The Tiger Woods Foundation National Junior Golf Team (TWFNJGT) was originally created, in recognition of Tiger’s work with underserved youth, when the Junior World Golf Championships granted 18 permanent exemptions to the Foundation. “These exemptions create opportunities to enhance the growth of junior golfers through international competition,” Earl Woods said.
April gets our season into swing. We will get off to a slow start and hopefully work our way into success by the end of the year. Here is what we have going on this month:
April 17-18 Plantations Junior Golf Tour – Junior World Qualifier, Red Tail Run Golf Club – Decatur, Il.
April 24-25 Illinois Junior Classic – St. Andrews Golf & Country Club – West Chicago, Il.
For questions, comments and suggestions please contact us at birdiemom@gmail.com.
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