Large field gathers at Spring Creek for JGANC match play

They pushed three-wheeled carts down the fairways, listened to parents for last-minute guidance and huddled beneath umbrellas for relief from the warm-but-not-hot temperature.

The flags of the Junior Golf Association of Northern California were unfurled at Spring Creek Golf & Country Club on Monday for the beginning of the JGANC Match Play Championship. It’s a four-day event and, without question, the most important of the 90 tournaments the organization sanctions each year.

“This is the big one with all our kids,” said Modesto’s Ken Miller, the tournament chairman and, by the way, the 1981 champion.

For starters, only the Match Play mandates four days. For another, consider the recent champions: PGA pro, 2015 NCAA and U.S. Amateur champion Bryson DeChambeau (2010), Justin Suh (USC) and Shintaro Ban (UNLV). Last week, Suh qualified for the U.S. Open.

Behind the first tee, JGANC Executive Director Shane Balfour distributed scorecards and prepared the boys and girls for their rounds. In his sixth year as the junior golf association boss, Balfour calls attention to the reigning U.S. champions – DeChambeau and Hannah O’Sullivan, both JGANC alums. Andrew Bonner, who won the Modesto City on Sunday, twice was a finalist here.

“Seeing these kids growing into nice young men and women, either in the workforce or in the golf business, is a wonderful reward,” Balfour said. “It’s great to see these success stories.”

The Valley has served the juniors well over the decades with the Fred Bumgardner Junior Memorial Tournament at Del Rio Golf & Country Club, the George Maroney Junior Tournament at Dryden Park Golf Course and Creekside Golf Club and other competitions at Oakdale Golf & Country Club, Turlock Golf & Country Club and Diablo Grande Golf & Country Club.

Spring Creek’s commitment, however, trumps the rest. Miller arranged the move in 2008 from Diablo Grande to the Ripon club, where it has found a welcome home. Not many golf clubs would give up their facilities to the kids for four days.

“The many volunteers are so important; we’re grateful to them,” Miller said. “And Spring Creek has been a great host.”

This year’s field, slightly down from previous years because of conflicts with other tournaments, teed off the first day for 18 holes of stroke play. From there, the top scorers in each age group were seeded into brackets for match-play competition starting Tuesday. Title matches are scheduled for Thursday morning.

Good scores and a few surprises accented the first day.

The featured 32-man championship flight will include Central Catholic High School stars Tyler Ward (71) Matt Robinson (72) and Nick O’Brien (73). Also advancing were Ripon’s Connor Larkin (72) and Gregori High’s Ken Dieker (76).

Ward, who shared the medalist honor Monday, has compiled fourth-place finishes at recent junior events at Woodbridge Golf & Country Club and Swenson Park Golf Course.

Gregori star Chris Ebster, a three-time qualifier for the CIF State Championships, did not qualify for the top flight after he struggled to an 81. Ebster won The First Tee of Central Valley Junior Open at Modesto Municipal Golf Course with a 69.

Also failing to qualify was Manteca’s Ty Griggs, an age-group champion at the Drive, Chip & Putt Championship at Augusta National Golf Club last April.

There will be many chances for redemption, of course, for the JGANC’s 1,600 members. The upcoming summer will be busy with the Match Play as its first headliner.

“This is the one that is the most prestigious to play,” Balfour said. “We don’t have many match-play tournaments. The kids love match play.”

This story was originally published June 13, 2016 at 6:56 PM with the headline "Large field gathers at Spring Creek for JGANC match play."