Hite wins junior golf title
Published 7:09 pm Tuesday, August 2, 2016
- Photo by John Hite The top finishers in the boys 10- and 11-year-old division at the recent Piedmont VSGA Junior Golf Championships at Lunenburg Country Club included, from left, Robert Hite (first place), Austin Queensberry (second), J.D. Cunningham (third), Cameron Shriver (fourth) and Will Long (fifth).
Robert Hite, of Lunenburg County, came through in the clutch to win the boys 10- and 11-year-old division of the Piedmont Virginia State Golf Association (VSGA) Junior Golf Championships on Thursday at Lunenburg Country Club.
He tied for first place with Austin Queensberry, a quick-learning first-year golfer. Both of them shot a 51 in a nine-hole round. In a playoff, Hite hit a five on No. 1 to win the championship.
“I was very excited and surprised,” said Hite, who will turn 11 this month.
While surprised, he said he was also confident. He had reason to be, having won multiple Piedmont VSGA Junior Golf tournaments this summer.
Accounting for why he won the championship, he said, “My short game was really good,” representing a big improvement in that area of his game.
After the scores were totaled and most awards were handed out, Hite and Queensberry had to head back out onto the course for their playoff.
Photo by John Hite
The top finishers in the girls 7- to 10-year-old division at the recent Piedmont VSGA Junior Golf Championships at Lunenburg Country Club included, from left, Bryn Montgomery (first place), Mary Katelyn Hite (second), Kelsey Carter (third) and Kayden Ford (fourth).
Hite confirmed he felt good about how he handled the extra hole and even drew praise from Queensberry’s mother.
“His mom said I played really good with nerves because I was on the green in three, about six feet from the hole,” Hite said.
He benefited from good experience, even though he is only 10.
“I’ve played probably since I could hold a club,” Hite said.
Lunenburg County was only represented at the championships on Thursday by younger golfers.
“We didn’t have any teenagers playing in the afternoon,” said Piedmont VSGA Junior Golf Area Director John Hite. “Most of the Lunenburger teenagers had jobs this summer and were unable to qualify, and they also were playing some baseball that ran really late.”
In the girls 7- to 10-year-old division, John Hite’s daughter, Mary Katelyn Hite, placed second with her best score yet of 46, just three strokes behind champion Bryn Montgomery.
John Hite, uncle to Robert, had another nephew who was competing in the boys 7- to 9-year-old division — Parker Hite. Eight-year-old Parker finished in second place, hitting a 51, while nine-year-old Will Johnson won with a 48.
