GRANITEVILLE, S.C. — By the time the gold jacket ceremony rolled around Saturday, the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley had seen a number of firsts for the event.
For the first time in the tournament’s history a playoff was required to decide a champion. If that wasn’t enough, both boys and girls fields went to one-hole playoffs. Indian Trail, North Carolina product Caleb Surratt took the gold jacket for the boys and Denmark native Amalie Leth-Nissen secured the girls’ title.
This was Surratt’s first start in the Junior invitational and his last, as the University of Tennessee commit will be heading to college in the fall.
“I can’t really process it yet. Golf isn’t what defines me and it’s not what makes my self worth go up or down, nor my confidence,” he said. “On the other side of that, it is pretty amazing on my golf life and will definitely give me some confidence moving forward. It shows me that my good golf is good enough, still.”
Leth-Nissen, on the other hand, will always exist in the record books as the first girls’ champion of the Junior Invitational. That fact was still sinking in after the trophy ceremony.
“I’m so honored and thankful for this and it’s also my first international win, so this is huge for me,” she said.
Surratt entered the final round leading after a Thursday 67 and Friday 65 (the low round of the tournament). Luke Potter (who shot 68-66 in the first two rounds) trailed Surratt by one stroke through 17 holes Saturday, but an errant tee shot on No. 18 left the door open for Potter.
“There was a lot of wind off the left and I kind of rushed that tee shot, wanted to get it in play and then I hit it right,” Surratt said. “Unfortunately I had to punch out and I actually hit a really good punch out where I could get a wedge in, but it clipped the last branch and into the rough. From there, we were just trying to get it into the playoff.”
After losing a lead and going into a playoff scenario, that situation can cause many a competitor to fold. For Surratt, it was important to take it one shot at a time and put the past in the rearview mirror.
“I kind of just kept telling myself I need to roll with the punches,” he said. “That was my thought all week and finishing bogey-bogey in regulation and one of them not being a bad shot, it’s very easy to get wrapped up in that and carry it over. I felt like we did a great job of resetting. It was just awesome to see how it worked.”
Heading into Saturday, it appeared University of Southern California commit Bailey Shoemaker was going to run away with it. Leth-Nissen was riding the momentum of a Friday 68, but she still began the day seven shots back — that was until a birdie putt on No. 18 and the first of two memorable fist pumps from the 17-year-old.
“I think going into this round, I was seven shots behind and I didn’t even think about winning. It was just all about working on my own game and trying my best. Going into 18 one shot behind, knowing I had to make that birdie, so my adrenaline was really pumping on that putt. It was such a relief to pull that down.”
The playoff on No. 18 began similarly to the regulation hole, but Leth-Nissen had a bit of trouble lining up her approach shot. She stepped off the ball a number of times to swat away a few bugs, but it didn’t shake her as she landed the shot on the backside of the green within 10 feet of the pin. A putt and another fist pump later, she was a champion.
Following the putt, several of Leth-Nissen’s peers rushed out on to the green and doused her with bottles of water in celebration. One of the finer aspects of this tournament is that lifelong friendships can be found amongst the fierce competition.
“It’s really nice because hopefully in the future we will see each other on tours and stuff, so already getting friendships here is really important,” she said. “It’s really nice that Sage Valley makes us feel comfortable and makes that happen for us.”
Friday’s second round was briefly interrupted with the threat of inclement weather in the afternoon. Lightning wasn’t in the area, so tournament officials decided it was safe enough for players to resume play. What players found, however, were swirling winds on the second-nine, creating a new set of challenges for an already difficult course.
“It definitely got longer,” Leth-Nissen said after completing play Friday. The shots to the green were a bit more difficult, because it was hard to find out which way the wind was coming with the trees and all, so you have to be better at your short game.
This event was three years in the making, as the SVJI Sports Foundation had originally announced the addition of a girls’ field back in 2019. The addition was supposed to start in 2021, but had to be pushed back a year due to COVID-19 concerns. This week showed the competition was well worth the wait.
“Sometimes I feel like, ‘Should I even be here?’ It’s crazy to think on 24 girls would be invited to this,” Virginia commit Jaclyn LaHa said Friday. “To be one of the first 24 girls is a privilege and it’s really nice.”
Seven of the 24-player Junior Invitational girls’ field will also be competing in the 2022 Augusta National Women’s Amateur at the end of the month: Leth-Nissen (1st), Shoemaker (1st), Alexa Pano (3rd), Megha Ganne (2nd), Jeong Hyun Lee (1st), Shannon Tan (1st) and Avery Zweig (1st).
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