CALLICOON – Young golf players from around the world descended onto the Villa Roma course last week for the Junior Golf Hub Open, an important qualifier in the AJGA season. The field began with 132 players, boys and girls between the ages of 12 – 19, all trying to get to the final round on Thursday, where the field was cut to 80. On that final day, the players had to master both the cold Sullivan County August morning, and the Villa Roma course hills, in order to win the coveted trophy.

Yasmina Oralkan from Brooklyn NY won the girls division, shooting a 6-under par, 210 for the tournament. She secured the win by making back-to-back birdies on the back nine in that final round. At the end she made a point of thanking her mom and attributing the win to being able to get her mental game and her physical game together. The runner-up in the girls division was Cindy Yan of Ontario Canada, who ended the day shooting 3-under par, 213 for the tournament.

 Boys division winner, Guolin Zeng of Yantai, Shandong province, China, shot a 12-under par, 204 for the tournament. On the way to his victory, he scored an incredibly rare Albatross, by completing the par 5, fifteenth hole in only two shots. He was a little surprised by the win but happy to get a win in the United States before he had to return to China. The runner-up in the boy’s division was Rory Asselta of Ramsey NJ, who shot a 9-under par, 207 for the tournament.

Villa Roma Golf pro Matt Kleiner was thrilled to have this event here, and honored to host the tournament, and to work with the title sponsor Junior Golf Hub. “These organizations are the gold standard in amateur golf, the opportunities they provide these young players is unparalleled.”

Rick Dowling of Junior Golf Hub also noted the positivity of the partnership and the event. “We’ve been working with the AJGA for about 10-years now and it’s been gratifying to see these young players get the opportunity to experience the tournament atmosphere, and for us to be able to be here to help these golfers navigate the everchanging landscape of amateur golf and how it can lead to playing at the college level.”

“The measure of the caliber of play at this tournament was made clear by the attendance of college coaches on the course, watching the players.” As Molly McDaniel, AJGA tournament director, explained, “This is top level junior play on a fantastic course. There are players here who have a real opportunity to play golf on the best teams in college. That’s why it’s so important to get as much support and information as you can, and as early as you can.”

That’s what makes these relationships so important, the partnerships between AJGA, the Junior Golf Hub, the Golf Performance Academy-who had a number of players participating, including a runner-up, and the Villa Roma. It’s all structured to give these young players the experience, the support and the resources they need to take their game as far as they want to.

Practically every top pro, can trace their development back to the AJGA and the support they received there. It makes one wonder, which of these young talented golfers will become great, and if we’ll be able to look back and say, I remember watching them at the Villa Roma tournament.