Growing golfers
SLIPPERY ROCK — So far, so good for the Oakview junior golf team.
The first-year entrant in the PGA Junior League finished 5-0 in the regular season and has five team members on its league all-star team.
Oakview Golf Club pro Rob McClellan coaches the junior team. Because his team won its league crown, he gets to coach the all-star squad in competition as well.
The all-stars will compete against seven other all-star squads in the Pittsburgh area Wednesday and Thursday at Tam O' Shanter.
“There are 10 golfers on each all-star team and the league champion gets to have five representatives,” McClellan said. “We'll also take three from Tam O' Shanter and two from Meadville.”
All-stars from the Oakview team are 13-year-olds Jacob Wolak and Parker Worsley, along with Anthony Trombatt, Levi McClellan and Aaron Voltz.
“Our two 13-year-olds, this is their last year of playing,” McClellan said. “We chose the other three based on ability and how well they played throughout the season.”
The all-star matches will use the same format as the regular season matches. Golfers play three holes each in a two-person best ball format to try to capture the flag for those three holes.
Four two-person teams play three holes each and nine holes total are played. That means a total of 12 flags are available in a match. The team capturing the most flags wins.
Wolak has done well in the Drive, Chip and Putt competitions the past two years. He finished second in chipping, fourth in putting at the regional event recently at Nemacolin.
“He practically lives on the golf course,” McClellan said. “He's out here playing every day.”
Wolak said he likes the two-person best ball format “because if you mess up a long shot, your teammate can help you out.
“There's a lot less pressure that way and that makes the golf a lot more fun.”
Wolak and Worsley are both involved with PGA Junior League play for the first time this year.
“I was going to be on a team at All About Golf, but the pro there moved away and we weren't sure what was going to happen, so we joined up at Oakview,” Worsley said.
“It's fun. I like the challenge of it and getting to know other kids. I've made a lot of new friends through this.”
The winning all-star team from this week's competition moves on to further all-star play Sept. 15-16 at Valleybrook. That winner goes to Arizona for the PGA Junior All-Star Nationals.
“There's a commitment involved at this (all-star) level,” McClellan said. “If a kid doesn't show up, you can't replace him and your team forfeits a point. Two kids don't show, you lose two points, etc.
“You want kids you can count on and I feel like we have that.”
