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Trumbull Country Club hosts Saturday's greatest junior golfer of the valley final
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Poland’s Melinda Hannon will be one of 41 young golfers who will be competing for titles in The Greatest Junior Golfer of the Valley golf championship Saturday at Trumbull Country Club in Warren.
IT ALL COMES TO THIS
Trumbull country club hosts saturday’s greatest junior golfer of the valley final
By Ryan Buck
Warren
The two-month grind of qualifying rounds at six challenging Valley courses has arrived at its much-anticipated conclusion. The thousands of swings on the driving range, hours spent reading greens, and buckets of sweat pored over hilly fairways will all seem worth it for a fortunate few.
The Vindicator’s second annual Greatest Golfer of the Valley juniors competition presented by Farmers National Bank will host its championship round Saturday afternoon at Trumbull Country Club.
At stake for the 41 golfers are titles in four divisions of boys and girls who have each earned their shots by besting a pool of over 250 players from The Vindy’s five-county coverage area.
PGA Professional John Diana has presided over golf at host Trumbull Country Club for 12 years. An accomplished junior, high school, and college player from a talented golfing family, Diana is excited for Saturday’s action.
“We’re looking forward to a great event,” said the Howland native. “It’s a nice event for the area and it’s a good chance for a lot of the kids who don’t get a chance to compete to play in a tournament like this.”
In a week where he’s able to watch his brother, Henry, caddy for Charles Howell III at the British Open, Diana reflected on a career spent teaching many accomplished golfers — including Warren native and PGA Pro Jason Kokrak.
“I got into running golf courses about 25 years ago,” he said. “I enjoy that part of it: teaching it, working with the young kids, and working with kids who are playing for a living now as well as college players and many high school players in the area.”
Diana also emphasizes a strong youth program at his home course.
“We run a summer camp for eight weeks once school’s out until Aug. 1,” he said. “ We do it every week, on Tuesdays, and let them come out; introduce the young kids to golf and let them have fun and be more educational for the older kids in the afternoon.”
Participants will certainly be tested on Trumbull’s demanding, yet perfectly-conditioned 6,300-yard par-70 layout, under the supervision of superintendent Allan Montecalvo.
“This course is a good venue for the kids because it’s tight, but it’s not real long. So it’s a ‘position’ golf course,” Diana explained.
“You need to drive it straight here and the greens are very small so you have to have a pretty good iron game to be able to hit the greens. People that can march their way around the golf course and position the ball, they have a bigger advantage than someone who can blast it and not know where it’s going.”
Scores at the top of the divisions will be tight.
James LaPolla is back to defend his title in the 15-17 year-old division on his home course. Hickory High School’s Rosy Hearns and Canfield’s Christina Cooper have carded the top scores on the girl’s side.
In the younger group, Brian Terlesky of Boardman looks to build on his low rounds at The Salem Golf Club and Diamond Back events. Lakeview’s Kaylee Neumeister has also performed well these last months.
Play begins at 1 p.m. Saturday, and is free and open to the public.
For tournament coverage, log on to vindy.com/golf and on Twitter @vindygreatest.