By Barbara Palmgren
From a summer championship to the opening high school matches, local young golfers are taking on the heat and the competition.
Niceville’s Aiden Yang and Other Junior Golfers Battle Heat for Season Championship
Who turned up the heat in August? Despite a heat index approaching triple digits, young golfers searched for birdies in the two-day Emerald Coast JGY Season Championship. Boys and girls younger than 13 competed in nine-hole championship divisions.
One course, you ask? No, two totally different fairways and greens awaited young golfers Aug. 22 and 23. Those two challenging courses were Santa Rosa Beach and Regatta Bay Golf and Yacht Club.
Tournament sponsors were many, but special thanks go to Blake and Charles Rigdon Real Estate for arranging for overall winners Lars Wiggins and Rayna Perkins to receive a fitting for the new Callaway driver when it is released in 2027. Exciting tools of the trade will have to wait, Blake and Rayna, but I’m sure you will use them for more victories!
Congratulations to the following season championship tournament first-place winners, whose two-day scores and totals are listed below. Congratulations also to Aiden Yang, who finished only two strokes behind leader Lars Wiggins to secure second place.
Boys college prep division, 6,805 yards
Lars Wiggins: 79-71—160
Girls college prep division, 5,850 yards
Sarah Carter Hare: 75-78—153
Girls ages 12-18
Rayna Perkins: 73-74—147
Boys ages 14-18
Cash Welch: 78-83—161
Boys ages 12-13
Matthew DeRoy: 3 over par (35 holes due to darkness)
Boys ages 10-11
Davis Grant: 33-39—72
Girls ages 10-11
Riley Harper Lawrence: 42-42—84
Boys ages 8-9
Jett Jeter: 35-36—71
Girls ages 8-9
Addison Som: 40-46—86
The ECJGT scholarship winners for 2026 were announced. Each receives $750 to assist with playing golf in college. They are Ethan MacGregor, who will play for St. Mary’s University; Abby Vernier, who will play for the University of North Florida; and Julie Waldo, who will play for Jacksonville State.
Congratulations, junior golf winners! Hopefully, your next wins will come with cooler temperatures, low scores and more birdies!
Girls High School Golf Season Begins
On a beautiful but warm early September afternoon, girls golf teams from four high schools in Okaloosa County competed at Shalimar Pointe Golf Course. The nine-hole matches began at 4 p.m., with the girls playing the front nine.
My goal was to take a large group photo at the end of the day. Wrong. In these beginning matches, there are so many groups, and only the top scores count toward determining the winning high school and earning bragging rights. This meant many players in the first groups left after turning in their scores and headed home to a cold shower and homework for the next day of school.
I stayed until the last girl sank her putt on the ninth hole. I took a photo of her and another girl in her group with their moms. Yes, family members were allowed to drive golf carts around and accompany the young ladies. They could not advise, coach, cheer or make celebratory comments. And a gallery is always welcome, of course!
I recognized school colors: the brown of Niceville, the green of Choctawhatchee, the blue of Fort Walton and the blue of Rocky Bayou Christian. The girls were smiling and encouraging each other, just as it should be.
The winning school was posted and sent to me later. The winner of the Sept. 8 Class 3A, Region 1 tournament was Niceville High School, with Rocky Bayou Christian coming in second. Niceville’s Tenlet Sharron earned medalist honors for the lowest score, shooting a 38.
And so it begins: a fall season full of golf for boys and girls teams. Golf is a learning experience, and as one young lady told me, “I need to stay out of those sand traps.” Yes, my dear, avoid them at all costs!
