Win Puts McLeans Ridges Teen in Peter Senior's Footsteps
You are definitely heading in the right direction when your name is added to the same golf trophy Peter Senior once won.
Kyle Underwood won the AIS Summer Cup at the Ballina Golf Club at the weekend. The 15-year-old McLeans Ridges golfer overcame 212 other competitors. He finished the two-day competition with an even par score of 72.
"It's a pretty big event for the region and I'd never played in it before," Kyle said.
"I've been playing well lately so I was pretty confident in my game."
"It is a big confidence boost when you win any competition and I just want to keep working on my handicap."
GOING PLACES: Kyle Underwood. Photo by Luke Mortimer
Kyle won his first A-grade competition at Ballina midway through 2013. Not many 14-year-olds win open club competitions but he did it with a score of 5-over playing off a handicap of 10. His handicap has dropped significantly from 4.4 to 2.5 since the weekend. He hopes to be playing off scratch soon and is looking ahead to the NSW State Championships at Illawarra in July.
Kyle is one of a handful of talented golfers in the ranks at Ballina. He was named the North Coast Academy of Sport Athlete of the Year in 2014. Since then he has received sponsorship with Titleist through his participation in Jack Newton Junior Golf. "It's great to be sponsored and they've given me shoes and all the stuff I need," Kyle said.
His family are now starting to look into the possibility of a college scholarship in the United States for when Kyle finishes high school.
Lismore golfer Rhein Gibson did something similar and went on to turn professional and play in the British Open. "It's great to know that someone who lived 10 minutes from me has done it," Kyle said. "I just want to go as far as I can."
He will play at Bonville Golf Resort this weekend as part of the North Coast Academy of Sport program.
Article published in The Northern Star - Mitchell Craig Sports Editor - 6th Feb 2015 (http://www.northernstar.com.au/news/in-good-company/2534935/)
