Davidson Recruit John Skeadas To Play in American Junior Golf Association Championship
11/21/2008 3:53:53 PM | Men's Golf
John Skeadas III is the 280th-best junior golfer in the world according to American Junior Golf Association.
He still gets the chance to add his name to a champions list that includes Tiger Woods, Stewart Cink and Trevor Immelman in next week's Polo Junior Golf Classic at the Ginn Reunion Resort in Orlando, Fla.
Skeadas earned an invite to the AJGA's year-end championship by making the HP Scholastic Junior All-American team. Eligibility for the team requires a top-10 finish in an AJGA event - Skeadas finished fifth at the Knoxville Junior Open in August - and excellence in the classroom as well as leadership skills and community service.
The Savannah Country Day senior wants to prove he belongs in the 78-player field with his play. The tournament opens Monday and Tuesday with two rounds of stroke play, with the top 32 scorers advancing to match play.
Skeadas' goal is to "play two good rounds of golf and go from there."
"Obviously, your first idea is to make it to match play, but I'm going to try not to think about that," Skeadas said. "If I play up to the high level I feel like I can play I'll make it, but if I get too concentrated on a number, I'll get caught up in it and lose focus."
The tournament features the top junior golfers in the country, highlighted by U.S. Junior Amateur champion Cameron Peck. The No. 1 player in the AJGA rankings, Peck won four tournaments this summer. Of the top 25 ranked players, 22 will play in the event.
Skeadas would seem a long shot if not for several strong rounds this summer. In addition to his fifth-place finish in the AJGA's Knoxville event, Skeadas finished third in the Savannah City Amateur and shot 71s in the opening rounds of both the Georgia Amateur Championship and the Oglethorpe Invitational.
The strong play gave Skeadas a confidence boost.
"I've gone from thinking, 'Wow, maybe I can do this' to 'I know I can do this,' " Skeadas said.
Skeadas' spirits should be especially high considering he signed a golf scholarship with Davidson College earlier this week. Skeadas chose Davidson over Dartmouth, an Ivy League school in New Hampshire.
Weather played a role in his decision - Davidson is located just outside Charlotte - as did Davidson's burgeoning golf program. Coach Tim Straub has been named Southern Conference Coach of the Year twice in the last six years.
"Davidson has a great golf program and great academics, and those were obviously the two main areas for me," Skeadas said. "Dartmouth has a pretty short golf season up there."
