Although unrelated, Burgesses sweep George Holliday Junior titles
The field at the 48th annual George Holliday Junior Golf Tournament spent Thanksgiving weekend trying to keep up with the Burgesses.
Although unrelated, Connor Burgess and Gracyn Burgess took home twin titles at Myrtle Beach National on Saturday, winning the boys and girls championships, respectively.
More than 200 players from ages 10-18 entered the tournament, an increase from recent years. They enjoyed a beautiful Thanksgiving weekend on the trio of courses, though Saturday’s final round featured chilly temperatures and gusty winds.
Boys champion Connor Burgess of Lynchburg, Va., shot a final-round 71 on Saturday after birdieing the fourth and fifth holes on his way to shooting a tournament-best 66 on Friday.
“I knew I had a few-shot lead, so today I just played steady, made my putts and rolled in a couple birdies,” he said.
Connor Burgess’ blistering second round propelled him to a 5-under-par 211 total.
“I made a long putt for birdie on the fifth hole, and I ended up making a bunch more birdies from there,” he said of Friday.
Connor Burgess is coached by local instructor Brad Redding of International Club of Myrtle Beach, and the high school senior has committed to play at Virginia Tech next year.
Patrick Golden of Murrells Inlet finished two strokes back at 213 after an even-par third round. Three players – Justin Emmons of Asheboro, N.C., Nicholas Lyerly of Salisbury, N.C., and Trent Tipton of Orient, Ohio – finished tied for third at 215.
On the girls side, Gracyn Burgess of Lexington took the next step after finishing as a runner-up in last year’s tournament.
“It feels nice to get the job done and just be able to say I played solid golf for three days,” she said.
She started Saturday smoothly and was even heading into the back nine. But after posting a birdie, she took a triple-bogey, which could have been disastrous.
“I could have gotten really down on myself and let that affect my game, but I came back birdie-birdie. That really kept me in the tournament,” said Gracyn Burgess, a high school junior and has committed to play at Clemson.
Behind her, Jensen Castle of Pine Ridge placed second with a total of 225, and Amy Wooten of Clinton, N.C., took home third at 226.
The Bugesses and the winners from each age division received their trophies from Johnson Holliday, a former participant in the tournament and a cousin of the event’s namesake, George Holliday.
Winners in the other boys age groups included Carlos Garre of Myrtle Beach and Drew Mullen of Pawleys Island in the 14-15 division, Eddie Coffren V of Owings, Md., and Quint Dingledine of Richmond, Va., in 12-13 division, and Brian Fang of Raleigh, N.C., in the 10-11 division.
Winners in the other girls age groups included Jalen Castle of West Columbia in the 13-14 division and Mia Gray of Conway in the 10-12 division.
This story was originally published November 26, 2016 at 7:58 PM with the headline "Although unrelated, Burgesses sweep George Holliday Junior titles."