FRIDAY, JULY 10 Cash 3 Midday: Cash 3 Evening: Cash 3 Night:

By Stan Awtrey

The Larkin family is taking this fatherson approach to a completely different level.

Jack Larkin Sr., one of the most respected names in Georgia amateur golf, is playing alongside his son at the Georgia Amateur for the second year. Except this year, it’s a different son.

This week Larkin and Matthew, his youngest son, are competing in the 99th Georgia Amateur at the Atlanta Athletic Club. A year ago, Larkin and Jack Jr., his oldest son, were in the field at the Ansley Golf Club.

“At first I thought it was weird,” Matthew Larkin said. “But it’s something special to play with someone 30 years older than you who can still compete. You can’t do that in football or basketball.”

It could have been even better. Jack Jr., who played at Georgia, barely missed qualifying for the Georgia Amateur. Connor Larkin, the middle son who gravitated toward baseball before rediscovering his love for golf a couple years ago, is carrying his dad’s bag this week.

“I don’t know if there’s ever been three. We’ve got to do that. It would be fun,” Larkin Sr. said. “I tell them I’m running out of time.”

It almost happened two years ago when the championship was held at the Athens Country Club. Jack Jr. and Matthew both qualified, but Jack Sr. had a conflict and could not compete.

Both boys made the cut and wound up paired with each other the last day.

Larkin Sr. may be underestimating his shelf life. He was 1-under par when a pop-up thunderstorm cleared the course, but 5-over on the six remaining holes to shoot 75. Matthew Larkin had a tougher time, shooting an 81 on Friday and leaving himself with ground to make up in order to be among the top 50 who will make the cut.

The elder Larkin played on the University of Georgia golf team and served as captain his senior year. Larkin won the 1979 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship and has qualified for the U.S. Amateur seven times.

Partially because of his golf pedigree, he has gone out of his way to avoid putting pressure on his sons to play golf.

“I’m an old-school parent,” Larkin said. “When my kids go play, I don’t go watch them. I want them to be kids. The only thing I can do for them by me watching them is to put pressure on them and I’m not going to do that. They know I love them and I support them and want to know how they did.”

There have been some shining moments for fathers and sons at the Georgia Amateur. In 2010, Lee Knox won the championship while playing in the same group with his father, Jeff Knox, in the final round at The Landings Club in Savannah. Two different father-son duos have won the championship: Dan Yates Jr. (1939) and Danny Yates (1977, 1989 and 1996) and Hugh Royer Jr. (1958) and Hugh Royer III (1986).

Atlanta Dream players signed and shared a statement Friday following an open letter written by U.S. Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler, who also co-owns the team, objecting to the WNBA honoring and participating in the Black Lives Matter movement during the upcoming season.

The players’ statement read: “Black lives matter. We are the women of the Atlanta Dream. We are women who support a movement. We are strong and we are fearless. We offer a voice to the voiceless. Our team is united in the Movement for Black Lives. It’s not extreme to demand change after centuries of inequality. This is not a political statement. This is a statement of humanity.”

Many high-profile WNBA players have spoken out about Loeffler’s role in the league following her recent comments about “mob rule,” but this is the first statement from members of the Dream since Loeffler was appointed late last year. Each Atlanta player shared the statement and added, “We’ve read the letter. We reject the letter. Black lives matter. Vote in November.”

Loeffler is on the ballot in November and her top Republican rival accused her of picking a fight with the WNBA as a “desperate attempt to find relevancy” as she tries to sell the basketball franchise she’s co-owned since 2011.

The players’ statement was released at 6:05 p.m. to honor the life of Breonna Taylor, who was killed in her home in Louisville by police. The Dream, and other WNBA teams, began training camp for its upcoming 22-game season in Bradenton, Florida, on Friday.

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