Giovi beats the pros to Medinah
Louis Giovi, Jr. is a local 9-year-old avid golfer but this morning he should connect with whatever God-given acting skills he possesses.
Today is a day for Giovi to have a stomach ache. Tooth ache. Fever. Headache or any other ailment. Today is Ryder Cup Day and Giovi wants to stay home as a U.S. contingent takes on Europe’s best in a golf showdown at Medinah CC in Chicago.
So, why should Giovi stay home?
First, Giovi’s parents, Lou, Sr. and Beth, will not fall for feigned suffering but they just may yield because Sept. 14-16, their son joined a local 12-member team that competed in the inaugural PGA Junior League Golf Championship at Cog Hill Golf and Country Club.
The Northeast Region Champion Western New Jersey team, captained by Cherry Valley CC assistant pro, Bill Fox, and assistant Tony Latham, PGA Director of Instruction at Royce Brook’s Academy of Golf, spent part of their time on the grounds at Medinah.
“You could not
believe how it felt to walk onto Medinah and see all the Ryder Cup signs, to know that in a couple of weeks one of the greatest golf events would be played there. My son, Louis, and all of the other kids were just amazed. We had a tremendous time. Louis wants to stay home to watch every minute of the Ryder Cup,” Giovi said.
The PGA Junior League Golf Championship included six regional champions of players 13-and-under including a Northeast squad consisting of Cherry Valley’s Kevin Durfee, Ricky Erbeck, Andrew Kotler, Maddie Jin, Jack Erbeck, plus, Giovi; Andrew Perry and Nick Policano of Trump National and Royce Brook’s Jeffrey Li and Austin Shah.
“It’s kind of like golf’s version of the Little League World Series. You can only imagine the competition. We didn’t fair as well against strong teams from Georgia, Florida, California, Texas and Illinois but we had a great time. The PGA will be running television highlights of this event throughout the Ryder Cup telecast,” Latham said.
Championship
matches included four two-player teams playing three threehole matches opposite other squads for a potential total of three points. A team from San Francisco bested Georgia 8.5-3.5 to claim the first junior national title.
More than 1,800 children from 7-13 competed on more than 120 teams during summertime play. New Jersey’s team finished in sixth-place.
“We didn’t compete as well as we had hoped but I guarantee no other team had as much fun as we did. It was a fantastic experience,” Fox said. “It was pretty awesone. I’m starting to watch all the Ryder Cup coverage and it’s amazing to think that we were there just two weeks ago.”
Golfers competed in a “Skills Challenge” on Medinah’s practice area while long-drive competitors actually hit shots on one of Medinah’s golf holes.
“These kids had the greatest experience. An announcer acutally introduced each player when they stepped onto the first tee for the matches. We were so proud,” Beth Giovi noted.
Giovi
finished
third
in