A three-person team sponsored by Life’s Journey and a Branson Dental team took top honors in their respective divisions of the Betty & Bobby Allison’s Junior Pro-Am on Friday at Rivercut Golf Course, where 13-year-old Adam Floyd also scored an ace on No. 6.
It was all part of a pro-am tied to the PGA Web.com Tour’s Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr Pepper, in which events such as Friday’s help raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for Ozarks children’s charities.
Life’s Journey, which fired a 128, featured Jacob Shackelford, Samuel Shackelford and Evan Veinhage. The trio played along with pro Bob Jacobson. Meanwhile, second-place resulted in a tie between a group of pro Ollie Penn, Landon Rothgeb, Peyton Blake, Lucas Ogden and Lane Witt, with the second group consisting of four players from Monett — Tommy Sangston, Shane Pass, Caleb Long and Clayton Kaiser.
“Since we only had three people, it means a lot to us,” said Sam Shackelford, a sophomore at Willard High School. “Our pro shot really well, and Monett and Ozark — I have to give a shout-out to them. They are really good teams. We just came out to be better.”
Life’s Journey kick-started its day with two pars and was four-under through three holes, including thanks to an eagle. The three also avoided bogeys on a picture-perfect day for golf, and Jacob Schackelford appreciated tips from Jacobson, who implored each boy to work on their stances on their drives.
“He helped me so much,” said Jacob Shackelford, a senior at Willard High School. “He was very patient and open with us.”
Said Veinhage, “It was incredible. He talked about how there are multiple parts to golf, in driving, chipping and putting.”
Meanwhile, Branson Dental’s team of Reece Ruprecht, Will Burney, Alex Burney, John Carswell and Gaige Lewis won Division II by firing a 131. The group edged by one stroke Tank Components Industries of Adam Floyd, Brayden Emmeret, Max Bowman and Christian Cooper, with pro Kevin Kring.
“It’s cool. This is my second tournament ever,” Lewis said.
“It was a lot of fun,” Carswell said. “Our pro told us to keep the face of the club out and make sure to scoot up toward the ball.”
Said Ruprecht, “We hit some really good shots today.”
Among Friday’s memorable moments was a hole-in-one by Floyd, a 13-year-old who is an eighth-grader at Pershing Middle School. “They were near the end of their round when they reached No. 6, where Floyd gripped a five-iron, and sank a 145-foot shot that traveled over the water.
“Right after I hit it, I thought it was going to be pretty good,” a smiling Floyd said. “But I did not expect that at all.”