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LJGA wraps up summer season
Of the 19 golfers competing in the Loudoun Junior Golf Association's Masters Division final summer tournament July 27, Ian Hildebrand, a 13-year-old rising eighth-grader at Harmony Intermediate, was the youngest.
But Hildebrand beat all his rivals – mostly high schoolers – to win the championship at Raspberry Falls Golf and Hunt Club in Leesburg.
Hildebrand shot a 78 to win by three strokes on the par 72 Raspberry Falls' course.
"I was playing okay, and I just started making a lot of pars on the back nine," Hildebrand said. "I was hitting my irons really well, and I didn't make any big mistakes."
Hildebrand entered the tournament seeded 10th in the division. He won the tournament even though he'd never played 18 holes at the course before.
"I'd only played the front nine," Hildebrand said. "Sometimes I play better on courses I've never played before."
Hildebrand is one of 200 members ages 6 to 18 who played in five different divisions. Participants receive instruction and play tournaments at eight area courses.
"It's a way for kids to play good golf at good courses at a good price," said Rich Boudreau, the commissioner for the Masters Division.
The runner-up in the championship was Ryan Geckler, who shot an 81. Geckler is a rising senior at Briar Woods High School.
Among the other top performers were Matthew Ashley, a rising freshman at Stone Bridge, and Ian Robertson, a rising junior at Stone Bridge. Ashley and Robertson tied for third place with rounds of 83.
"I enjoy the league. That's why I keep playing in it," Robertson said. "It's friendly competition, but not too intense."
One highlight of the day surfaced when Sloan Meadows, an incoming freshman at Broad Run, produced an eagle on the par four 16th hole.
"I holed in from about 130 [yards]," Meadows said.
The championship was the sixth and final tournament for competitors in the Masters Division. Christian Fortier, a rising sophomore at Potomac Falls, said they saved the best course for last. Fortier rounded out the top five Monday with his round of 84.
"You get to play different courses," Fortier said, "but Raspberry's my favorite."
The LJGA was founded in 2003 and continues to grow each year. In its first year, 60 participated.
Boudreau said the league anticipates even more growth in the future, perhaps enrolling close to 250 golfers in 2010.
To find out more about the LJGA, a nonprofit organization, visit www.loudounjuniorgolf.org.
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