Future Masters 15-18 group tees off today

Press Thornton Future Masters officials estimate 115,000 golf balls have been struck so far this week.

The tournament has crowned three champions in 10-under, 11-12 and 13-14 age divisions.

And the event, celebrating its 60th year, has reached its halfway point.

The 15-18 age group starts today with the first of three rounds. The field of 225 will begin teeing off at 6:30 a.m. The final groups won’t start until 1:24 p.m.

Parker Page of Louisville is the lone top 10 returnee from last year’s 15-18s. However, Hank Lebioda of Winter Springs, Fla., won the 13-14s last year, and Jimmy Beck of Columbus, Ga., was sixth in the 13-14s. They both will move up in age group and back to the gold tees this year.

Several area golfers will also tee it up.

Ryan Benton, who helped Providence Christian to a third-place finish in the state golf tournament this spring, moves up to the 15-18 age group this year. Benton, who finished runner-up for the individual 1A-2A title in a five-hole playoff, said the added length of the course won’t be an obstacle.

“I’ve been playing the gold tees for the past year,” Benton said. “We played the blue tees in high school, but as soon as that was over I moved back again. It’s not that big a difference. You just have to shoot better scores.”

Another Dothan golfer, Houston Academy graduate David Gannon, is competing after missing last year’s Future Masters. Gannon, 17, said playing in the prestigious event is different.

“When you’re off the course you can hang out with your friends, do whatever you want and sleep at home,” Gannon said. “It’s good that you’re away from golf when you’re not playing. But it’s really competitive at the course.”

Gannon is no stranger to junior golf events. He was asked just how good the field is.

“Year to year, it’s unbelievable the miles people will travel to play in Dothan,” Gannon said. “These guys are really, really strong.”

Benton said he and Gannon have put in more time on the greens at Dothan Country Club.

“We’ve worked more than we ever have on the greens,” Benton said. “Last week put tees all around a couple greens and just started putting at them.”

Gannon said no matter how well he knows his home course, tournament officials are quite “inventive” when it comes to pin placements.

“I know we’ll see some pins we’ve never seen before,” Gannon said.

Tournament director Kevin Klein said the greens and those pins are one of the only defenses the golf course has. That’s why it will play as long as possible.

“We’ll speed the greens up and get the pins tougher than they were,” Klein said. “It would actually be nice to get some rain overnight. The course is getting brown in some spots. The sprinklers can only do so much. We’ll put (the tees) all the way back, play it from the tips.”

Benton has been around the tournament long enough to be realistic.

“Really, I want to make the cut and try to improve the next couple of years,” he said.