Schultz is top-ranked golfer in AJGA event

KIT DOYLE ~ kdoyle@semissourian.com Junior Jack Schultz teed off on the second hole early Monday during the Junior-Am Fundraising Tournament for the AJGA's Dalhousie Junior Championship. [Click to enlarge]

Pressure? Jack Schultz doesn't feel any pressure heading into today's first round in the American Junior Golf Association's Dalhousie Junior Championship event.

The top-ranked player in the field according to the AJGA's Polo Golf Rankings, at No. 123, said his status probably wasn't something a lot of players were talking about.

"I'm pretty sure no one else knows that," he said after Monday's junior-am.

Schultz, from Whitefish Bay, Wis., has an impressive resume in the AJGA and other competitions. He finished tied for second in early July at the Future Legends for his second top-10 finish this summer. He has six career top-10 finishes in the AJGA, was ranked as high as 79th in the Polo list earlier this summer and played in the Rolex Tournament of Champions for the circuit's top golfers.

Schultz won the Wisconsin high school championship in Division I (largest schools) as a sophomore in 2007 and was 10th this this year. He finished second this year in the Wisconsin State Golf Association's junior championship.

Still, he said, there was no pressure of being a favorite this week.

"It's so wide open," Schultz said. "There are a lot of kids, the course is tough, you can get bad breaks. You've still got to go out there and play golf. You've still got to perform."

TOBY CARRIG ~ tcarrig@semissourian.com Sheldon Keyte of Portage, Mich., hit out of the rough on No. 7 during the AJGA's Dalhousie Junior Championship in Cape Girardeau. [Click to enlarge]

Schultz has spent a fair amount of this summer on the AJGA circuit, and the senior-to-be plans one more event on Labor Day weekend -- The Junior Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Florida -- before school begins.

"I go to the AJGA tournaments because they're so good," he said. "It's great competition and good courses. This summer, I've been playing better competition than I have in the past, so it's been hard but it's been rewarding."

This week's tournament will feature some more competition, including fellow Wisconsin resident Michael Sorenson, who climbed to No. 130 in the Polo rankings by edging Schultz to win the Future Legends event. Sorenson finished seventh in Wisconsin's state junior tourney this summer.

Schultz got an early look at the course in the junior-am, which he likes to play on the AJGA circuit.

TOBY CARRIG ~ tcarrig@semissourian.com Lindsey Eisenreich watched her shot Monday during the Junior-Am Fundraising Tournament. [Click to enlarge]

"Especially if they're in the morning, so you get the afternoon to relax," Schultz said. "It's a lot of fun. Also, at these private courses, a lot of times you play with people who know how to play the courses.

"It's great to help out AJGA because they do so much for us."

The junior-am was part of the fundraising for the tournament. As to whether Schultz benefited from his foursome: It included Cape Girardeau Mayor Jay Knudtson, the tournament co-chairman; his son, Gunnar; Tony Buehrle and Chris Buehrle. They finished three strokes out of first place with a 58 in the shamble format.

"Let me put it this way," Jay Knudtson said. "It got so bad at the end, we would let him hit, and after he hit, we would look at each other and say, 'We don't need to hit.' He did a super job. This young man is a heckuva player."

KIT DOYLE ~ kdoyle@semissourian.com Mary Jane Eftink reacted to sinking a putt on the first hole Monday during the Junior-Am Fundraising Tournament. Additional Junior-Am photos can be viewed at semoball.com. Tournament results on Page 2B. [Click to enlarge]

Schultz said his emphasis Monday was on learning the course.

"It was a practice round, and I was just trying to get a feel for the course," Schultz said. "I had a few birdies on the back nine and hit a few good shots."

Schultz, who is undecided on his college plans, said it will take a score of "a couple under" to win, which makes sense since the 4-under par posted by Ty Spinella last year made him the only player under par.

"There are a lot of birdie opportunities," Schultz said. "But it's also very easy to make a big score."

TOBY CARRIG ~ tcarrig@semissourian.com Tanner Werner of Jackson shot from the sand during Monday's Junior-Am Fundraising Tournament. Werner is among a handful of local players participating in the national tournament this week at Dalhousie Golf Club. [Click to enlarge]