YOUNG GUNS BLAST AWAY AS HEARTLAND JR. CLASSIC BEGINS

JACKSON, Mo. -- Temperatures at Bent Creek Golf Course may have been in the lower 90s, but a handful of 15- and 16-year-olds were comfortable in the mid-70s Tuesday.

Three youngster in the 15-16 age division shot 74s and two others shot 76s in the first round of the St. Francis Heartland Junior Classic.

After another round today, the field of 115 participants in four age categories will be cut in half for the final round on Thursday.

Shooting 74s on the par-70 layout were Zachary Decker of Bloomsdale, Kyle Christian of Dexter and John Kelly of St. Louis. Matt Litzelfelner, of Jackson -- playing on his home course -- shot a 76 and is in the top five.

Christian recently placed second in the Class 3A high school tournament, just one stroke behind the state champ.

"That age division is real competitive and I figured it would be," said Mike Litzelfelner, Matt's father and tournament organizer. "It's going to be a real battle."

"There's a little more pressure than what I'm used to," said Matt Litzelfelner, who took third in the 13-14 division last year. "With the number of people in my bracket, I know I have to do well because there's a lot of good golfers here. I didn't think that this many kids would shoot in the 70s because of the windy conditions. The course played pretty hard today.

"This was probably my best round this year. My putting and my short game was really good. The greens were in perfect shape and they rolled really well. I have an advantage because I play here a lot. I know where to hit the ball off the tee and I know how to read the greens to tell how fast they'll be."

The lowest scores definitely came in the 15-16 division. In fact, only Billy Woosley of Murphysboro, Ill. in the 17-18 division would've placed in the top five among the 15 and 16-year olds. With the 17-18 group playing from the championship tee, Woosley led his division with a 76. Craig Schumer of Perryville is still very much in the hunt, shooting a 78.

In the 13-14 division, Zach Barlow set the pace Tuesday with a 78, while Matt Bain of Sikeston and Jesse Barge of Murphysboro, Ill. are one stroke back of the lead.

"We've had a great start to the tournament," said Mike Litzelfelner. "We had almost 15 scores of 81 or better which is really, really good especially with it being hot and windy."

The 11- and 12-year-olds play nine holes. Leading the way is Justin Yoder from Versailles with a score of 37, but only two strokes separate first and fifth place.

Christine Idoux of Waterloo, Ill. is leading the 15-16 girls with an 89.

While some were shooting in the 70s, not all the young golfers were so fortunate.

Marcus Selvidge, 14, of Poplar Bluff was carrying his driver in both hands -- with one piece in each -- at the 18th hole Tuesday. The frustrated Selvidge shot a 100.

"Everything was tough for me," he said. "The bunkers were wet and I couldn't hit it out of there. But considering I have never played here and this is the first time I've played in a tournament, it wasn't that bad. This is a nice tournament."

For a list of the tournament leaders, see "Scoreboard" on Page 4.