Last weekend belonged to the pros, but the junior golfers own this week.
Eleven Gainesville residents and eight Flowery Branch residents are competing in today’s Atlanta Junior Golf tournament at Royal Lakes that features eight divisions. Two of those divisions will play nine holes, while the remaining five play 18.
Andy Bracewell is looking to continue his strong summer that already includes a top-10 finish in both events he has played.
Bracewell, who carded a 76 and finished in second at Alpharetta Athletic Club on June 8, competes in the 18-hole Open division with Luke James and Josh Foster, who tied for second last Tuesday at Mossy Creek.
Today’s event is one of several on the AJGA’s summer schedule that concludes with the Invitational Tournament on Aug. 2 at Peachtree Golf Club in Atlanta.
Also beginning today is the 45th annual Georgia Junior Championship at Green Island Country Club in Columbus. Gainesville resident Carson Brown and Dahlonega’s Joseph Jarrard are competing in this 54-hole event that concludes Wednesday.
The tournament contains 144 players and that number will reduce to around 70 after 36 holes. The top eight finishers earn spots on the Georgia-South Carolina Junior Challenge Match team and the individual champion also receives an exception into the 2010 Georgia Amateur Championship from July 8-11 at The Landings Club in Savannah.
WORLD CUP: After a controversial ending to its dramatic 2-2 draw with Slovenia on Friday, the United States plays an almost must-win game Wednesday against Algeria.
With Slovenia leading the group with four points (three for a win over Algeria and one for the draw with England), the US is tied with England for second place with two points. A win against Algeria, regardless of the outcome of the England/Slovenia game, will secure the Americans a berth in the knockout round.
The US can still advance to the next round with a tie if Slovenia defeats or ties England. The England/US tiebreaker is determined by goal differential. If England beats Slovenia and the US either ties or loses to Algeria, it will be eliminated from the World Cup.
ATLANTA BRAVES: Winners of five straight and seven of their last eight, the Braves head to the midwest this week to battle a pair of teams from the AL Central.
Starting Tuesday, the Braves kick off a three-game series with the Chicago White Sox.
Tommy Hanson, who is 4-0 with a 2.03 since May 21, gets the ball in Game 1. Hanson is 4-0 with a 0.75 ERA in four career interleague starts.
Following their series with the White Sox, the Braves head to Detroit for three games against the Tigers.
GWINNETT BRAVES: With their six-game series with the Syracuse finally in the books, the G-Braves continue their home stand this week with four games against the Buffalo Bisons, an affiliate of the New York Mets.
Gwinnett heads to Columbus on Thursday to play a four-game series with the Clippers.