ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, August 15, 1996 TAG: 9608150052
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KEITH POMPEY STAFF WRITER
THE GOLFER lets his game speak for itself at the Scott Robertson Memorial junior tournament.
Maybe it was a blessing Shane Foster wasn't picked for the Virginias-Carolinas junior match-play golf tournament.
Now he's showing his stuff among 25 state champions and six international players in the 13th Scott Robertson Memorial junior tournament at Roanoke Country Club.
But ...
At first, ``Shane was heartbroken,'' said Donnie Foster, whose son was not chosen to play for the Virginia-West Virginia squad competing this week in North Carolina. ``He was a senior this year. It was his senior year of golf, and that was his goal: to make the Virginias-Carolinas match. And since he didn't, he wanted to come up here and prove that he can play with the best in the country.''
He certainly has.
Foster sits atop the leaderboard in the boys' 15- to 18-year-old division. The Earlysville golfer shot a 1-under-par 70 Wednesday, giving him a two-day total of 142 heading into today's final round.
Tuesday's co-leaders, Tommy Lesperance of Salem and Allen Thompson of Atlanta are tied with three others one stroke back.
``I wanted to put on a good show,'' said Foster, headed to James Madison University in the fall on a golf scholarship. ``I felt like I had to shoot even par or better to be close in the final round. And I went out there and hit the ball real solid.''
Foster's determination to show his stuff was evident Wednesday. He mixed three birdies with three bogeys in taking the lead.
The performance of the tournament thus far, however, belongs to Lee Taylor of Roanoke.
Taylor, who will be a freshman in the fall at Patrick Henry High School, grabbed a six-shot lead in the boys' 13-14 division through two rounds.
``I think that with a six-shot lead, it will be difficult for someone to beat him, although there are some pretty good golfers behind him,'' said Phil Owenby, the pro at Roanoke Country Club.
Taylor's 142 led Ryan Stinnett of Amherst by six. Bryan Kane of Raleigh, N.C., is at 149.
In other competition, Cimmie Shanan leads the girls' 15-18 age group, picking up where she left off Tuesday. The Spring Grove, Pa., native's 71 gives her a total of 144.
``I'm real happy with the way I played'' Wednesday, the 15-year-old said. ``I played at 3-under after the first five holes. The back nine was a little tricky, but I sank a lot of long putts.
``If I can shoot another 71 [today], that will be great.''
But Shanan, who mixed four birdies and four bogeys Wednesday, isn't in the clear. Her biggest competition comes from Angela German of Columbus, Ga. German, ranked No.6 in the country in the most recent Golfweek poll, is three shots back.
The pre-tournament favorites, Jessica Belskis of Worthington, Ohio, and Lauren Jeski of Tampa Bay, Fla., are out of contention. Belskis, ranked fifth in the nation, is nine shots back. Eleventh-ranked Jeski withdrew after Tuesday's competition when she was seven back.
Erika Hansen of Grande Ledge, Mich., leads the girls' 13-14 age group with a 163. Tuesday's leader Tai Perry of Kennett Square, Pa., is three shots back. Martinsville's Becky Poindexter trails by 19 shots.
LENGTH: Medium: 67 linesby CNB