ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, August 16, 1996 TAG: 9608160067
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KEITH POMPEY STAFF WRITER
LEE TAYLOR becomes the first Roanoke-area player to win the prestigious golf tournament, and he does it with ease.
Maybe Lee Taylor had the right idea at the 13th Scott Robertson Memorial junior golf tournament.
The 14-year-old could be spotted running around and between the other players in the star-studded field at Roanoke Country Club. And heading into Thursday's final round, he didn't get up early to play a practice round or hit the driving range. Instead, Taylor stayed at home until the last minute to play Sega.
``I tried not to think about the tournament,'' said Taylor, who will be a freshman in the fall at Patrick Henry High School. ``I wanted to mess around and stay relaxed.''
His method worked.
On Thursday, Taylor became the first Timesland-area golfer to win the boys' 13- and 14-year-old division. And he did it with ease. Taylor mixed four birdies with two bogeys to shoot a 2-under-par 68. That gave him a three-day total of 210 in the 54-hole tournament.
Tommy Branch of Vidalia, Ga., and Ryan Stinnett of Amherst finished second, 13 strokes back.
``I think he played great,'' said Salem's Tommy Lesperance, a good friend who was competing in the boys' 15-18 division. ``He had a real good tournament. He is a good, young talent. I have had the opportunity to play with him and he is going to be a good golfer if he keeps up with it.''
But who knew Taylor would be this good - and this soon.
``This was pretty good competition,'' Taylor said. ``I didn't think I was going to win by that much. I had some birdies in the first couple of holes and that made it a lot easier.''
While Taylor won with ease, Mac Kellett had to work overtime to win his first boys' 15-18 crown. The 18-year-old came from six shots back to force a playoff with four others at 214. Then the Florence, S.C., native dropped a 35-foot putt to defeat Lesperance, who took second. Larry Nuger of Longmeadow, Mass., finished third. Earlysville's Shane Foster was fourth.
``I was lucky that I made it,'' Kellett said of the winning putt. ``Before today's competition, I was six shots back. So I knew that I had to play pretty low to win it all. But when I got done, I didn't think it was low enough to force a playoff. I quess I was pretty lucky.''
Lesperance, playing in his last junior tournament before heading to George Mason University on a golf scholarship, was satisfied with second.
``I played the best I could,'' he said.
In other Scott Robertson Memorial competition, Cimmie Shanan nipped Angela German of Columbus, Ga., for the girls' 15-18 age group title. The Spring Grove, Pa., native two-putted to win a playoff and claim her first Robertson crown.
``It was great to win this tournament,'' the 15-year-old said. ``I have never won a playoff before. Going into it, I said,`I never win playoffs. Someone else always has the luck on the final hole.' But today was my day. I finally won a playoff.''
Tai Perry of Kennett Square, Pa., won the girls' 13-14 age group with a 246. Wednesday's leader, Erika Hansen of Grand Ledge, Mich., was one stroke back. Martinsville's Becky Poindexter trailed by 21 shots.
LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ERIC BRADY Staff. 1. Salem's Tommy Lesperance puttsby CNBThursday at the Robertson Memorial. 2. (headshot) Kellett.