Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, August 26, 1993 TAG: 9308260098
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Wednesday at Blue Hills, the William Byrd High senior found out first-hand.
He visited the zone, all right. And it may as well had been the "Twilight Zone."
Turner, a 16-year-old who never had broken 70, shot what's believed to be the lowest score ever in Roanoke high school golf, an 8-under-par 63 in the final round of the Bob McLelland Metro high school tournament.
Just as incredible as Turner's 63 was the fact he didn't even win the tournament. Byrd teammate Ryan Ketron stole that honor, shooting a second straight 68 for a 36-hole total of 6-under 136, three shots better than Turner.
Want records? There were golf cartfuls.
Turner's 63 broke the Metro record of 65 set by Northside's Sonny Kirkwood in 1977. Kirkwood's65 had been believed to be the lowest competitive round ever shot in Roanoke high school golf.
The 63 tied Blue Hills' white-tee course record, set last Wednesday by Valley Amateur champion Rodney Naff.
Ketron's 136 total was a Metro record, breaking Kirkwood's 139 in '77.
Byrd's four-man total of 3-under 281 - senior Chris McVey added a 72 and junior Kevin Divers had a 78 - tied the Metro 18-hole mark held by Northside ('77) and shattered the school record of 291 set by last year's Group AA state champions.
Byrd's 7-over 575 total for two rounds obliterated the Metro record of 596, set in '77 by Northside and Andrew Lewis.
"I've never seen anything like this," Byrd coach Tim Chocklett said. "Sixty-three . . . 281 . . . are you kidding me?"
Turner attempted to explain his surreal 63, in which he canned nearly 200 feet of putts:
"I've had days when I've made some putts, but nothing like this," said Turner, still dazed over what had transpired. "I made everything I looked at. I've heard people talk about being in the zone on the PGA Tour and I've heard Ryan talk about it. I never knew what it was, but I found out today."
Turner birdied No. 1 (15 feet), No. 3 (35 feet), No. 4 (15 feet), No. 6 (2 feet), No. 8 (5 feet), No. 10 (20 feet), No. 12 (10 feet), No. 13 (4 feet) and No. 16 (30 feet). He sank par putts of 30 feet at No. 2 and 20 feet at No. 15. His only bogey came when he missed the green at the par-4 ninth.
"I wanted to pick my ball up and just watch Chris," said Turner's playing partner, Joe Surkamer of Roanoke Valley Christian. "You could have charged admission to watch Chris today."
Turner, 7-under through 13 holes, said the hardest chore was keeping his head together trying to get it to the clubhouse.
"The last few holes were very tough," he said. "I'm known as a mental case. I'm the worst mental case in golf history. Jeff Sprinkel [assistant Blue Hills pro and former Byrd star] calls me `Mushhead.' "
Turner's head is now another story.
"We won't be able to squeeze it through that door over there," Sprinkel said of Turner, who works part-time at Blue Hills.
Ketron didn't mind playing second-fiddle to his teammate. Lost in Turner's glory was the fact Ketron became the first player to ever win back-to-back Metros.
"I'm happy for Chris," he said. "I can't believe 63, either. He told me after 14 he was 7-under. He said, `Don't tell anybody.' I knew then I had to make some birds just to win the thing."
Ketron birdied Nos. 13, 14, 17 and 18 for a 3-under 33 on the back. It was Ketron's sixth win in the past year. He also has six seconds and a third in his past 14 tournaments.
Glenvar's Nick Varney finished third at 142. RVC's Benjy Kitts was fourth at 146.
Byrd won the team chase by 27 shots over Northside.
by CNB