Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 31, 1994 TAG: 9408030030
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Randy King
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Prater, appointed the BCC's new head professional last month, says the club already has started its backswing on a recovery shot from the loss of its clubhouse to a fire in February.
``When the place burned down, I get the feeling it left a bad taste in everybody's mouth,'' Prater said. ``But all the members have pulled together and we're now ready to get this thing back right.
``There's a whole new attitude, and new attitudes bring on new things. We all feel like this is a whole new beginning for Blacksburg Country Club.''
Prater said architects are drawing plans for a new clubhouse that is expected to be built by next July.
``We're making the best of a bad situation,'' said Prater, who succeeds Jimmy Williams, who parted ways with the club late last year. ``All the doubts are gone now. We're moving ahead. And our golf course, well, it's as good as ever.''
Prater, 36, didn't have to be told about the layout in his interview. The son of former Virginia Tech assistant football coach Jack Prater played a lot of golf at the club as a youngster.
``I never thought I'd be back here, though,'' Prater said.
The lure of raising a family in Blacksburg and his first-ever head pro position made BCC attractive to Prater.
``Basically, I've followed the money and the sun for 18 years,'' said Prater, who came to Blacksburg from Jupiter Island, Fla. ``I've averaged 1,400 lessons a year and have been fortunate to work with such teachers as Hank Haney, Chuck Cook and Mac O'Grady.''
While at Jupiter Island, Prater met former major-league baseball pitcher Jim Kaat. The two recently completed a 55-minute teaching video that Prater hopes to market nationally.
Prater, who tried his hand at several Florida mini-tours with limited success, said teaching will be the thrust of his work at Blacksburg.
``From what I've heard, I understand the high school teams in the Blacksburg area have been struggling, shooting some high numbers,'' he said. ``I'd like to help those kids and have some better golf being played around here.''
BLACKSBURG BOUND: Most of the state's top juniors will be in Blacksburg on Monday for the start of the 54-hole VSGA State Junior Boys' tournament.
More than 100 14-and-over entries will play at Blacksburg Country Club. The 13-and-under portion of the field will compete at the Virginia Tech Golf Club.
The top qualifier from Roanoke is 16-year-old Justin Young, who shot a sizzling 64 in recent qualifying at Roanoke Country Club.
Young, a junior at Northside this fall, had nine birdies in bettering his previous best score of 69, which was made at Countryside.
``I now know what it's like to be in what they call `the zone,''' Young said. ``I chipped in twice. It was rather incredible.''
So incredible that VSGA officials immediately called Roanoke Country Club head pro Phil Owenby after the qualifying scores were faxed to the VSGA's Richmond office.
``The VSGA guy said this score must be a mistake,'' Owenby said. ``He said, `The second guy shot 75, so this 64 must be a 74, right?' They had a hard time believing it.''
Young's remarkable round was one shot off Mike Smith's course record of 63.
JUNIOR BASH: A field of 120 boys representing 31 states and Canada tees off Tuesday in the inaugural ClubCorp Junior Players Championship at the Lower Cascades in Hot Springs.
The 85-player field for ages 15-16 is headed by Kentuckian A.J. Riley, who shot a 64 in the final round of the Bluegrass Junior Invitational in June; David Gossett of Germantown, Tenn.; and Brent Roof of Conway, S.C.
The 35-member 13-14 field is led by Lucas Glover of Greenville, S.C., and Nicholas Loar of Rockwell, Texas. Glover has two second-place finishes and Loar has four top-three finishes on the American Junior Golf Association tour this season.
Mark Baldwin, 16, and Jason Orlando, 14, of Roanoke are the top local entries in the 54-hole stroke-play tournament that concludes Thursday.
ROBERTSON UPDATE: As of Friday, Scott Robertson Memorial officials had received 460 entries representing 36 states and Canada for its Aug.8-11 tournament at Roanoke Country Club.
Defending 15-18 champion Mike Meade of Bluefield, W.Va., and runner-up Miguel Rivera of Maryland head the entry list. Rivera won the recent Bobby Bowers Memorial.
Other top entries include Virginia Tech-bound Robby Rasmussen, winner of last week's Peyton Memorial, and local stalwart Ryan Ketron.
The girls' field has a record 49 entries, including Bowers winner Heather Jeffries of Chesapeake.
As an added attraction, PGA Tour pro Robert Wrenn of Richmond will conduct a clinic on Aug.9 at 6:30 p.m. There is no charge for spectators.
STEADY MCKNIGHT: Galax stalwart Tom McKnight is having a solid, if not spectacular, summer.
McKnight shot a 66 for the first-round lead at the recent Rice Planters Amateur before finishing fifth at 7-under-par 281. Georgian Allen Doyle, the nation's hottest amateur, won at 273.
McKnight took fourth in last week's Eastern Amateur in Portsmouth, shooting a 1-over 281, five back of winner Steve Liebler, who recently regained his amateur status.
SAND BLASTS: Ryan Ketron added more hardware to his ever-expanding trophy case the past two weeks. He shot a 7-under 139, including a second-round 68, at Hanging Rock to win the Commonwealth Games of Virginia's 17-18 division. William Byrd teammate Chris Turner was second at 148. Ketron took home another first this week in the rain-shortened Smith Mountain Lake Junior Open. ... Justin Young finished at 149 in winning the Commonwealth Games' 15-16 crown ahead of Ryan Ferguson and Jason Orlando. ... Hanging Rock assistant pro Dave Kuykendall played 108 holes a Monday marathon, raising approximately $1,600 in donations for the Arthritis Foundation. ... The VSGA's State Girls' championship will be held Tuesday and Wednesday at River Bend in Great Falls.
by CNB