Highlighted Players of the Week: Kemps and Gumm

Kemps and Gumm Soar to the Top at Eagle's Pointe

Bluffton, S.C.- The Winter Shootout at Eagle’s Pointe started off the spring season of the International Junior Golf Tour (IJGT) with some impressive play.  The golfers were tested by tight fairways on every hole, so accuracy was a must in order to play well.  Matthew Kemps of Palos Verdes Estates, Calif., fired a tournament low of 32 in the final 9 holes to shoot a 71, which was the second lowest round of the tournament.  For Lydia Gumm, of Radcliff, Ky., accuracy paid off at Eagle’s Pointe on her way to becoming The Winter Shootout Girls Division Champion.

At The Winter Shootout, Kemps was not able to finish atop the leaderboard like he wanted, but he was able to take home a moral victory after finishing strong at Eagle’s Point Golf Club.  After shooting a 17-over-par 88 during the first round, Kemps found himself close to the back of the pack.  As he headed into the second round, Kemps' double-bogey, bogey start on the first two holes undoubtedly had him thinking that it was going to be a repeat of Saturday’s round. After the first nine, Kemps found himself reporting a 4-over-par 39. 

That’s when everything seemingly clicked for Kemps.  Back-to-back birdies on holes twelve and thirteen, coupled with the same results on holes sixteen and seventeen, helped propel Kemps to finish his back nine with an impressive 4-under-par 32 to finish his second round at even-par 71. 

Kemps was all smiles as he entered the scoring lounge knowing that even though he was not able to put together two strong rounds of golf like he would have liked, he may have generated momentum he needed as he looks to The Florida Swing at Innisbrook in Tampa, Fla.

Playing in her first IJGT event, Lydia Gumm had an impressive tournament, posting rounds of 72-69 and beating the field by at least 5 strokes.  It was obvious that Gumm had confidence all weekend long.  On Saturday's first round, she approached the first tee as if she was driven to beat the course. 

She started the final round on Sunday with a one stroke lead and never looked back.  Starting on hole 10, Gumm was 3-under-par after her first 9 holes, then she quickly carded a birdie on hole No. 2 before finishing with bogey on the final two holes, still finishing with the low round of the tournament. 

When speaking with Gumm after the tournament, she talked about her disappointment with her bogey-bogey finish but that she was confident and poised to take on the challenges of the course.