From Matt Press, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

When the Diamond Run 13U golf team arrives in Frisco, Texas, for the nationally televised PGA Jr. League national championship, their first order of business will be ESPN interviews.

“Right when you get down there on the first day, they’re putting you in an interview room before you even step foot on the golf course,” said Adam Morrison, the team’s coach and the head golf professional at Diamond Run Golf Club in Sewickley. “They’re getting you in front of cameras before you’re even swinging a club.”

The event begins on Sunday with interviews and a practice round and runs through next Thursday. By now, some of these kids are regular pros in the TV world.

“I really like that part,” said Niko Ameredes, a 12-year old from Oakdale. “I think it’s cool that junior golf gets to be televised.”
Ameredes competed with the team in the national championship last year, which Morrison said “kind of blew our program up,” in terms of signups.



Benjamin Roethlisberger Jr., the son of the former Steelers quarterback, is a member of the eight-player squad heading to Texas.
After returning from the trip last October, the elder Roethlisberger raved about the Fields Ranch facility on his “Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger” podcast. Among the various features includes a Topgolf-style driving range called “Ice House” and a 75,000 square foot putting green.

“That place is spectacular,” Roethlisberger said at the time. “It’s got a 10-hole, lit-up par three course, which, I must add, Benjamin got a hole-in-one on.”

The team is selected following a regular season that spans from June to August. Each week on Monday afternoons, the kids in the program play nine-hole matches. This year there were 90 participants, allowing Diamond Run to complete the entire season in-house and pick an All-Star team to advance to sectional and regional championships.

The Diamond Run All-Stars — who will compete in Frisco as “Team Pennsylvania” — punched their ticket to the national championship with a victory in the PGA Jr. League Region 2 Championship at Webster Golf Club in New York back in September.

There will be 12 teams from around the country in the national championship, and each will have four groups playing two-person scrambles. There is a 36-hole stroke play qualifier that takes place on Tuesday and Wednesday, and from there, the top four teams will advance to match play to determine semifinalists and a champion.

For Morrison, who’s been the head pro at Diamond Run since 2015, he’s enjoyed seeing the participation in youth golf “skyrocket” in recent years. According to statistics from the National Golf Foundation, the number of on-course junior golfers has ballooned by 40% (roughly one million participants) since 2019. He has a 7-year-old daughter who finished her first year of junior league and quickly “got the bug.”
“Every Monday she’s waking up, she’s like, ‘Dad, when are we going to go play golf today?’” Morrison said. “Hearing similar stories from parents is really what it’s about.”

As for the Diamond Run All-Stars, this year’s team has a couple new faces. Brooke Kline, 12, from Sewickley; Katelyn Plummer, 13, from Grove City; and Preston Tolnar, 11, from Canfield, Ohio, all joined the team this season.The returners include Ameredes, Roethlisberger, Jake Hendrick, 12, from Sewickley and Elijah Stewart, 13, from East Liverpool, Ohio.

Ameredes said the team is “very close.”

The Diamond Run All-Stars, Morrison said, are mostly used to pressure-filled environments. Even those who weren’t on the team last year have competed on considerable stages before. If needed, he said there may be a time where he pulls a player aside to “say, ‘Hey, just take a deep breath and have fun.’”

The full broadcasting schedule for the national championship is listed below (all times EST):

Tuesday, Nov. 18:

ESPN2: Noon – 2 p.m.
ESPN+: 2 p.m. – 5 p.m.


Wednesday, Nov. 19:

ESPN2: Noon – 2 p.m.
ESPN+: 2 p.m. – 5 p.m.


Thursday, Nov. 20:

ESPN+: 2:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. (simulcasted on PGA of America YouTube)


You can read the full article here.