For the Record-Times
WHEATLAND - Tate Nichols is a familiar face at the Wheatland Golf Club where he spends many hours each day working on his game. Driving, striking, chipping, and putting the golf ball is a daily routine as he plays his home course. On weekends, he regularly competes in tournaments hosted by the Junior Golf Alliance Of Colorado and come August he is hoping to win his third straight Wyoming Junior Amateur title. Placing/Winning tournaments in Colorado and Wyoming has given him confidence to take his game to the next level.
On June 5, Nichols of Wheatland qualified for the prestigious IMG Junior World Golf Championships (July 8th-11) at the South Suburban Golf Course in Centennial, Colo. The annual tournament is recognized as one of the top junior golf tournaments in the world and entry can only be earned by qualifying at various sites around the world. The tournament features the top junior male/female golfers ranging in ages from 7-17 years old. The tournament features qualifying players from 56 countries and 42 states. Previous participants include many current PGA Tour players such as: Tiger Woods, Jason Day, Tony Finau, Xander Schauffele, Pat Perez, Aaron Wise, Kevin Na, and Charley Hoffman. Tate will be competing in the 9-10 age group at Shadowridge Golf Club in Vista, Calif., north of San Diego.
The tournament format consists of an opening ceremony on July 7, practice round on July 8, and three 18 hole rounds July 9-11. He knows the competition will be tough, but the youngster from Wheatland is eager to see where his game stacks up against the best players in the world. Regardless of the outcome, his goal is to march to to the first tee in cowboy joe brown and gold to represent Wheatland the best he can.
