TEXARKANA MAGAZINE
Local junior golfer participants for the upcoming 2023 Farmers Bank & Trust Junior Pro-Am at Northridge Country Club include Gabi Nevels, Molly Phillips, Harrison Flowers, Levi Austin, Micah Glick, Davis Meador, Buck Hawkins, and Lane Witten.
J unior golf has gained significant popularity in the United States, captivating young golfers and providing them with a competitive platform. It serves as a nurturing ground for budding talents to hone their skills, compete at various levels, and even secure scholarships for college. Over the years, participation in junior golf has witnessed a remarkable surge. According to the National Golf Foundation’s report, in 2022, approximately 3.4 million junior golfers engaged in golf-related activities across the United States. On July 11, 2023, 30 talented junior golfers from the Texarkana region will seize the opportunity to elevate their game. Texarkana Country Club and Northridge Country Club will once again host the Texarkana Children Charities Open, part of the All-Pro Tour (APT) and Women’s All-Pro Tour (WAPT). As a renowned professional golf tournament series spanning the mid-south United States, the APT raises funds for local charities and paves the way for aspiring young professionals to pursue their dreams of making it to the illustrious PGA Tour. Remarkably, several prominent PGA Tour players, including the world’s number one-ranked golfer Scottie Scheffler, helped launch their careers on the APT. Traditionally, professional golf tournaments commence with a Pro-Am event on Mondays, granting generous donors and sponsors the unique
experience of playing alongside professional golfers and briefly stepping into their shoes. This year, The Farmers Bank & Trust Junior Pro-Am has been introduced, offering talented local kids who earned invitations through their skills the chance to embrace the same opportunity. The Junior Pro-Am was conceived through the partnership of Mark Van Herpen, Chairman of the Texarkana Children Charities Open, and Fred Meisenheimer, Director of Red River Junior Golf. Van Herpen expressed his enthusiasm for expanding the tournament’s outreach within the community, stating, “We are always looking for new opportunities to grow our tournament and expand the reach to more people in the community. This new Junior Pro-Am will allow us to reach another segment of the community that otherwise may not know about the tournament or the organizations it benefits.” Meisenheimer is responsible for the logistics of the tournament. Explaining his motivation, Meisenheimer stated, “Having two boys deeply passionate about golf, I found myself shuttling them to Dallas and Little Rock for tournaments. I wanted to create a unique experience for my boys and other kids who play here in Texarkana.” Eagerly anticipating the event, eight-year-old Micah Glick shared his excitement, “I can’t wait to see the skills of a professional golfer and learn from them.” Ten-year-old Owen Peek added, “Meeting a
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