The 2024 High School Overall Championship and the first edition of the Simmons Bank Championship have ended with an exciting two weeks of golf in Little Rock.
By: P.J. Boatwright Marketing/Communications Intern Justin Jones
LITTLE ROCK, Ark., Oct. 28, 2024 - For the past two weeks, Pleasant Valley Country Club in Little Rock has been the heart of Arkansas golf. It hosted both the ASGA High School Overall Championship and the Simmons Bank Championship presented by Stephens, in consecutive weeks.
The ASGA High School Overall Championship showcased the best high school golfers in the state from every division level. This tournament gave these players a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play in tour conditions, surrounded by grandstands, against some of their toughest opponents yet.
On the boys' side, Henry O'Keefe won the title in a sudden-death playoff against runner-up Will Gordon. Yinyoe Yang won on the girls' side as she birdied the 18th hole to take home the championship. Susanna Manns and Lillie York shared second place just behind Yang. O'Keefe shared his experience playing in advance of the PGA Tour.
"Seeing the stands go up in the last few weeks has been cool," said O'Keefe. "Now they're almost done so it's pretty sweet to see. It feels like you are in a PGA Tour event. It's awesome."
While the stands may not yet have been filled with people, they still loomed large and added an unfamiliar pressure on the players. Yang shared her thoughts about the grandstands on the course.
"I thought it was so cool to have all the stands out," said Yang. "I know no one is there, but it almost feels like the real thing."
What the players did not know was that they would get an even closer experience to the "real thing" the following week as the winners and runners-up had the opportunity to play in the Simmons Bank Championship presented by Stephens, Pro-Am. O'Keefe, Gordon, Yang, and Manns teed up with professional Matt Gogel. The youngest group in the field ended up shooting the lowest score at 20-under par, winning the pro-am. Manns pointed out the different feelings from the previous week compared to the pro-am.
"it was just a different environment," said Manns. "We were all just working as a team and had so much positive momentum to hit good shots. Last week there was just a little bit more pressure on an already hard course."
Throughout the year junior players rarely play as part of a team for ASGA events. Gordon emphasized how this was important to the team's success in the pro-am.
"The main thing that was different was we had a lot of fun today," said Gordon. "We kind of build off of each other and we were hitting good shots. last week, instead of playing against each other we were able to work as a team and make putts fall and shoot a good score."
The group finished with a collective score of 20-under-par, eagling the tenth hole and making birdie on the rest.
The back half of the week and into the weekend saw the official start of the inaugural Simmons Bank Championship presented by Stephens at Pleasant Valley Country Club. Each day fans arrived at the course to support their favorite golfers. On Saturday fans braved the rain and still showed up in the thousands. Padraig Harrington went on to win shooting 17-under-par two strokes ahead of Y.E. Yang in solo second.
Arkansas golf was represented proudly, and strongly at Pleasant Valley Country Club these past two weeks. The ASGA is incredibly thankful to all our members, Simmons Bank, Stephens, the PGA Tour Champions, Pro Links Sports, Director of Golf Chris Mayes, and Pleasant Valley Country Club. Golf in Arkansas continues to grow thanks to all of your support!
