McKenzie Armstrong watches her putt on the fifth green during Monday’s Callaway Junior Tour event at Parkersburg Country Club. The golfer from St. Marys is the Player of the Year in the girls 10-14 age division for the second straight year. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

VIENNA — Emerson Simons didn’t make the cut for the Callaway Junior Tour’s season finale scheduled for Wednesday at Greebrier Resort, but she managed to cap off the summer series in the next best way possible by defeating Kerri-Anne Cook in a one-hole playoff and winning the girls 15-18 age division.

Playing in the same threesome Monday at Parkersburg Country Club, both Simons and Cook turned in the best round among the girls in the field at 10-over 84. Simons birdied the first playoff hole by sinking a putt from nearly 8 feet. Cook made par. Simons, who played No. 1 as a junior on the Roane County High School golf team, recorded three runner-up finishes in five appearances on the Callaway Junior Tour. Placing first was a first this season.

“When Kerri-Anne and I turned our scorecards in and we found out we tied, it was kind of a surprise to both of us,” Simons said. “I parred the last two holes in my round, so I kind of finished strong, but it was an up and down day.”

Simons figures she will hold down the No. 1 role for the Raiders again for her senior season, which lurks right around the corner.

“I love playing for the high school — it is so much fun,” Simons said. “We have qualified for state my first three years and hopefully we can get back there again this year.”

The Callaway Junior Tour stop at Parkersburg Country Club on Monday recognized several awards on Monday. Picture from left are: South Point, Ohio’s Sidnea Belville (Larry Martin Sportsman of the Year), Emerson Simons (low girls round and Girls 15-18 champion) and Grant Roush (low boys round and Boys 13-14 champion). (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

McKenzie Armstrong from St. Marys placed in the middle of the pack for the 10-14 girls division after shooting 100, but the sophomore-to-be had already secured Player of the Year honors among her peers for a second straight season. She ditched the driver in mid-round on Monday and used her 7-iron off the tee.

“I kept skying my driver,” Armstrong said. “If I didn’t sky it, I sliced it. My 6-iron, I couldn’t hit that either so I went with the 7-iron. I was able to hit that as far as other people’s drives.”

Armstrong recognizes she must step up her game now that she advances to the 15-18 division next year.

“It’s nice to know I can put myself out there and be that good for my age,” said Armstrong, who began playing golf in sixth grade. “It will be more difficult next year.”

Having a father (Blaze Armstrong) who is on the coaching staff for the St. Marys middle school and high school teams is a major bonus for McKenzie, who will compete in the Callaway Junior Tour finale at The Greenbrier on Wednesday.

“The first time I ever swung a golf club, I knew I would be halfway decent — there were still ups and downs; swinging and missing the ball,” Armstrong said. “My dad has helped me with my game a lot, especially with chipping and putting. He is so much better than me with that, so he is a big help with that part of the game.”

Turning in the low round on the boys side was an individual with a long lineage of golfing DNA. Trent Roush, a 14-year-old from Mason, shot 4-under 69 for a winning margin of six strokes in the 13-14 age division.

Roush’s family own Riverside Club of West Virginia. Monday’s round fell just shy of surpassing Trent Roush’s previous best of 5-under 67 at Locust Hill Golf Course.

“My putter was hot and I made a lot of putts,” said Roush after turning in his scorecard littered with five birdies. “I play this course a lot, but the last time I played it I shot 92. The greens were consistent today.”

Roush, who enters his freshman year at Wahama High School in the fall, qualified for Wednesday’s Callaway Junior Event and essentially is a lock for second place in the Player of the Year standings. McCartney Hinkle from Bluefield, Va., has clinched first place. Monday’s win marked Roush’s second on the Callaway Junior Tour.

“High school will be different, but it is still golf,” Roush said.

Sidnea Beallville, a 16-year-old golfer who enters her junior year at South Point High School (Ohio) in the fall received the distinguished Larry Martin Sportsman of the Year award for the 2022 Callaway Junior Tour season.

“The Callaway Junior Tour would not be was it is today if it weren’t for Parkersburg Country Club golf professional Larry Martin,” said Lucas Ware, who is CJT Tournament Manager/Head of Youth Operations.