By Kyle Roberts
CHOUDRANT, La. — Grey Ramsey said he entered the fall playing the best golf of his life. The last month backed him up.
Ramsey won the Men’s Championship Division at the Squire Creek Club Championship on Aug. 29-30, then won the boys 14-15 division at the Mississippi Regional Final at Dancing Rabbit Golf Club in Philadelphia, Mississippi, a week later.
He then helped Louisiana beat Mississippi in the Junior River Cup on Sept. 12-13.
“This summer, I’ve been playing probably the best golf I ever have,” Ramsey said. “It’s been fun to be able to go out there and know that I’m going to have a good chance.”
At Squire Creek, Ramsey opened with a 4-under-par 68 to share the first-round lead with Hunter Battles, then shot 70 in the final round. He finished at 6-under 138, three shots ahead of runner-up Reeves Pullin, who shot 71-70. Battles and Brandon Newton tied for third at even-par 144.
The field was full of players Ramsey sees on the course almost every day, including several he looks up to. Battles and JT Stephens, who tied for fifth at 1-over 145, both played at Louisiana Tech, according to Grey’s father, Patrick Ramsey. Stephens also caddied for Ramsey at a USGA Junior Amateur qualifier.
“He got to play against and with a bunch of guys that he looks up to,” Patrick Ramsey said. “That was fun, just to compete at a higher level against some guys that he really respects.”
Ramsey said beating a familiar group made the win more meaningful.
“A lot of the guys out there were the real competition,” Ramsey said. “I play with them and against them a lot every day, and they’re always fun to beat. We talk a lot, so that one was really fun to win in front of a bunch of people I get to play with.”
The Mississippi Regional Final, a qualifier for the Notah Begay III Junior Golf National Championship, offered a tougher setup. Only two qualifying spots were available in the boys 14-15 division.
“That one’s fun because you qualify for an even bigger tournament, and it’s a really well-run tournament at a fun golf course,” Ramsey said. “That place was playing tough. Off the tee, it’s really tight, and the rough was thick.”
Ramsey shot 72 and 71 to finish at 1-under 143. That put him one stroke ahead of
Tyler Lindsey of Huntsville, Alabama, who shot 73-71. William Myatt of Germantown, Tennessee, finished third at 1-over 145.
The final round came down to the last of the light.
“What was interesting is it was really up against the clock,” Patrick Ramsey said. “He was about to run out of daylight.”
Patrick Ramsey said his son and Lindsey had pulled away from the field and knew they would qualify even if they could not finish. They kept playing, and Ramsey “had just an amazing back nine to pull ahead and win it,” his father said.
The following weekend, Ramsey was part of the Louisiana team at the Junior River Cup at Greenville Country Club in Greenville, Mississippi. The event is a Ryder Cup-style competition between the top junior golfers ages 13 to 18 from Louisiana and Mississippi.
Louisiana won 33-7.
“It was a pretty dominant win by the state of Louisiana,” Patrick Ramsey said. “He and his teammates did a great job.”
Ramsey’s Sunday singles match was not played, and Patrick Ramsey said his son was credited with the win. He spent the rest of the round riding along in a cart and cheering on his teammates.
