Now that the state champions have been crowned and before school lets out for the summer there is one more event for South Carolina High School League golfers.

The annual North-South All Star Match will take place May 20th to May 22nd at the Litchfield Country Club on Pawleys Island.

The match is part of the end of season all star events promoted in just about every sport by the South Carolina Athletic Coaches Association and the state golf coaches.

It is as much an honor to be selected to coach one of the teams as it is to be selected to play on one of the teams.

This year Jeff Schaffer from Sumter will head up the South squad with assistance from Jeffrey Babin from Cane Bay while Byrnes coach Mickey Deering will be in charge of the North team with help from Greenville’s Andy Newton.

“It is always a super event for the boys,” said Deering. “It is a lot of good fellowship and a lot of good competitive golf between the two All-Star teams,” he said.

Picking an All-Star team in any sport is difficult and it is even a little more difficult for the All-Star golf event.

The teams are composed of Seniors. Many schools have little for seniors to do the last two weeks of school so sneaking an extra day off before graduation is not considered a big deal.

It often means some of the top seniors in the state may line up other events that could contribute to a higher ranking for them instead of a fun weekend at the Beach.

“We started our list with all the top seniors in the Upstate and worked our way through it. After a few kids told us of some conflicts we were able to put together a very good all-star team,” said Deering.

The North team is highlighted by a pair of County High School champions. Greenville County champ Jay WIlkins from Mauldin and Spartanburg County High School champ Walker Greene from Boiling Springs leads the group.

Joey Clary from St Joseph’s in Greenville, Benton Leister from Eastside in Greenville, David Ross from Spartanburg Dorman, Landon Sutton from Wren, Adam Fennell from Ninety Six and Max Vischer from Daniel round out the North team.

The South team includes Evan Pricket from Fox Creek, Chapin’s Jay Locker, Shannon Campbell from Phillip Simmons, Edward Orr from Wando, Jake DelBusse from Socastee, Jonathan Cowell from St. Jame’s, Nolan Hawkins from Hilton Head and AJ Martino from Summerville.

Most of the golfers on each team are ranked in the South Carolina Junior Golf Association Heritage ranking and several will be playing college golf at this time next year.

“We understand why a few players will not be with us, but we have put together good All-Star teams and we are going to see a lot of good golf this weekend,” said Deering.

The All Star Matches will be similar to a Ryder Cup format with best ball, modified alternate shot and singles matches.

While the High School seniors will be playing in their final event, Deering will be coaching his last tournament.

The Byrnes golf coach is retiring from coaching at the completion of the All-Star matches.

“I’ve enjoyed coaching the boys, but I’ve got some other things I would like to do. I’ll still help out when needed, maybe drive the bus,” he joked.

Last year the North and South played even until the final round of singles matches when the North pulled away for an 11-5 win.