A lot of us have played our version of army golf.

You know, hit it to the right, then to the left then to the right and the left over and over again,

The 2023 South Carolina Golf Association Junior Champion, Drew Jeffords, is going to be playing Army golf very soon, but nothing like the left-right joke goes.

Later this month, Jeffords will begin his college career as a Plebe at West Point.

The Florence Country Club golfer made the most of one of his last junior tournaments by winning the SCGA Junior championship.

“This is the highlight of junior golf in South Carolina and I’m proud to have this on my resume,” he said.

The future Army golfer shared the first round lead with Thomas Lamar from Columbia and Sam McMillian from Charleston.

The three golfers posted rounds of 3-under par 69 to lead the field of 144 golfers at The Country Club of Lexington,

“I birdied my first hole in the first round,” said Jeffords. “I never took my foot off the gas and played some really good golf this week,” he added.

In the second round, Jeffords carded a 2-under par 70 while both McMillian and Lamar fell off the lead.’

Mount Pleasant’s Dallas Johnson moved up to challenge for the lead with his 2-under par 70 to get within two-shots after the second round.

While this year’s state junior lost a half dozen top golfers to out of state competitions, there still were plenty of golfers ready to make a run at the title.

The best round of the tournament was shot by Michael Gavin, from Hilton Head. Gavin carded a 5-unde par 67, including three straight birdies to start his second round and finished without a bogey on the card,

Gavin improved by 10 shots in the second round with his 67 and believed the difference was a much better ball striking day.

“I really was hitting the ball. I hit most of the greens and made some putts. I had one three putt bogey, but other than that I played well,” he said.

Harris Holstein of Orangeburg, Sage Bradshaw of Bluffton, Sam McMillan of Mt. Pleasant, and Lucas Acevedo of Charleston each finished the second round at two-under par 142 to start the final round two-shots back.

Jeffords finished off his win by shooting a 1-under 71 to win by 3-shots.

Gavin, who earned his spot in the championship by finishing on top of the Players Series shot a 3-under par 69 to finish in a tie for second with Logan Lutz and Waymon Thomas from Mount Pleasant.

Jeffords’ play was a little more remarkable considering he lost his grandfather at the beginning of the week,

“He passed away on Monday and I guess he was with me all week. He wasn’t a golfer , but he loved to see me play. I played well . I knew he would have wanted me to stay focused and I did and got it done,” said the junior champion.

In his senior year, Jeffords finished as the runner-up in the SCISA state championship while helping the Trinity Collegiate team to its fourth straight state championship.

He was offered the opportunity to play golf at West Point last October and has never wavered in his commitment.

The offer to play college golf at Army, not known for producing many if any pro golfers, didn’t matter to the new SC Champion,

Marcus Patton, who now lives in the Upstate, was a decorated Army golfer who earned a spot in last year’s BMW to arguably be the first West Point grad to play in a Pro Tour event.

“Im going to be the second. My end goal is to be able to support myself playing golf and there is no reason I can’t do that,” Jeffords concluded.’

The top eight finishers qualified for the 48th annual Georgia-South Carolina Junior Team Matches. This years Junior Champion, Drew Jeffords, is unable to play in the Matches due to his enrollment at West Point Military Academy. The 2023 South Carolina team is comprised of Michael Gavin, Logan Lutz, Waymon Thomas, Thomas Lamar, Lucas Acevedo, Harris Holstein, Ashton Eubanks and Coleman Ferguson. The matches will be played July 29-30 at Chechessee Creek Club in Okatie, South Carolina.

Scores form the SCGA Junior Championship https://scjga.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/scjga23/event/scjga2316/contest/1/leaderboard.htm