By Stan Olenik. Editor-Publisher. The Golf Club

The Blade Junior has earned a reputation as one of the South Carolina Junior Golf Association’s most popular events and is a tournament many junior golfers look forward to each summer.

For only the second time in the tournament’s 28-year history, the championship was played away from its namesake course at Thornblade Club. With course improvement projects underway at Thornblade, Old Eight Club in Greenwood served as this year’s host.

The move proved to be a win for both the players and the newly reimagined course, formerly known as Stoney Point.

“There wasn’t a blade of grass that wasn’t manicured at the course,” said tournament founder and director Rob Reeves. “The course got to showcase itself while hosting some of the best junior golfers in South Carolina and some exciting golf.”

The boys 13-19 championship came down to a playoff between two-time Jay Haas Junior Player of the Year Bennett Scaletta of Belton and James Sanders of Goose Creek.

Both players remained near the top of the leaderboard throughout the first two rounds, with Scaletta holding a slight advantage entering the final day.

With just two holes remaining, Scaletta’s bogey on the 17th opened the door. Sanders played the closing holes steadily to force a playoff, then converted a par on the extra hole to claim the championship.

The girls 13-19 division featured another member of the Scaletta family.

Marissa Scaletta, last year’s Beth Daniel South Carolina Junior Girls Player of the Year, renewed a familiar rivalry with Dorman standout Ava Romansky. The pair spent much of the final round trading shots much as they had during the high school season.

York’s Callie Lawton grabbed the opening-round lead with the tournament’s best round, a 1-over-par 73. Renee Richardson moved to the top after the second round, setting up a tightly contested finish.

Richardson carried a one-shot lead to the 17th hole before a bogey, coupled with Scaletta’s birdie, produced a dramatic two-shot swing. Scaletta closed out the victory by a single stroke.

The tournament also gives younger golfers an opportunity not only to compete but to experience one of the SCJGA’s premier championships and see firsthand how major junior events are conducted.

It took two extra playoff holes before Bailee Chanthaphaeng made her second birdie to defeat Eloise Fetzer and capture the girls 12-and-under championship at The Blade Junior.

JJ Johnson Jr. showed his first victory was no fluke, shooting a 2-under-par 70 to win the boys 12-and-under division and earn his second consecutive Blade Junior title.

For years, The Blade Junior has embraced the theme of “Kids Helping Kids,” and once again proceeds from the Junior-Am funded Dick and Lucille Hendley Scholarships.

Scholarships for the 2026-27 academic year were awarded to Ava Romansky of Roebuck, who will attend Anderson University; Matthew Roff of Spartanburg, who will attend Clemson University; Lauren Flynn of Chesnee, who will attend Spartanburg Methodist College; and William Allender of Taylors, who will attend Clemson University.

Combined with other scholarships awarded through the South Carolina Junior Golf Foundation, the association has now provided more than $1.3 million in scholarship assistance to junior golfers.

Reeves, the SCJGA and the players could not have been more complimentary of Shane LaBaron and the staff at Old Eight Club for hosting this year’s championship.

“From the first time we stepped on the course, everyone has been hospitable and helpful. We couldn’t have asked  for anything more the way everyone at Old Eight made us feel” conclude Reevs.

Complete results from The Blade Junior are available on the SCJGA website. https://scjga.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/scjga26/event/scjga2619/contest/1/leaderboard.htm

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