Sidelines
DARN kids. They're young punks, I tell you. Whippersnappers. Gonfonit, back in my days we had real sports. Dodgeball. Kickball. Prisoner's Base. We ran around, and got our hair messed up and our Toughskins dirty. There was blood and gore and the occasional lost limb. And that was just first recess. Junior golfers trade
playtime for tee timesBut no, kids are spoiled now. They don't want to push the merry-go-round faster and faster and faster until you get off, take two steps and fall on your head, like a normal person. They don't want to play see-saw chicken, to see who's going to jump off first and leave the other one traumatized for life.
No, young people are different now.
They play golf.
And it's not just that they play a civilized sport like golf, but they're good at it, too. That's the worst part. They're turning every Hawaii women's tournament into a Scooby Doo episode ("If it weren't for these meddling kids...").
Here they come. They're getting younger and younger and better and better, and yes, younger and younger. And now, they're all here. They're in Mililani, over 100 of them, ages 7-18, from 13 states and five countries, for the World Junior Masters Golf Championship tomorrow through Thursday at the Mililani Golf Club.
They've got trophies and titles. Potential and promise. These are the ones with the bright, exciting futures ahead of them.
This is how it's turned out. I'm watching cartoons. Six-year-old kids are playing golf.
Here's Philip Francis, 12, of Scottsdale, Ariz. He's the defending two-time Junior World Champion. He's been around golf since his dad took his baby stroller to the driving range. He swung plastic clubs at 2, entered a chipping contest at 3. At 4, he was entering 8-and-under tournaments. And winning.He's been to over 200 tournaments in his lifetime, from Costa Rica to Spain and all over the U.S. This year, with this tournament, Hawaii is on his map. And after the heat, the wind, the grind of winning his third straight Texas-Oklahoma Junior Championship, this one is almost a break for Francis.
"I've been on the mainland, in Florida," said Mark Kalilikane, the tournament's founder and director. "They get bugs, they get snakes, they get alligators." In Hawaii, Kalilikane said, the junior golfers are in heaven.
And Philips' dad, John Francis, is along for the ride. Paying for the ride. What's that like? "Self-explanatory," he said. "It's a blast. I don't want to use the word 'work.' It's a full-time, fun job."
Two full-time jobs, actually. Philip's parents work, work, work, save, save, save and go, go, go. Good thing little sis loves these golf trips, too.
"As long as he has that passion, we'll support him," the senior Francis said. "We'll ride the wave and see where we'll end up."
He could end up like Christo Greyling, 18, the top-ranked junior in the world. Greyling is from the laid-back, less-is-more, mellow school of golf. "Wow," he said, upon hearing Francis' schedule. "Crazy." Unlike most of the golfers here, the No. 1 kid didn't get serious about the game until his teens. And it paid off. There's a full ride to the University of Georgia waiting for him in the fall.
He turns to Kalilikane. "Your son's (Bronson) a great player, man. He'll bring a few trophies home for you in the next couple years."
Kalilikane beams. His wave is just beginning.
Kalani Simpson's column runs Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays.
He can be reached at ksimpson@starbulletin.com