What a distinction a couple of years could make.
Three summers in the past, Mack Edwards traveled to Nation Membership of North Carolina in Pinehurst as first alternate for the 2021 U.S. Junior Newbie. He performed a apply spherical, identical to any competitor within the discipline, however when it got here time for the primary spherical of stroke play, Edwards discovered himself warming up a number of instances and maintaining a tally of the shuttle that was taking gamers to the again 9 on the adjoining course.
“I assumed I used to be undoubtedly going to get in,” Edwards mentioned. “I sat by that bus the entire first day, and it simply didn’t occur. It felt like I used to be a full balloon that simply bought popped.
“However that’s OK, we’re right here now.”
Is he ever.
Edwards, a 17-year-old Charlotte native who attends boarding college in Virginia, fired a 4-under 66 Monday at Oakland Hills Nation Membership’s South Course, the spherical of the morning on the harder of the 2 stroke-play layouts (a couple of shot and a half harder than the North Course) for this week’s U.S. Junior in Bloomfield Township, Michigan. It’s Edwards’ USGA debut, and thus far, he’s in nice place to punch his ticket to match play, which begins with Wednesday’s Spherical of 64, and on the primary web page of the leaderboard with the likes of AJGA standouts Tyler Watts (5-under 65, North), Blades Brown (66, North) and Miles Russell (68, North).
Edwards, who’s verbally dedicated to North Carolina, isn’t precisely a family title on the nationwide junior circuit. Whereas Brown and Russell have notched PGA Tour begins already as high-school underclassmen, Edwards has solely performed in two AJGA invitationals and spent the primary 5 months of this 12 months solely taking part in prep golf for Woodberry Forest College, a boarding college in central Virginia.
“Being up there with these guys is very nice,” Edwards mentioned. “I don’t get to play with these guys in occasions fairly often. You play in the most effective junior occasions, they usually’re within the Elite Am Collection. They’ve accomplished rather well just lately, so it’s good to see how I stack up, and being on the prime proper now, it’s a very good feeling.”
Edwards has led Woodberry Forest, which has a nine-hole Donald Ross design on campus, to back-to-back VISAA Division I state crew titles, and this 12 months helped the Tigers full an undefeated season, their first since 2000. Edwards set this system’s single-season file for scoring common, and his 63 at convention led Woodberry Forest to a 17-shot win on the Virginia Prep League Championship.
“That was the place my priorities had been for these first few months of the 12 months,” Edwards mentioned. “I wished to do the whole lot I may for that crew.”
He’s excited to affix his future crew as properly. Edwards, who verbally dedicated to the Tar Heels in February, is ready to signal his nationwide letter of intent this November and be a part of the North Carolina crew in Fall 2025. Final 12 months, Edwards let his recreation slip due to strain to impress Tar Heels head coach Andrew DiBitetto, who has had Edwards, the 2019 North Carolina Junior Boys’ 13-Below champion, on his radar for years.
“I at all times knew that was the place I wished to go,” Edwards mentioned. “So, after I began taking part in poorly, I simply bought a bit of tight as a result of Carolina had been taking part in properly, was bringing in some good gamers, and I knew that chance could be robust to get.”
Edwards talked to some coaches final summer time, however he took only one go to: to Chapel Hill.
“It was a slim mindset,” Edwards mentioned, “however I knew that if I had the prospect, I used to be going to chunk.”
Fortunately for him, the Tar Heels provided him a spot – and he bit.
“That was good to cross off my listing,” Edwards mentioned. “This entire summer time, figuring out the place I’m going to highschool has been very comforting, and never having the added strain of coaches round has been good to have off my shoulders, and it’s freed me up.”
After a couple of failures at U.S. Junior qualifying extra regionally, Edwards determined this summer time to journey to Southampton, New York, together with his dad and take his probabilities there. He shot 69 and bought via a 2-for-1 playoff at Southampton Golf Membership. Additionally this summer time, Edwards tied for eighth on the AJGA Wyndham Invitational and was T-42 on the Western Junior.
Getting into his USGA debut, Edwards “felt like there was some great things cooking.” He missed simply two fairways Monday on the South Course, at Nos. 4 and 16, the one two holes he bogeyed on the spherical.
“I discovered fairways, and that was essential, that set me up for completely the whole lot,” Edwards mentioned. “Your discover the tough right here, you’re taking part in your butt off to make par.”
Simply two days earlier, Edwards’ driver was squirrely in a apply around the North Course. However he discovered a bit of repair on the vary and striped it on Sunday across the South – and clearly once more Monday.
“Hopefully,” Edwards mentioned, “it continues all through the week.”
If it does, Edwards gained’t be straightforward deflated.
