Junior golfer ranked number one in his age group

SANDY — Jacob Turner was the top ranked player in the Swire Coca-Cola Powerade Division of the boys 11 to 12 years old. He was one of six top players named to the All Junior team by the Utah Junior Golf Association of Utah (UJGA). He is a member of Blessed Sacrament Parish and is in the seventh grade at Saint Vincent de Paul School.

Turner started playing golf when he was 11 years old. He is now 12 years old. He played from June to September in 2007, and from April to September of this year for a total of 10 months. He practices as many as seven or eight hours a day.

He played in eight tournaments from Layton to Provo, and a two-day tournament in Evanston, Wyo. His home course is Willow Creek Country Club. His nick name is "Spinner," because he can put so much backspin on the ball and make it stop on a dime.

"He wanted to buy a new sand wedge, but he did not have enough money," said his mother Karen Turner. "So he sold corn over the Labor Day weekend. We bought 24 cases of corn for 25 cents an ear and he sold it for 50 cents an ear. Within three hours he made $80. He bought a 60 degree Vokey sand wedge, which he uses to back up the ball on the green."

"I love golf," said Jacob. "My best scores have been four shots over par for 18 holes and two shots over par for nine holes."

His coach, Mike Stone, said "Jacob is quiet and shy, very soft spoken, and well mannered. As soon as he picked up the club and I saw his stance as he addressed the ball, I knew he could play golf. There are just some kids who look like the golf club is part of them. He was balanced. He took a swing and had a wonderful on plane swing, and basically he was a natural.

"Being a natural does not mean you can get up and start whacking the ball down the fairway," said Stone. "You still have to practice. You just don’t become a good golfer and a famous golfer just because you are blessed with talent. You have to have the right things taught to you.

"We got him a Ping Moxie junior set of clubs, and he started learning the rules and the basics," said Stone. "He was like a sponge and soaked it up. In May of this year, he started playing the tournaments and did not do very well at first. Then all of a sudden he started winning tournament after tournament and accumulating points. He took the lead in the points race.

"In the UJGA they will not let parents or coaches get involved with the player," said Stone. "They can be spectators, but they cannot offer advice. It is a wonderful rule because parents tend to be overbearing in athletics. He was coming down the last hole and he got in trouble. He had to make a par. I watched him get the ball back in the fairway. He made a 12-foot putt for par after his opponent made a 15 foot putt for birdie. If he had not made that putt, he would not have won that golf tournament and the points race. It was amazing. Jacob lost the Tournament of Champions because he tied for the lead, but lost in the first hole of the sudden death playoff. He barely took up golf and came out and dominated the points race in his division."