Teeing off against the best junior golfers in the world last weekend at Pinehurst Resort golf course in North Carolina didn’t intimidate 11-year-old Gavin Richardson.
Gavin, who plays out of Beaver Meadow Golf Course, has high expectations for himself, so merely qualifying for the U.S. Kids Golf World Championship wasn’t good enough. He wanted to do better than a two-round score of 162, which was 18-over-par and tied for 123rd, 25 shots off the lead in a field of 170, which was disappointing finish for Concord’s talented young golfer.
“One tournament does not define his career, and I told him that,” his father Patrick Richardson said. “It was probably a good learning experience more than anything else.”
The tournament was scheduled for three rounds, but the middle round was rained out, and officials chose not to make it up due to the tight schedules of people traveling to Pinehurst from around the world.
“A rough week overall,” Patrick Richardson said. “An extremely torrential rainfall.”
During last weekend’s second and final round, Gavin finished with an 8-over-par 80. In last Thursday’s first round, he recorded a 10-over-par 82, highlighted by two birdies, on the eighth and 11th holes.
“I felt bad for him,” Patrick Richardson said. “He is a lot better than his scores showed.”
Tyler Chapman of Fairfield, Conn., one of Gavin’s best friends, won the tournament with a 7-under-par 137. The two had played three rounds of practice last week.
Gavin Richardson will represent Beaver Meadow Golf Course in a regional all-star event Tuesday.