Six-year-old Trevor Stull was fidgeting on the eighth tee at the Colina Park Golf Course yesterday in the Callaway Junior World Golf Championships when his caddie, Grandma Kelly, wanted him to hit an 8-iron.
Trevor insisted on a 9. Grandma said 8. It was like battling over the bedtime hour.
They went back and forth for a minute until Trevor gave in. Then he hit a beautiful 8-iron shot about 20 feet past the flag and two-putted to make one of six pars in his round.
See, Trevor's learning. Grandma knows best, especially when it comes to golf at the Junior World.
Kelly Borcherts and her husband, Bob, put three daughters through Junior World over the past 20 years, and now the Las Vegas couple has moved on to the next generation with Trevor, playing in the tournament for the first time.
Trevor isn't going to win the Boys 6-Under Division. After shooting 74-73 on the par-54 course in the first two rounds, he was 34 strokes behind the leading trio going into today's final round. But there is plenty of time to put a Junior World trophy on the mantel next to his mom's.
Rachel Stull was 12 when she captured the 1990 Junior World in the Girls 11-12 Division as Rachel Borcherts. Sister Erin was two years younger and played in Junior World from age 10. And only last year, the Borcherts watched their youngest daughter, Alex, compete in her final Junior World as a 17-year-old.
Trevor missed playing in Junior World with his Auntie Alex by one year.
“It's wonderful,” Kelly Borcherts said as she toted Trevor's clubs. “This is the most wonderful sport that God ever created. Once you have your grandkids, you can lay back, caddie for them, take it easy.”
She laughed. Her toughest job for the day was trying to tee up Trevor's ball at each hole in the artificial turf. The ball kept toppling off, and Trevor impatiently stared down at Grandma.
“It's a lot easier to watch now,” Kelly said of the experience, “because you have a chance to do it again. You have a better chance to look back. You want to know the truth of it, it's a lot less pressure.”
Bob Borcherts couldn't agree with his wife.
“I'm more nervous for him,” Bob said.
Why?
“Because he's my first boy!” he said.
Rachel Stull, 30, is getting detailed reports about the tournament through phone calls.
“My mom said she's never seen my dad so happy, so excited,” Rachel said from the family's home in Las Vegas.
She would have loved to have attended the tournament but had to work. Stull is the director of golf at Canyon Gate Country Club. Her husband, Tate, holds the same position at Rhodes Ranch.
The Stulls debated about whether Trevor was ready to take on Junior World. But Trevor forced the issue when he advanced through a Nevada qualifier. Rachel was thrilled because she has such fond memories of Junior World.
“I wanted Trevor to have that experience,” she said. “The opening flag ceremonies at Torrey Pines – the history behind Junior World. I knew Trevor was going to enjoy it. There are just so many awesome things about it. It's one of those tournaments you don't want to miss if you have the opportunity.”
When Rachel won, she shared the champion's podium with two players who are now No. 1 in the world. Tiger Woods was the 13-14 champ in '90, and Lorena Ochoa prevailed in the Girls 10-Under.
If Trevor plays next year, he will compete in the 7-8 Division, on the Sycuan Resort's Pine Glen Course on which his mom won. Rachel Stull won't miss that one, and neither will Grandma and Grandpa.
Bob Borcherts still gets emotional when talking about the Junior World trophy that sits on their mantel, the light from a special lamp fixed upon it.
“Winning Junior World,” he said, “that was the biggest.”
Notes
Encinitas' Danielle Frasier shot a 2-over 74 but managed to hold a one-stroke lead at 1-under 143 over Japan's Miho Mori (69) after two rounds in the Girls 15-17 Division at Carlton Oaks . . . In the Boys 15-17 on the Torrey Pines South Course, Taiwan's Tao Huang shot 72 to take a one-shot lead over Mexico's Juan Pablo Hernandez (69).
Tod Leonard: (619) 293-1858; tod.leonard@uniontrib.com
