As a staff member of SCGA Junior, I found myself in a unique position playing in this year’s Foundation Cup. One of my roles is managing our junior golf tournament series, and this has enabled me to generate meaningful relationships with many of the juniors in the field. Two of our most frequent tournament participants, Alejandro Pedroza and Judah Johnson were in my group, and it was great to see them in action at Mission Viejo CC.
Before I started working full-time at SCGA Junior, I was a youth golf coach with SCGA Junior working for our San Fernando Valley Community. In this role, I met Robert “Bob” Veeh, who is one of our most active volunteers and helps coach the juniors during our programming at Woodley Lakes GC. Bob and I connected over our passion for golf and teaching the game, and I was grateful to be playing with him and introducing him to Alejandro and Judah at the Foundation Cup.
Very early in our round, Bob and I noticed how challenging a golf course Mission Viejo CC (otherwise known as Mission Impossible) is, and we were oozing with excitement to tackle this golf course. We also shared with each other how great an experience this is for Alejandro, Judah and all the juniors in the field to gain experience playing a course as complex as Mission Viejo. The tee shots demanded deep thought in attempting to navigate the different dog-leg left and right holes, there was extreme precision required in each approach shot to many elevated, severely sloped greens, and the putting required tremendous green-reading and speed-control skills to navigate the complexities of the greens. This was a challenge that our juniors are not exposed to often, and it is these challenges that really develop and polish a golfer.
Despite the difficulties of the course, it was amazing to see Alejandro’s high, powerful drives off the tee and Judah’s precision and accuracy with his tee ball and approach shots. Both juniors made some impressive birdies, and it was fun for me and Bob to watch them all day. Bob is also a very talented golfer, and although he doesn’t have the same length off the tee as the rest of the group, his precision and accuracy is amazing to watch. Although we got off to a slow start, our team got on a roll towards the end of our round. I made three birdies on our last five holes to get our team in the clubhouse at seven-under. Ultimately, we were two shots behind the winning team in the gross competition, but we all relished the experience and opportunity to play such an amazing golf course and event.
One of the most rewarding parts of being involved with SCGA Junior is seeing our juniors grow and develop as golfers and as people, and this was something I saw first-hand on that day with Alejandro and Judah. Bob’s support and joy in being involved with SCGA Junior is also something I am so grateful for. His enthusiasm for golf is contagious, and he has made so many meaningful relationships with the juniors that he coaches on a weekly basis at Woodley Lakes. Events such as the Foundation Cup are an honor to be a part of and make me proud to be involved with SCGA Junior.
For photos from the event, please click here.