By Shawn Wansley
JCJC Sports Information Director

ELLISVILLE – It promises to be an eventful week for the Jones County Junior College golf team.

The Bobcats left campus Saturday morning headed to the NJCAA Division III Golf Championship in Chautauqua, N.Y. JCJC is the Region 23 Division III champion, a title they won at Wolf Hollow Golf Club at Co-Lin Community College on March 8.

“It is a really good opportunity for them,” said Jones’ golf coach Casey Carter. “They definitely deserve it. It’s not every day you get to travel to New York.”

The Bobcat team consists of Region 23 Division III medalist and West Jones sophomore Nick Keyes, South Jones sophomore Rocky Purvis, Sumrall sophomore Ben Whitehead, Clarkdale freshman Clarke Boatner and Mt. Olive freshman Mitchell Smith, who is a graduate of Simpson Academy.

Carter said the trip is a reward for the players.

“We are done with finals and school is out,” he said. “This is just a time for them to have fun and enjoy themselves and the experience. There is no pressure on us at all.”

The tournament, which is hosted by Jamestown Community College, will take place at Chautauqua Golf Club in upstate New York. The Bobcats were to fly from Jackson to Baltimore and then to Buffalo, N.Y., on Saturday. The final leg of the journey was an 80-mile drive from Buffalo to Chautauqua.

The team will be on its own for a practice round on Sunday and there will be an official tournament practice on Monday. A banquet for the 40-plus participating teams will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Monday at the Chautauqua Golf Club.

Stroke play begins at 9 a.m. on Tuesday. A long drive contest and chicken barbecue dinner is scheduled for after play on Tuesday. The 72-hole tournament concludes Friday with the awards ceremony taking place at approximately 4 p.m.

The Bobcat team will be staying at a condo on Lake Erie for tournament week. And they plan on visiting Niagara Falls, N.Y., on their way back from the tournament.

The team is scheduled to return to campus on June 6.

For more information on the NJCAA Division III Golf Tournament, go to www.njcaa.org or to www.sunyjcc.edu/njcaa.