Golf: First Colonial's McCracken wins Zone Qualifier for State Junior tourney

SUFFOLK

Andrew McCracken figured he needed to do something to make up for his, er, shortcomings.

At 5-foot-2 and a somewhat soft 120 pounds, the golf ball just wasn’t flying off his club as far as he desired at the start of last fall’s high school golf season. And playing No. 4 on the First Colonial High team wasn’t what he had aspired to.

So he signed up at Wareing’s Gym and started pumping iron.

The results paid off Thursday in the Zone Qualifier for the State Junior Championships. Now 5-foot-5 and 125 pounds, McCracken, who plays out of Virginia Beach’s Red Wing Lake Golf Course, cracked shots all the way around Sleepy Hole Golf Course to shoot 3-under 69 and grab medalist honors.

Fresh off a five-day golf camp at the University of Florida in Gainesville — he won the camp’s two-day tournament with rounds of 71-73 — McCracken was adorned in a bright-orange Gators cap, and his golf bag had a Florida Gators towel attached.

“I went to their camp because I want to go to college there,” said McCracken, who finished last fall playing No. 1 for First Colonial. “It really helped my short game. I got up and down every time I missed a green today.”

Thursday began inauspiciously after McCracken three-putted the first hole for bogey. It was his last bum hole of the day.

“Let’s just say I regrouped after that first hole,” he said.

McCracken attempted to qualify for the State Junior Am a year ago at Nansemond River but was foiled by a round of 80. His drastic improvement was recognized by many on Thursday.

“I’m about 40 yards longer off the tee, and I really started noticing it about a month ago,” McCracken said. “I can hit it about 270 off the tee now.”

With the Sleepy Hole layout playing fast and short, it took a round of 77 to make it into a five-way playoff for the last three of 17 spots. Trip Bose, Nick Funk and Hunter Lewis survived the playoff to move on to Blacksburg.

The State Junior will be played July 29-31 at Blacksburg Country Club, where Virginia Beach’s Brinson Paolini will defend his title.

McCracken ended up two shots better than Tyler Kee, a 17-year-old rising senior who plays at Powhatan High but is living with his father, Jerry, in Franklin this summer.

Jesse Dillon, 17 and a rising senior at Hickory High, matched par with a 72 despite not making a put outside of five feet all day. They were the only players to match or break par.

Rich Radford, 446-2463 or rich.radford@pilotonline.com