Fayetteville – Quinn finished in the top 40 in his group for players ages 6-8, in the Under Armour Junior Summer Nationals. That was June 17-23 at the PGA National Resort in Palm Beach, Fla. He turned eight last month, on June 8.
Quinn was consistent. He shot 47 on the first nine, and 46 on the back nine. He made two birdies.
The Under Armour was Quinn’s first national tourney. It’s among several held each year by various associations. He won a U.S. Kids’ Raleigh Tour event in February, for seven-year-olds. His trophy “looks really cool.”
He played in his first sanctioned tournament this past October. Since age six, he’s trained with the Op36 development academy through King’s Grant Golf Club and Country Club in Fayetteville. The family has membership in that club. Quinn wants to keep “getting better” to place higher next year.
Athletic Family
His athletic family in Fayetteville has Asheville roots on his mother’s side. His mother is Stacia Pomeroy Auray, a 2004 T.C. Roberson graduate. She was a standout soccer defender, when the Lady Rams were the 3A state runner-ups in 2001-2003. She also starred in tennis. Stacia is an occupational therapist, in adult rehabilitation.
Her brother, Brad, TCR Class of 2002, won three individual state singles titles and one team crown. Brad played tennis for UNC-CH, and on the pro ATP Challenger Tour. Their parents, Bill and Cindy Pomeroy, are avid club tennis players in Asheville. Bill played Carolina Day soccer and tennis. Cindy cheered for TCR Rams.
Quinn’s brother, Reeves Auray, is six. They regularly golf with their father, Trip Auray. Trip played on Army’s lacrosse team. The Army major has been stationed with his family at Fort Bragg for a decade.
Reverse Grip
Quinn tried golf at age three, using plastic clubs in Hawaii. A photo shows 18-month-old Quinn holding a plastic club – cross-handed. “When I started playing golf, that was the only way I felt comfortable doing that,” Quinn told the Tribune. “My dad told me not to switch.” In his reverse grip, the right-hander places his left hand below his right hand. He uses it for all shots.
Favorite Shots
Quinn points out that “I got two birdies” at the national tourney. On a par three, “I shot it high” so the tee shot wouldn’t bounce off the green. His ball landed on the green, and ended merely six feet from the hole. He sank the putt for a deuce. On a par four, he got on in two and sank the birdie putt. The longest putt he ever made was a 30-footer in another tournament.
The PGA National Resort has water hazards and “tricky bunkers,” Stacia noted. It was used for the 1983 Ryder Cup and 1987 PGA Championship. Only one of Quinn’s shots trickled into its water, for a two-stroke penalty.
The Mighty Quinn
Quinn said that he “feels exciting” facing a lake hole, and relieved when shooting over water. He is “nervous that I’m going to lose the ball. I like keeping my own stuff.”
Does Quinn usually play it safe and shoot short of a water hazard, or swing full-tilt to clear it? His father caddies for him. Trip often cautions, “no risky shot.” Yet, “he’ll go for it every time,” Stacia said, chuckling.
To hit a ball out of a sand trip, Quinn is able to swing hard just behind and below the ball, and follow through mightily. The force lifts the ball out and over the trap.
“I just hit it” hard, he said. “I aim for the closest part of the green,” so the ball rolls onto it and not beyond. He feels as gratified when shooting onto a green as over or around a hazard.
His farthest drive is 175 yards. He averages 130-150 yards. Typical of young golfers, “his driving is probably his strongest skill right now,” Stacia said. His lowest score ever was a 30, on a par-three course.
Quinn Aces It
Quinn is proudest of acing the par-three ninth hole at his home course of King’s Grant last year. “That was my best shot in my life!” The pin was 100 yards from where he teed off. He had to shoot uphill over a pesky bunker.
“I aimed for the hole,” Quinn recalled. “It hit it so high in the air. Luckily, it went” left and in front of the green. “I saw it roll (rightward) toward the hole.” But he couldn’t see over the hill, to see the hole and how close the ball made it.
Quinn rushed to see that the ball was neither on nor off the green. It went into the hole! Seeing that felt “amazing!” Trip, his caddy, rushed to Quinn. They jumped joyfully, then hugged tightly in a treasured father-son moment.