A pair of young Incline golfers — 8-year-old Satchel Hirsh and Jordan Wright, a soon-to-be junior at Incline High School — have fared well in their respective tournaments this summer.

Satchel recently competed at the 43rd annual Callaway Junior World Golf Championships (7-8-year-old division) at the Sycuan Resort in San Diego, where he tied for 41st in an 80-player field that included the best young golfers from 22 countries. Satchel, who will be a third-grader at Lake Tahoe School in the fall, was 22nd among the American contingent.

He originally qualified in mid-June at the Northern California Junior Golf Association Championship in Ripon, Calif. There, he bested all the Northern California 7- and 8-year-olds to win the World Junior qualifying spot in a sudden-death playoff when he shot a 4 on the 338-yard par-4 18th hole.

At the World Junior Championships, held July 12-15, Satchel got off to a slow start, shooting a 72 on the first day for 59th place. On Days 2 and 3, however, he shot back-to-back 66s, which allowed him to move up 18 spots.

Jordan Wright

Wright, who as a sophomore finished fourth individually for the Highlanders in the Northern 2A State Championship this past year, has won three of the last four Northern Nevada Junior Golf Association events.

The 17- and 18-year-old tournaments are highly competitive, and include golfers from the 1A through 4A divisions. With the exception of one event, when he shot an uncharacteristic 92, Wright has been on a tear of late, as he won three tournaments posting scores of 72, 69 and 65.

At Red Hawk Golf Course in Wingfield Springs, Wright played well from tee to green to win his first tournament of the year. He followed that up two days later at Wildcreek Golf Course with a disciplined game that ended with a winning score of 69.

This past Tuesday Wright battled the elements at Thunder Canyon, where he typically plays well. Not this day, however, as he shot a 92 to come up short on his attempt at a three-peat.

He quickly atoned for the off day. He came out Thursday to perfect scoring conditions in Carson City at a course he loves to play because of his high school practice and tournaments. With confidence on his side, he made six birdies and shot 31 on the front with a bogey on No. 1. He would go on to finish with nine birdies on the day and a win with a final score of 65.

Wright was selected by the Northern Nevada Golf Association (Men's Am division) to play in what is formatted as a “Ryder cup” weekend in Las Vegas. They take the top 12 amateurs from Northern Nevada down to compete against the South. This year they have invited two of the top two juniors, Wright and Matt Vanderbeek of Fallon, who will play at Highland Falls in Las Vegas in August.