Belmont’s McGinnis wins Dan Dobson Junior at Mimosa Hills

Belmont native Aidan McGinnis shot a tournament-best 5-under par round of 67 to win the boys ages 16-18 flight at Monday’s Dan Dobson Junior at Mimosa Hills Golf Club.

McGinnis carded five birdies — at Nos. 3, 7, 8, 16, and 17 — at the 18-hole event, which was conducted by the Tarheel Youth Golf Association, and offset a double-bogey at the par 3 ninth hole with an eagle at the par 5 12th.

McGinnis won by three strokes over Landon Heers of Sherrills Ford and Elijah Snyder of Spruce Pine, who tied for second place at 2-under par 70.

Those three were among the qualifiers for next month’s prestigious seventh annual Mimosa Hills Junior Invitational (MHJI), an event conducted by the Carolinas Golf Association, as the top 10 boys and top two girls from Monday’s event earned exemptions.

Also earning their way into next month’s event were Morganton native Avery Watson (who attends McDowell High School) and Gastonia’s Elliott Anthony, who shot matching 1-under 71s to tie for fourth place; Canton’s Matthew Mehaffey (72); and Boone’s Oliver Lewis and Charlotte’s Jacob Montoya (73).

Connor Aldridge of Marion shot 74 to tie for ninth place, missing the cut by one stroke, and more locally, Draughn High golfer Ethan Cline shot 77 and Freedom High golfer Greyson Snipes shot 82.

The boys ages 14-15 flight also played Mimosa from the tips at 6,696 yards and produced two MHJI qualifiers as Jack Phillips of Conover won the flight after shooting 70 and Spruce Pine’s Jaxton Burleson was runner-up, making the cut on the number with a 1-over 73.

Morganton natives Matthew Piercy (Patton) and Will Cannon also had strong showings in the 14-15 boys flight, with Piercy tying for fourth place with a 75 that was 12 shots lower than his 2025 total and Cannon tying for ninth place with an 81.

Luke Walters of Winston-Salem won a close three-way race in the boys 12-13 flight, with his 3-under 69 just better than Mills River’s Graham Hall (70) and Canton’s Graham Fox (71).

On the girls side, Forest City native SaiGe Harris made one birdie and four bogeys in a steady 3-over par round of 75 to win the ages 12-18 flight by four strokes over fellow MHJI qualifier Summerlin Gragg of Lenoir (79), who held off Linville’s Molly Forbes (80) by one shot for the final berth.

Mimosa played at 5,833 yards for the youngest boys age group as well as for the girls.

Gastonia’s Dominic Salomon (4-over) won the ages 11 and under boys title by three shots, and Hendersonville’s Claire Graham was the 11 and under girls winner.

The Dan Dobson Junior started in 1982, then known as the Western North Carolina Junior, before changing names in 2014 to honor Dobson, the long-time former Mimosa head pro and pro emeritus.

The Mimosa Hills Junior Invitational will take place Aug. 22-23.

Antweiler, Honeycutt, Jetter, Vanderpool win RWB

The captain’s choice team of Corey Antweiler, Daniel Honeycutt, Steve Jetter, and Aaron Vanderpool carded a 19-under par total of 53 to win by one stroke at the Red, White, and Blue Scramble tournament at Silver Creek Golf Club on July 4.

Jetter is a former Silver Creek club champion and Burke County Open champion.

Finishing in second place in the 28-team field was the team of Roy Andrews, Rick Clanton, Brian Bowan, and Kevin Tills, while two more shots behind in third place was the team of Ken Woody, Daniel Moneyham, Tyler Woody, and Steven Mace.

In the event, each team decided which six holes to start from the red, white, and blue tees.

The closest-to-the-pin winners were Sarah Pierce (third hole), Honeycutt (eighth hole), Alan Clark (13th hole), and Michael Weaver (17th hole).

Additionally, the top two finishing teams (first and 11th holes) plus the teams of Rodney Herron, Lee Herron, Jim McFeeters, and Billy Rudisill (sixth hole), Charles Jennings, Debbie Jennings, David Simpson, and Martha Simpson (10th hole), and Don Smithers, Ryan Solan, Derrick Lewis, and Chad Lewis (16th hole) won skins with eagles.