VALDOSTA –– When the 2017 U.S. Kids Golf World Championship kick off in August, a young golfer from South Georgia will be on the course.

Bowen Mitchell, a 5-year-old from Quitman has been invited to play against some of the best golfers in the 6-and-under age group in Pinehurst, N.C. on Aug. 3.

Bowen’s parents, Ashley and Thad, saw him take a liking to golf at a very early age and waited until he was old enough to test his skills further.

“He’s always been interested in golf,” Ashley said. “He probably swung his first golf club at 18 months and was exceptionally well at it by age three, I’d say. He wasn’t old enough to play any tournaments until right when he turned five and that’s when we started him in U.S. Kids Golf.”

U.S. Kids Golf has been putting on the World Championship tournament since 2005. In addition to the World Championship, the weekend event features a parent/child tournament, a team challenge, the Parade of Nations and the Honda Skills Challenge.

Coached and mentored by his father and Justin Smothers from the Valdosta Country Club, Bowen has sharpened his skill set and flourished against older competition, facilitating his invite to Pinehurst.

The mere prospect of playing in any national tournament seemed far-fetched to Thad considering Bowen’s love for golf is an ill fit in the football-crazed corners of South Georgia. A year go, in search of a place for Bowen to ply his craft, Ashley and Thad took Bowen down to Jacksonville to enter him into a U.S. Kids Golf tournament. Brand new to the process, Thad admits he had no idea what to expect from the trip.

“The closest local tour to (U.S. Kids Golf) is Jacksonville, Florida,” Thad said. “He had just turned five and we traveled down to Jacksonville. We didn’t know if he was going to finish first or lat or how it was going to go. He had never played a full hole of golf, all he did was hit balls in the yard.

“We went down to the course in Jacksonville and there were about six kids that day he was playing against. All of them were six years old and had been playing longer. I was really nervous for him on the first start.”

The nerves of seeing their son compete would soon dissipate as Bowen thrived against the older players. Bowen started well, going 1-over-par through seven holes. At one point, Bowen built a 12-stroke lead in the tournament and went on to win the tournament by nearly five strokes. It was eye-opening for the Thad considering it was Bowen’s first tournament.

Winning his first tournament “started it all”, Thad said. Bowen continued to enter local tournaments and eventually reached the qualification to compete in a U.S. Kids Golf regional tournaments. Bowen was good enough to finish 15th in his first tournament and eighth in his second tournament. The top-20 finishes in the regionals propelled Bowen to a place among the top 90 golfers in the world in his age group and the invitation to the world championship in August.

Playing in tournaments allows Bowen to go toe-to-toe with players from the States and abroad.

Ashley and Thad have been exposed as well, having spent time with the players’ parents, grabbing a bite to eat with them and forming friendships.

As Thad explains, the tournament allows children and parents to have fun while meeting different people all along the way.

“I never thought outside of the box,” Thad admitted. “I went in with the expectation it was about Bowen as a golfer and getting better as a golfer…The number one thing (U.S. Kids Golf) really tries to implement in these kids is having fun. He’s played against people from Brazil, China, Texas, New York and Connecticut…It’s really been a growing experience for him.”

Described as a shy child, Bowen prefers to keep to himself––that is, until he takes the green.

“Being from around here, he’s sort of a shyer kid,” Thad said. “Out there on the course, in those tournaments, that’s where he’s at home. He’s very outgoing, very talkative with the other kids. Usually within a hole or two, him and the other kids are running to their balls, playing with each other and joking with each other. All this is in a matter of minutes of meeting each other and these kids are from hundreds, if not thousands of miles away.”

Thad, who has been golfing since he was five years old, insists golf was the sport that occupied his time when football, baseball and basketball seasons were out. After seeing his son take to the game naturally, Thad asked around for advice on how to best cultivate and groom Bowen’s skills into something more.

“I got a lot of advice from people who know golf,” Thad said. “They told me you don’t want anything to take the natural ability away from him. So, mainly I focused on the basics of a golf swing––keeping your head down, watching the ball, staying balanced. After that, I let his natural ability do the rest.”

In addition to his own teachings, Thad credits Bowen’s work with Smothers at Valdosta Country Club for improving his putting and ability to navigate the greens.

“He’s become more consistent in keeping a routine, rather than getting in a hurry,” Thad said. “His touch and his feel around the green has gotten better through practice. The No. 1 thing he’s learned is how to read a green and know that every putt isn’t straight. There’s uphill putts, downhill putts and putts that are going to break or turn and you have to adjust your line for how you lead the putt.”

When asked about the idea of Bowen winning the world championship, Ashley lights up.

“Oh my goodness, it would be such an honor,” Ashley said. “He’s done so well. I’m always proud of him so that would be a huge accomplishment for him, for sure.”

The U.S. Kids Golf 6-and-under World Championship will be held Aug. 3-5 at the Midland Country Club in Pinehurst, N.C.

As one of the driving forces behind Bowen’s development, Thad downplays the expectation of Bowen winning, instead hoping for a good finish on such a big stage.

“Honestly, I think (winning) would be a borderline miracle,” Thad said. “We would be happy with a middle-of-the-pack finish. A lot of people think we want our kid to be a professional golfer. I want my kid to be whatever he wants to be. Right now, we’re having fun as a family with him playing golf. It’s truly something that the entire family looks forward to because it’s fun for everybody––meeting people, going on a mini-vacation.

“If he won it, that would be great but the main thing is I want it to be a good experience for him. I want it to be something he remembers when he grows up that he got to play at that level. Whatever he does, if he never picks up another golf club, I really just want him to enjoy this time. God’s given him the ability to compete with these guys from all over the world.”