Even out of season Simmons still the best on the course

WORLAND - With the cold weather setting in and snow on the ground youth golfer Karsten Simmons has had a hard time finding time to keep his golf game sharp. But even with the weather adversities he still found ways to keep working on his game and that work paid off at the Rocky Mountain Junior Golf Tour Cup tournament at Bear's Best golf course in Las Vegas, Nevadam as Simmons once again took first place.

Simmons shot a 228 total during the 54-hole tournament at a course designed by PGA legend Jack Nicklaus. Simmons was 12 over par and four strokes better than his nearest competitor Brett Sawaia out of Henderson, Nevada.

Round one Simmons was understandably rusty but was still able to shoot a 76 and give himself a 6 stroke lead. Round two he shook the rust, logged two birdies on his way to scoring a 73 and was one over par.

"The first day of the tournament Karsten played pretty well being out of his prime," said Karsten's father Randy Simmons. "He hasn't been able to stick to his routine practice due to time of year, visibility and weather conditions. He played pretty darn good considering everything. Day 2 he came out ready to play golf and was pretty much flawless with the exception of the ninth hole. He got into some trouble and made a double bogey. Other than that the round was perfect. He let a few short putts go that he normally makes but carded a 73 and beat his opponent on day 2 by one stroke."

The final round of the tournament brought the toughest test for Karsten Simmons as he would have to deal with 50 mph winds and on chilly day. Starting the round Simmons had built a seven-stroke lead but as the day wore on the lead shrunk as Sawaia edged closer.

After the 13th hole Sawaia pulled within three strokes but on 16th Simmons stormed back by knocking in a birdie while Sawaia went on to bogey. With a five-stroke lead Simmons closed out the tournament convincingly and brought home the RMJGT Cup championship in the 11-12 boys division.

"Hole 16 he hit an excellent tee shot, then hit an excellent 6-iron into the green about 10 feet from the hole. He went on to make the putt for birdie. His lead went to five after Brett Sawaia made a five on the hole. Karsten and Brett battled it out on 17 and 18. At the end of 18 he walked off the green with first-place honors by four strokes over the 54-hole tournament," said Randy Simmons when recounting the final three holes.

Randy Simmons added, "Karsten is such a great kid and so much fun to watch on the golf course. I am very proud of him and all the hard work he puts in. We really want to thank all of our family and friends for supporting Karsten."

Randy Simmons also gave credit to the Sawaia. "I had the chance to speak with Brett Sawaia's father and he is the head golf coach for the Coronado boys and girls high school team. They are located one mile from the Butch Harmon School of Golf. Both of his boys spend most of their time working with Butch Harmon and his staff. I gotta give both the Sawaia boys credit they deserve they are excellent players and will be winning many tournaments in the future. For the those who are not golfers Butch Harmon was Tiger Woods' swing coach while he was winning everything."

Karsten Simmons will take the next few weeks off until his final tournament of the 2016 year at the Tournament of Champions in Scottsdale, Arizona, on Dec. 27-29.