Four Suffolk golfers got to play in what was essentially a home tournament last weekend when the College Prep Golf Tour paid its first visit to Sleepy Hole Golf Course and its second trip to Suffolk.

Nansemond-Suffolk Academy rising junior Keith Cooper fared the best out of the local players, shooting 74-73 to finish second in the College Prep Boys Division with a 3-over-par two-day score of 147 on the par-72 course.

Cooper said he has won some one-day tourneys on the College Prep Golf Tour provided, but for a two-day tourney, “that was the best finish I’ve had.”

A rain delay of a little over an hour on Saturday affected all of the Suffolk competitors, but Cooper was pleased with what he accomplished when play resumed.

“I finished par, par on probably two of the hardest holes out there – 15 and 18,” he said.

Rising seniors Griffin Genier of Nansemond River High School and Trey Wren of NSA tied for ninth out of 39 golfers, registering 155 strokes after rough second-day scores of 83 and 80, respectively.

Nevertheless, after participating in two events this season, Wren is currently ranked fourth out of 91 players in the tour standings for the College Prep Boys Division.

Amellia Boyer, who will play for Longwood University in the fall, scored an 82 last Saturday but struggled on Sunday in the girls’ division. She finished tied for second in a field of nine with a score of 172, but was well back from the winner.

Most of the Suffolk players were happy to be on a course they knew well, but Genier also noted that with this knowledge came the pressure of higher expectations.

The College Prep Golf Tour was originally founded by Steven Hornsby to give his son more opportunities to play golf and has since evolved into an organization that attracts talent from around Virginia and brings them to the attention of college coaches.

Based in Williamsburg, the tour made its first visit to Suffolk in January at the Riverfront Golf Club. Since many of the participants are from this general area of Virginia, Hornsby said, “We really wanted to have something on this side of the water.”

Sleepy Hole was a good fit.

“They had been encouraging us to come,” he said.

Katie Murphy, the Ladies Professional Golf Association head golf pro at Sleepy Hole, noted that there are not a lot of junior golf opportunities locally.

“A lot of times, you’ve got to travel and that can be very expensive,” she said.

She was happy to host an event in Suffolk and said it was good for the city, particularly since it involves potential Division I college players from around Virginia.

“It just kind of exposes us to a little different crowd, which I think everyone wants,” she said.