Wren flies high on international junior tour
Published 10:28 pm Thursday, February 12, 2015
Former Nansemond-Suffolk Academy golfer Trey Wren is currently one of the top competitors on the International Junior Golf Tour.
He has been competing on the tour while attending the International Junior Golf Academy in Hilton Head Island, S.C.
Through nine tournaments, Wren has achieved five top 10 finishes. Twice he has taken second, once fourth, once sixth, and in his most recent tournament, he took first.
“I’ve played well several times,” Wren said. “I‘ve had a couple off tournaments, but the good tournaments have definitely outnumbered the bad tournaments.”
And he said he has definitely gotten better as time has gone on.
His win came in the Lowcountry Junior event held at Wexford Plantation Golf Club in Hilton Head Island, S.C.
“It was nice to break through,” he said. Referring to International Junior Golf Tour events, he added, “It’s been a while since I’ve won one of these,” as he had participated in some before attending the International Junior Golf Academy.
“It was tough conditions,” Wren said of the Lowcountry Junior. “It was really cold, windy and then the golf course was really tough.”
He shot a 14-over-par 86 in the first round, with only one birdie.
“The greens on that course are probably some of the toughest you would see anywhere,” said Wren’s IJGA coach, Dwight Nevil.
A win did not seem probable as Wren was nine shots back going into the second round in the boys’ 15- to 19-year-old division.
But he ended up producing five birdies among his last 18 holes, including four on the front nine alone. He ended up with a one-under-par 71 to produce a two-round total of 157. He finished a stroke better than Matt Cheng of Taipei, Taiwan.
For his 71, Wren received the Clazic Belts Low Final Round Award. It was the second weekend in a row he had been the recipient after also earning it at the Carolina Classic at Colleton River Plantation Club — Pete Dye Course in Bluffton, S.C.
In the Carolina Classic, Wren finished tied for second in the boys’ 15-19 division after participating in a three-player, sudden-death playoff.
“I just didn’t quite get it done in the playoff hole,” he said. “It would have been tough to play much better.”
Inclement weather led to the tournament being played entirely on Jan. 25, so the golfers played an 18-hole first round and nine-hole second round.
“It was different than anything I’ve ever done, because we didn’t stop,” Wren said. “We just played 27 consecutive holes.”
He shot a two-under-par 70 in the first round and a four-over-par 40 in the second round.
Nevil said Wren is “an excellent golfer, he’s got power, and he’s got some head smarts, and I’d love to be able to say that I helped him get here, but really, he came here with a lot of talent, and he’s worked very hard on his game.”
The coach pointed to the Lowcountry Junior as Wren’s best performance yet on the International Junior Golf Tour.
“It’s a great showing of his character and how much of a competitor he is,” Nevil said. “You can’t be a great golfer without having a little bit of heart, and he’s got that.”