Amid the number of Augusta-area junior golfers competing at the 2024 Vaughn Taylor Championship, Walker Gantt and Nathan Martin are among the brightest as both of them will compete at the collegiate level in the coming years.
For the tournament’s second round Wednesday, they teed it up on a firm, hot and difficult Bartram Trail golf course that tested each facet of their games.
During Tuesday’s round, Gantt put together an even par, 71, to position himself well within the mix of potential winners. Birdies on the 6th, 12th and 18th holes highlighted his performance.
Wednesday was more of the same steady play as the Augusta native moved through the course with his fine-tuned golf swing. With his dad supporting him in the crowd, Gantt drove the ball well, hit crisp iron-shot approaches into greens and showed off his deft touch when short game sharpness was called upon.
On the par-4 5th hole, he drove it straight down the middle of the fairway. From close to 170 yards out, his approach landed on the green and 15 feet short of the hole. The lengthy birdie attempt hit the center of the cup at just the right speed. In his putting routine, Gantt reads the putt from behind the ball and from the midpoint of his line to ensure he sees how the ball will start and finish.
The final two holes of the front nine saw Gantt barely miss par putts that burned the edge and could’ve dropped another millimeter or two over. Regardless of the missed chances, his short game prowess was on display with delicate bunker shots and pitches in and around Bartram Trail’s undulating greens.
A birdie on the 17th hole followed by a bogey on the last led to a second-round total of 72. He finds himself one over par and tied for 16th place heading into Thursday’s final round.
As a Greenbrier High School student, Gantt carries himself on the golf course like a seasoned competitor. In the fall of 2025, he’ll join the Augusta University men’s golf team in hopes of helping the Jaguars win more titles.
AU won the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf National Championship in 2010 and 2011, and Gantt hopes to be an additive teammate as the Jaguars will aim to get back to national title form.
Evans resident Nathan Martin shot a five-over-par score of 76 in Tuesday’s first round. A couple of birdies and a few too many bogeys colored his scorecard. Unfortunately, his Wednesday play included a few bumps in the road that did not allow him to climb the leaderboard for Thursday. Nevertheless, there were flashes from the young man.
Before he begins his effortlessly smooth and powerful golf swing, he moves the club back to waist high to double check the position.
This pre-shot routine recalls many PGA Tour players like Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy. Once Martin lets it fly, his shots often stretch past his playing partners. This was on full display on the par-5 third hole. After a lengthy drive into the fairway, Nathan hit his second shot to pin high on this 539-yard beast of a golf hole, which has not been too common this week. This excellent approach resulted in a comfortable par.
Later on the front nine, on the 7th hole, Martin executed a 250-yard-long approach shot that came to rest on the green approximately 20 feet from the hole. From our vantage point, it was difficult to see Martin’s head, but his shot landed left of the flagstick and trickled down nicely. With the confidence from this lengthy shot, he walked after his putt and converted the unlikely birdie.
As Martin and his playing partners walked off the 7th, his dad exclaimed, “What an unconventional birdie!”
Two birdies on the back nine accompanied by several bogeys led to a four-over-par score of 75 during Wednesday’s round. He’s tied for 40th position going into Thursday’s final round.
This coming fall, Nathan will head to Shorter University in Rome, Georgia to begin his academic and athletic career on the men’s golf team.
The final round of the Vaughn Taylor Championship begins Thursday with boys group leaders Henry Hill of Dalton, Georgia and Griffin Cheatwood of Charlotte, North Carolina, teeing off from the first hole at 10 a.m.
In girls action, Gloria Nip, originally from Hong Kong, leads the field at -8 with Kate Ha and Victoria Wang one and two shots back, respectively. They’ll tee off for Thursday’s final round at 9:20 a.m.
