Lauren Beckwith, far left, shows off her fourth-place trophy from the 2009 West Texas Junior Tour Championship held at the Llano River Golf Course. The incoming LMS seventhgrader finished one stroke behind the third-place winner. When the school year ended in May, area golfers were just getting started as many Lampasas and Kempner kids spent their summer competing in the West Texas Junior Champions Tour.

The tour consisted of 28 stops and culminated recently with the tour championship and awards banquet at the Llano River Golf Course.

In all, 11 area students took part in the final event with three bringing home top-five finishes. Lady Badgers head golf coach Stuart Beckwith is excited about the future of Lampasas golf.

"I was just proud of the fact that we had 12 or 14 Lampasas kids playing on a consistent basis," the coach said. "[They all] played several tournaments and were really involved this summer."

One of the most impressive players was Stayton Lindeman, who was recognized at the awards banquet for most wins in the boys' 16-18 age group after placing first in three tournaments. He split the honor with four other golfers.

In the tour championship, his game was slightly off as he finished 11th in his age division, shooting a combined 158 over the two rounds.

His younger brother Byler Lindeman showed plenty of potential, as he placed fourth in the 14-15 boys' age group with a total score of 155. After shooting an 80 in the first round, he shaved off five strokes in the second round.

Other top finishers were Blake January and Lauren Beckwith. January shot an 82 and an 83 en route to taking fifth place in the boys' 12-13 age group, while Beckwith (12-14 girls) broke 100 with a 99 in her opening round and followed it up with a 107.

"[For] a sixth-grader going into seventh grade, [those scores are] not bad," Beckwith said of January's play. "[Lauren Beckwith] set a goal to break 100 going into this year, and now she's got her sights set on getting into the 80s."

Competing alongside January was Blake Graham, who finished eighth after shooting a 184 (96 and 88). Morgan Rogers of Kempner placed seventh in the 12-14 girls' division after posting scores of 103 and 113. Kempner's Lauren Davis also took part in the tour but did not compete at Llano.

Perhaps the most impressive showing for the local kids was the 15-18 girls' division, where three Lampasas players finished in the top 10.

Carmen Gonzales took seventh with a 164 (80 and 84), Madison Myers finished one spot back after shooting a 172 (87 and 85), and Brittany Graham took 10th.

Graham opened with a 103 before improving drastically in the second round, where she shot an 89. She also claimed the female sportsmanship award at the banquet.

Myers earned the award for most points in the girls' 15-18 age group with 149.

In the 6-8 coed division, Brody Myers finished seventh after rounds of 54 and 49.

Blake Lolato withdrew from the boys' 14-15 division after his opening round of 95 but did not come home empty-handed, as he was named the best dressed boy.