Cameron ranked No. 27 in world after U.S. Kids World Championship
Emree Cameron's successful summer on the links continued at the recent U.S. Kids Golf World Championship Aug. 4-6 in Pinehurst, N.C.
Cameron, 9 of Nevada, finished 27th out of 102 golfers. This is the second U.S. Kids Golf World Championship Cameron has participated in.
"This was her biggest tournament of the year, and it's just a blessing to get an invitation to play," her father and caddie, Eric said.
The three-day 27 hole tournament posed many challenges, as the course featured deep roughs with greens that were guarded by bunkers.
"Emree got a good taste of being penalized for missing fairways and greens," Eric said.
On day one of competition, Cameron played alongside Ecuador's Amalia Ortega, while emerging with the low score in her group as she fired a 42, matching her low score from the 2015 World Championship. At the conclusion of day one Cameron was tied for 35th.
Day two found Cameron grouped with Kaili Lei of China and Canada's Lindsay McGrath. Cameron once again carded the low score of her group, highlighted by a birdie on the 125-yard par-3 sixth hole, leaving her in 21st place headed into the final round.
Final round
In round three, Cameron played with USA's Alyzabeth Morgan and Kate Barber. Battling control issues with her driver, Cameron finished with a 43. It truly was a grind, as Cameron played from the pine needles, which is rough so deep it was hard to locate the ball and fairway bunkers.
Despite the many final round challenges she battled through, Cameron only dropped six positions, finishing the tournament with a final score of 124, besting her score of 132 from the previous year's tournament.
"The results from the championship exceeded Emree's goals going into the tournament," Eric said. "She greatly improved her ranking from the previous year. In 2015, Emree finished 40th in the world and 29th in the USA. This year she improved to 27th in the world and 15th in the USA."
World champion
New Jersey's Megan Meng birdied the final hole to force a playoff for the championship. Meng birdied the first playoff hole and was crowned the 9-year-old girls World Champion.
"This was amazing to watch as the crowds grew and roared" Eric said.
For Cameron, she doesn't anticipate much down time in the coming weeks, as she spent the past week preparing and training for Stage 2 of Drive, Chip, and Putt held today in Lincoln, Neb.
Cameron also plans on competing in the fall U.S. Kids Tour in Kansas City, beginning in late August.