Nov. 5, 2003 – More than 130 young golfers from 45 states and three countries will face off in the second annual Teens on the Green competition at the Carambola Golf Resort on St. Croix this week.
The event is the brainchild of St. Croix native Renny Roker, founder and initial organizer of the first St. Croix America's Paradise Triathlon, which was broadcast on NBC.
Roker also produced the television and website series "Through the Eyes of a Child," produced in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institution and the National Education Association. The show featured local youngsters exploring and experiencing the Virgin Islands.
Boys and girls age 12 to 17 have been competing in golf tournaments around the U.S., in Europe and Southeast Asia. Top players in the TOG Championship Series qualified for a trip to St. Croix to compete in this final event. They will play for international ranking status and college scholarships.
Included in the tournament are six Virgin Islanders, all from St. Croix. John Shribeck, from St. Thomas, was last year's TOG winner. Hugh Dalton, marketing director for the U.S. and Asian TOG events, said that to date every youngster who has participated and who has graduated from high school has received a scholarship to college.
The popularity of professional golfer Tiger Woods prompted Roker to begin golf tournaments for inner-city young people, but found that equipment, professional instruction and golf-course access was not readily available to many who wanted to participate. So he founded TOG at Miami's Doral Country Club, where kids were provided with trainers and equipment through corporate sponsorships.
This year's competition will kick off with the Parade of Flags in Christiansted Thursday, Nov. 6, beginning at 5 p.m. The Golf Channel, BET and Telemundo will be videotaping the event, as will local TV channels.
Roker is encouraging people to come to the parade, which will be beamed to more than 300 million homes — the largest audience for any production from the Virgin Islands, promoters said.
About 1,000 miniature American flags will be handed out from stores along the route for parade onlookers to wave during the parade. The procession will begin at Fort Christiansvaern, travel up Company Street, turn right onto King Cross Street, and then head back along King Street to the fort's bandstand, where there will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony and blowing of the conch shell to signal the beginning of the competition.
The event is sponsored in part by the V.I. Tourism Department, Jet Blue Airlines, the Carambola Hotel, Divi Carina Bay Resort, Wiesner Enterprises, Budget Rent a Car and Sand Castles on the Beach.
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