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KANNAPOLIS — Russell Killough didn’t win the championship, but the teen-age sensation made quite a bid for the title here Wednesday.
Killough, an 18-year-old rising senior at Independence High School in Mint Hill, beat all the club and teaching pros except two while taking low amateur honors with a 206 for 54 holes at the Kannapolis Country Club.
Killough, five strokes behind leader Jeff Lankford of Mocksville when he started the third round, was 8-under-par for the day after he made a dramatic eagle on the par-5 15th hole. That put Killough one stroke up on Lankford and two ahead of Oak Island’s Steve Isley, who were playing No. 14.
Bogeys on the next two holes, however, knocked Killough out of the running in a tournament that saw Isley edge Lankford on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff for the title.
“I played well,” said the soft-spoken Killough. “I’m kind of disappointed that I made those two bogeys coming in. I played solid golf.I tried.”
The talented junior golfer made it clear that he didn’t enter the tournament just to come close. His expectations were “to try to win. I try to give it my all every tournament.”
Killough’s length off the tee and with his irons impressed the older and more experienced golfers in the tournament. For example, on the par-5, 530-yard 15th, which he eagled all three days, he was hitting his second shot from 164, 195 and 158 yards. He had tap-in eagles the last two rounds, including a five-incher after a great 9-iron shot on Thursday.
“I played that hole very well this week,” said Killough with a grin and an understatement. “I just hit it close every time and had tap-ins.”
His strongest point?
“I’d have to say my iron play. It helped me out a lot this week and kind of made up for a bad putting tournament. I hit it closer than I expected sometimes,” he said.
Killough could well be the next Tiger Woods, but he modestly shakes off the comparison, saying Tiger is two levels above him.
Regardless, the 18-year-old sensation is special, but father Paul isn’t surprised. He’s known it since his adopted Afro-American son was born in February of 1983 to friends of the elder Killough. Paul and wife Joan are white.
“He didn’t have any parents. They kind of went separate ways. We adopted him. We just fell in love with him,” said the father.
The adoption took place at Fort Campbell, Ky., where Paul Killough was serving in the military. It was also there that the army chaplain told Paul that Russell was going to be something special.
“He said God told him that, and we believed him.He was right. ... He said we needed to keep him. Our family really didn’t want us to,” said Paul.
“I’ve got two great kids. My youngest son right here, Matt, and Russell have been together since day one. He (Matt) just turned 16. He’s a great player himself. He just gets kind of overshadowed because Russell’s older, and he’s probably a little better player and going to be a great player,” said Paul, who is golf pro at Charlotte National Golf Club.
Matt, a 1-handicapper who played with Russell on the Independence team this past spring, is Paul’s natural son.
Paul has been a golf pro for about seven years, but not a Class A PGA pro like all the pros in the field this week.
“I just teach, and I’m in the business end of it,” he explained.
Paul taught both Russell and Matt to play, but has turned his sons over to Cabarrus Country Club pro David Ross in the last 14 months.
“He’s the most fabulous teacher I’ve ever seen, period. He’s wonderful,” said the father.
Russell’s accomplishments include finishing second at Grand Cypress in Orlando, Fla., in the International Junior Tour Championship, where was 5 under par for 45 holes and eighth in the World Junior Championship at Torrey Pines in California, where he was 6 under for 54 holes.
“He’s a quality player, Russell is. He’s got goals set and knows what he wants to do,” said Paul.
Russell’s drives of 300 yards-plus this week impressed both the pros who played with him and the awed spectators.
“People who say length doesn’t mean nothing, they’re mistaken,” said Paul. “His length is phenomenal. And he’s very, very accurate.”
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HOST CLUB: Golfers were very complimentary this week of both the course and the organization of the tournament.
“Alan Cress (head pro) and his guys have done a wonderful job,” said general manager Jeff Austin, who made the 36-hole cut, shot an 82 on the final day and was last on the money-winning list with $195.
“I think we had well over 30 members that volunteered throughout the week to do everything from working parking lot duties to rangering, marshalling and the scoring area. They enjoy it,” said Austin, a Salisbury resident.
The former Corbin Hills pro referred back to the three times Kannapolis hosted the PGA Tour Qualifying School’s first-stage tourney.
“We have had guys here from all over the world, several different countries and all over the different states,” said Austin. “One thing about North Carolina, we’re hospitable.”
He added that Adelphia, the title sponsor of the Carolinas PGA-sponsored event, made the $52,000 tournament a first-class event.
“With the money they brought to the table, it afforded us to do it first-class across the board,” said Austin. “I think our PGA guys that came in and played really appreciated it, too.”
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Senior sports writer Ed Dupree covers golf for the Post. Contact him at 704-797-4258 or
edupree@salisburypost.com .
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