Seven-year-old Windermere Prep Student Clinches Local Golf Tour Championship

Seven-year-old Sully Zagerman shot a two under par 70 to win the last leg of the U.S. Kids Golf (USKG) Orlando tour and seal the title of USKG 2006 Orlando Tour Champion in the seven-year-old division.

Sully, a third grader at Windermere Prep, won the tournament at Royal St. Cloud Golf Links by 14 strokes. He preceded his triumph with first-place victories in seven out of the nine USKG tournaments on the Orlando tour. He tallied a total of 215 points for the season to be named Boys seven-year-old Player of the Year.

His closest competitors were Hunter Stevens of Windermere who placed second for the season with 156 points; and Christophe (stet) Stutts of Maitland, who took third with 144 points for the season.
It was down to the wire for Sully in the World Championship qualifier, formerly the USKG State Championship, the end of June at Tuscawilla Country Club, in Winter Springs. He sank a putt on the 18th green to win the tournament by 1 stroke.

The margins were much more impressive in his other local tournaments. Sully opened the season with a five under par 31 taking the Lake Orlando Tournament by six strokes; went on to win at Wedgefield Country Club by four strokes; Eagle Creek by eight strokes; went down by only one stroke in the next two tournaments; came back strong to win the Sweetwater Country Club Tournament by 5 strokes; and went on to cement another five-stroke win at the Disney Oak Trail tournament.

In the middle of all this, Sully competed in the USKG World Championships at Pinehurst, North Carolina. There out of a field of 85 seven year olds who qualified from all over the country and the world, Sully finished 21.

The USKG program began in 1997. The local tours were created to provide boys and girls, ages four to twelve, the opportunity to advance their skills in the game in age appropriate competition without having to take the time, and incur the costs of having to travel long distances .The local tours are part of USKG's overall mission: “to help kids have fun learning the lifelong game of golf at an early age and to encourage family interaction that builds lasting memories.

In addition to his USKG tournament wins, Sully is a two-time Orlando Jaycees Pee Wee Golf Tournament Champion; a two-time Celebration Town Golf Champion (in the nine-year-old and under category); and earned a world ranking of 11th in his age division at the 2005 Callaway Junior World Golf Championship, in San Diego last summer. He also can boast having tallied the fourth hole in one of his young career this past June, on the second hole of the second hole of the Celebration Junior Course.

Sully practices and plays at the Grand Cypress Academy of Golf in Orlando. He is coached by Grand Cypress pro Todd Meena. When not golfing, he is also an avid pond fisherman. Sully is the son of Barry and Debby Zagerman of Cypress Landing.

Showing off their trophies from the USKG Orlando Tour are: (from left) Sully Zagerman, who placed first in the rankings; Hunter Stevens, second; Christophe Stutts, third; and Ryan Farmer, sixth. Behind them is Doug Holloway, USKG Golf Orlando Tour Director. Missing from the photo were Iner Nielson, fourth; and Nicolas Otero, fifth.


Windermere Prep Third Grader Sully Zagerman shows of his Player of the Year Trophy, for tallying the most points in the nine Orlando USKG tournaments this season, among seven-year-old boys.