Leadbetter vies for title at local junior golf event

Victoria Sun

Tuesday, June 13, 2000 | 10:17 a.m.

When your dad is one of the most respected golf instructors in the world, people expect you to be great.

Such is the life of Andy Leadbetter, son of golf guru David Leadbetter of David Leadbetter Golf Academy fame. The elder Leadbetter has worked with PGA and LPGA professionals including Nick Faldo, Ernie Els and Se Ri Pak.

But high expectations haven't stopped Andy Leadbetter from playing or loving the game his father taught him at an early age.

"A lot of people say I have a lot of pressure," Leadbetter said Monday afternoon after a practice round for the Las Vegas Founders Legacy Junior tournament at Legacy Golf Club. "Other people say, 'You have to be good because your dad is who he is.' "

Leadbetter is one of 84 juniors who are competing in the American Junior Golf Association event today through Thursday. The 54-hole stroke competition for boys and girls ages 13-18 features players from 16 states, including nine from Nevada.

Headlining the boys' field is UNLV signee Brandon Askew, a second team Polo Golf Junior All-American from Fargo, N.D., Kevin Na, another second team junior All-American from Diamond Bar, Calif., and Jesse Mueller, a junior All-American honorable mention from Mesa, Ariz.

Local participants include Chad Fosburg, the 4A Southern Zone champion from Durango High School, and Mark Leesberg, the 4A state champion representing Bishop Gorman High School.

Hana Kim, a second team All-American from Encino, Calif., is the top returning player in the girls' division. Kim, who will attend Northwestern in the fall, tied for fifth here last year. Local entries are Bonanza High graduate Jordan Auten and Green Valley High School graduate Emily De'ath.

But none has the notoriety of Leadbetter, who will be a sophomore at Lake Highland Preparatory School in Orlando, Fla.

He finished seventh last year at the AJGA Junior All-Star series at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif., and fifth at the AJGA Junior All-Star series in Orlando. Last December he won the Christmas Classic staged by the Florida Junior Golf Association.

On Monday morning, he shot a 5-under-par 67 during the junior amateur event. He hopes to play better here than he did last year, when he finished in the bottom half of the field.

"This is the start of my summer," he said. "It's actually a really big tournament for me because I don't really have that many older age group ones left this year.

"So if I play well in this tournament, I will get exempt and I can play in several other AJGA invitationals for the rest of the year."