SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) – The U.S. Kids Golf World Championship is considered the largest and most prestigious youth golf tournament in the world.

Every year, the tournament welcomes golfers ages 5-12 to the championship courses in Pinehurst, North Carolina. And this year, kids from the Coastal Empire represented our area well.

Finishing on the podium in third place in the 9-year-old boys division was Rivers Hood. Rivers attends St. James Catholic School in Savannah, and his home course is Deer Creek in the Landings.

Rivers finished third in a field of 123 golfers from all over the world, with a final score of 6-under – just three strokes back from first place.

Leading up to the tournament, Rivers came in second and fifth in two U.S. Kids Regional Tournaments and also earned a second-place finish at the World Championsip in 2023.

One of his competitors – Brantley Lott, from Statesboro – took home a share of 16th place that included a hole-in-one from 104 yards out.

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