Staff report

MORGANTON — One day after qualifying as teammates for the Crowder-Dorsett Labor Day 4-ball tournament at the Country Club of Salisbury, teenage golfers Nick Lyerly and Michael Childress were shooting red numbers in the Joe Cheves Junior Invitational here Saturday.

Played at Mimosa Hills Country Club, the Joe Cheves Invitational is considered one of the premier junior golf events in the Southeast. This year’s event features 74 top young players and it concludes with today’s second round.

Lyerly is tied for sixth place after shooting a 4-under par 68 yesterday. Childress shot a 3-under par 69 and is tied for ninth place. On Friday, the two teamed up for a Labor Day qualifying score of 64, 7-under par.

Lyerly, a senior at East Rowan High School, is tied with A.J. Beechler of Pinehurst and James Imai of Brookline, Mass. Childress is in a five-way deadlock at 69, with Jack Massei of Cary, Brad Plaziak of Alpharetta, Ga., and two South Carolinians, Colby Patton of Fountain Inn, and Jacob Bridgeman of Inman.

Will Kahlstorf of Watkinsville, Ga., and Carson Ownbey of Candler, shot 6-under par 66s to share the first-round lead. Trent Phillips of Inman, Chris Kim of Cary and Akshay Bhatia of Wake Forest, followed with 5-under par 67s.

Lyerly’s round started with a bogey, but it was his only one of the day. He got back to even with a birdie on the par-5 3rd hole. He ended up with birdies on all four par-5 holes and also birdied the par-3 9th. Lyerly ended with four straight pars.

Childress’ round got off to a great start with two pars and then an eagle on the par-5 No. 3. He had bogeys on No. 5 and No. 8 for a front-nine 36, but then turned it on on the back.

Childress, a junior at Cannon School, had birdies on three of the first four holes on the back, then finished with five consecutive pars for a 33.

The dynamic duo will be one of the favorites in next weekend’s Labor Day event here at the Country Club.

Three golfers from Concord are competing in the Joe Cheves Invitational: Aman Gupta (71), Tim Bunten (74) and Stephen Carroll (74).

On the girls’ side of the event, Mooresville’s Kathryn Carson is tied for third place at a first-round 2-under par 70. Emily Hawkins of Lexington is tied for fifth place at 71.

Elisa Yang of Norcross, Ga., tops the girls’ scoring with a 5-under par 67.