Parker Rutherford, 9, is seen through the reflection of his golf club as he readies to tee off during practice at Clear Creek Golf Course. Rutherford will be playing in the U.S. Kids Golf World Championship in Williamsburg, Va., starting Wednesday. He qualified for the World tournament after winning the state tourney in June. (Sam FreemanThe Vicksburg Post)

[7/22/04]Parker Rutherford had a golf club in his hands before he was 2 years old. He has yet to let go.

Now, at 9, Rutherford is on the golf course four or five days a week. He averages about five hours a day when he’s there.

All that time on the links has paid off, as he has qualified for the U.S. Kids Golf World Championship in Williamsburg, Va., starting Wednesday.

“I’m about 50-50 between confident and nervous right now,” the Vicksburg resident said. “I think I have enough confidence to win. I’m hoping for top 20, maybe top 10.”

The tournament, held at the Jack Nicklaus-designed Williamsburg National Golf Course, will consist of over 700 boys and girls from all 50 states and several foreign countries. In the past, players from China, Mexico, Paraguay, Canada, Switzerland, and several other countries have participated.

After one practice round, Rutherford will play three 18-hole rounds, with the holes averaging a little more than 230 yards each about 75 yards farther than most of hisdrives. He can top out at about 175 yards.

Rutherford played in his first golf tournament about two years ago and he has been steadily competing ever since. His most recent one, however, was the biggest he’s played in by far.

He won the U.S. Kids Golf State Championship at Laurel Country Club on June 22. His 9-hole score of 45 qualified him for the world championships and put him seven strokes ahead of the second-place finisher.

A small case of the pre-tournament jitters was calmed by his father, Chris, the director of instruction at Patrick Farms Golf Course in Brandon.

“I was kind of nervous before I played, but dad told me to take some Pepto-Bismol,” he said. “He said it would make my stomach feel better and help calm my nerves.”

Despite the magnitude of the tournament he’s about to play in, the younger Rutherford has done very little to alter his practice schedule before the world championships.

He has, however, spent a little extra time at the putting green.

“I’ve been working a lot on my short game,” he said with a knowing grin to his father. “Putting, chipping, and pitching that’s definitely my weakness.”

Rutherford does the bulk of his practicing and training under the watchful eyes of his dad.

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Parker willingly gets up real early and goes to work with me, and he’ll be on the course most of the day,” Chris Rutherford said. “I never have to force him to play; he’s doing it because he wants to.”

Chris specializes in coaching junior golfers, and he has a core group of about 25 players who regularly take lessons from him. He sees something special, however, in his son.

“Parker is just starting to scratch the surface of his potential,” Chris Rutherford said. “I’ve trained a lot of young golfers, and he ranks up there with the best I’ve seen. He’s really going to be great.”