Hilton Head Sports

Random drug testing of Beaufort County student athletes has produced little evidence of illegal drug use, according to a report released the Beaufort County Board of Education. Only 23 positive test results were reported from a total of about 1,000 drug tests performed monthly on randomly selected student athletes from September through December. All students who tested positive for drugs were enrolled by their families in counseling and treatment programs.

Several high school athletes signed letters of intent on National Signing Day. Hilton Head Island High School defensive back Jestin Morrow committed to play football at Marshall University. He will join teammate Jeremiah Maddox, who verbally committed to the Thundering Herd earlier in the year. Quarterback Aidan Hegarty (walk-on, Boston College) and defensive back John Baty (Army) will also continue their playing careers.

Eight past champions have committed to the 48th annual RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing. Five-time champion and Ryder Cup Captain Davis Love III and two two-time champions Stewart Cink and Boo Weekley headline the list of past champs. They are joined by Glen Day, Justin Leonard and Carl Pettersson.

DISC GOLF POPULARITY CONTINUES TO GROW ACROSS THE LOWCOUNTRY

If you’re looking for a new hobby that involves the outdoors, some friendly competition and a little exercise, disc golf might be right for you. It might not be as popular or as well-known as traditional golf, but there are opportunities to play disc golf in the Lowcountry.

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND

The Heritage Classic Foundation has unveiled a new fundraiser to benefit its scholarship program. The Tartan Club was first introduced in 1999, but was reinvented in 2013 when the foundation created the Champions Club.

Membership in the Tartan Club is open to individuals who share a desire to help others by giving to charity and who have a fondness for the game of golf. 

THE CROSS-POLLINATION OF TENNIS AND BADMINTON PRODUCES SOMETHING AMAZING IN PICKLEBALL

Many residents of the Lowcountry are getting hooked on pickles, but it’s not the kind you find in a jar. It’s the growing sport of pickleball, a more forgiving cousin of tennis seasoned with a few other sports to create something truly unique.

In the Lowcountry, Sun City Hilton Head is ground zero for the burgeoning pickleball scene.  Sun City’s club started in 2005 with fewer than 100 members and has grown to more than several hundred participants. Its members participate in tournaments around the state and around the southern region.

TREND-SETTING HYBRID OF GOLF AND CROQUET FINDS A NEW HOME AT THE SEA PINES RESORT

You’ve heard of golf. You’ve heard about croquet. But what about golf croquet?

You may not have heard of it, but The Sea Pines Resort is setting the trend for this up-and coming sport, offering the game up as the newest activity in the resort’s ever-expanding roster of family-friendly activities.

To anyone else, it looked like a routine spring training appearance. A quick inning of work on one of dozens of indistinguishable Grapefruit League afternoons.

For Ryan Kelly, it was the biggest game of his life, because as far as he knew, it might be his last.

ON THE PGA TOUR CIRCUIT, JEFF MAGGERT WAS A TRUE STAR, WINNING THREE TOURNAMENTS AND MORE THAN $20 MILLION ON THE HIGHLY COMPETITIVE MAJOR PROFESSIONAL TOUR.

This year, Maggert is emerging as a superstar on the Champions Tour. He has won four tournaments on the senior leg for those 50 or older, including two majors at the Regions Tradition and the Senior U.S. Open.