Young Local Golfer Drives, Chips & Putts His Way To Summer Wins

By Matt Wiley

Golf is a sport of patience and precision. If you’re not careful, one bad swing can ruin your whole game, even for the most experienced player. But, this doesn’t appear to be a problem for one New Tampa 11-year-old. 

Armand Loscalzo, of Hunter’s Green, is quickly rising through the golf ranks, hoping to one day turn pro and play on the PGA Tour, like his favorite golfer Rory McIlroy. McIlroy, the affable and often dominant Irishman, won three consecutive tournaments this summer, including two “Major” titles — the 2014 Open Championship {formerly the British Open} and the PGA Championship less than a month later. 

Like McIlroy, Loscalzo’s enthusiasm and skill on the links showed through in this year’s U.S. Kids Golf Foundation Tampa Summer Tour, during which he finished first in every event except one (when he finished second), including the Tour Championship at Wentworth Golf Club in Tarpon Springs on August 24. The kicker? Armand missed the first three matches of nine, but still scored enough points to rise to the top of the leader board.

“There was one kid that was leading (the tournament in points), and he wasn’t too happy about Armand coming from behind,” Loscalzo’s mother Lisa says. “But, they’re good friends, so it’s a friendly competition.”

In addition, on September 15, Loscalzo will compete in the 10-11-year-old division of the Regional Final of the Drive, Chip & Putt Championship at TPC Sugarloaf in Duluth, GA, following up his August 16 “Subregional” win at the Reunion Resort in Orlando.

Before that, at the Tampa “Local” tournament held at Tampa Bay Downs on June 14, Loscalzo finished in first with 121 total points, allowing him to advance to the Subregionals in Orlando. Loscalzo out-chipped and tied Allan Kournikova (retired pro tennis star Anna Kournikova’s younger half-brother) in putting, but came up short in the driving competition to finish in second place by just nine points at 141. However, the top two from Subregionals moved on to the Regional Final. 

The Drive, Chip & Putt Championship is basically exactly what it sounds like: players earn points for performing well in a contest in each of the three skills. The player with the most points at the end of the tournament wins. Participants get three shots in each category and can score up to 25 points per shot, depending upon accuracy for chipping and putting and distance for drives.

Loscalzo says that he first started playing when he was eight years old, after seeing one of his younger neighbors playing with golf clubs. At the time, he was playing ice hockey, but that quickly changed. 

“I asked my dad (Rick) for golf clubs a couple of times and finally got some,” Loscalzo says.  “My first time on the course was a little challenging. But, it’s a challenge every time. When you hit a bad shot, it’s hard to forget about it.”

Lisa says that Armand quickly took a liking to golf, a game Rick had always played, but it wasn’t until they moved into a different home in Hunter’s Green that was within walking distance of the Hunter’s Green Country Club driving range that it really turned into a passion.

“We can’t keep him off the course anymore,” his mom says. “Some parents really have to try to get their kids to go out and practice (sports). Sometimes we actually have to ask him to stop.”

Lisa continues, “This all kind of came out of the blue. His dad always played golf and taught him some, but now (Armand) beats him regularly, which is kind of funny. We’re new to all of this, so we’re taking it one day at a time.”

Loscalzo’s performance hasn’t gone unnoticed, either. On September 2, Loscalzo began training with the U.S. Junior National Golf Team at the Annika Academy, located outside of Orlando and named after legendary LPGA Hall of Fame golfer Annika Sorenstam.

“My first day was fun,” Armand says. “I met Annika’s sister, Charlotta (who also is a pro golfer).”

Loscalzo says he’s practicing non-stop leading up to the Drive, Chip, Putt competition, so look for him on the range at HGCC. He says he’s also pretty stoked about his new U.S. Junior National Team golf bag that he got his first day at the Annika Academy.

“I told my dad, I’m putting all of my clubs into this bag when we get home,” Loscalzo says.

Best of luck, Armand, from the New Tampa Neighborhood News!