Nan Ryan was playing the Quincy (Illinois) City Championship in the summer of 1973 when the local sportswriter walking next to her in the fairway planted an idea in her head. “It’s a shame there isn’t a big junior tournament in the Midwest like there is in Florida,” he said.
Pretty soon Ryan was thinking about who would sponsor such an event. She made calls to Pepsi and Berger Meat Packing.
“I figured hot dogs and Pepsi were what kids liked,” she said.
The Pepsi Little People’s Golf Championship was born the next year and has been played every year since in Quincy, a city of 40,000 situated on the Mississippi River. Competition is held in seven age divisions for both boys and girls, ages 3 to 18.
These days, Ryan, 85, says the tournament averages about 250 kids. The field peaked in 2000 with 922 players, a staggering field size that required the use of six area golf courses.
In the 47 years Ryan has been running the Little People’s, only two rounds have been rained out. No hurdle has been quite as steep as the one created by the coronavirus.
“Every year is kind of a learning experience,” she said. “We made adjustments according to what happened the previous year and things we need to change and things we need to do. This is the biggest adjustment.”
Tournament founder Nan Ryan
Ryan will keep the tournament running this year through a unique workaround. The Little People’s is about to go completely virtual, a new concept in junior golf even as more and more events fall off the calendar (the U.S. Junior and U.S. Girls’ Junior being among the latest).
Ryan noted the cancellation of the Youth Classic and the IMG Junior Worlds, which were scheduled for the weeks before her traditional mid-June dates, and knew it would be irresponsible to carry on as planned. The tournament’s board of directors voted to cancel, but it was a tough decision to eliminate the in-person event. She knows Quincy will take an economic hit from the lack of junior golfers and their parents visiting the area in June. They fill up the restaurants and hotels.
“Little People’s is like a big family,” she said. “My first thought when I was thinking about the tournament and this pandemic was, ‘This is going to be a no hugs, no handshakes tournament.’ It’s a family affair and there’s so many hearts and people who have made friends over the years. It’s one of the things I’ll miss this year.”
Correspondence will continue as players compete by playing two rounds on a golf course of their choosing between June 18 and 24. They must then take a picture of their scorecard and submit it by email. Entries into the virtual event are open through June 7 for a $30 entry fee.
Ryan plans to use the USGA’s course handicap calculator to level the playing field. The formula takes into account handicap index, course rating, slope and par. Players aged 12 to 18 must walk and carry (or push) their own bag when they log their tournament rounds and cannot accept any advice. The next age groups down can have a caddie and there’s an altogether different rule for 3- to 5-year-olds.
“Their caddie can carry them if they can’t make it around the course,” Ryan said.
After all scores are submitted, calculated and adjusted, winners will receive medals by mail. While the event will not be ranked in the Golfweek Junior Rankings, as it traditionally is, the American Junior Golf Association will still award winners of the 16-18 age divisions an exemption into an upcoming tournament.
Ryan is hoping for at least 100 players. Any player from around the world is eligible, and she has already received an entry from South Africa.
Part of the Little People’s legacy has been its reach. More than 24,000 players have entered through the years – from all 50 states and roughly 35 countries. The alumni list spans every corner of the golf world, from professional to college to coaches and teaching pros.
Ryan had to get creative, but the Little People’s isn’t about to skip a year on her watch.
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