Two of Warren County’s best young golfers will get a chance to tee it up with the big boys.

Parker Rutherford, a freshman at Warren Central, and St. Aloysius freshman Nick Mekus will play in the Viking Classic BankPlus Junior Pro-Am Tuesday afternoon at Annandale Golf Club in Madison. The tournament, one of several events leading up to the PGA Tour’s Viking Classic, pairs foursomes of the state’s top junior golfers with one touring pro in a five-man scramble. Rutherford and Mekus qualified for the tournament by placing in the top 36 of the Mississippi Junior Golf Associations points standings this summer.

“You can always learn from watching the Tour players play because he’s made it to that level,” Rutherford said. “It’s something that not everybody gets to do. You take advantage of it and have fun.”

This is the second consecutive year Rutherford will play in the Pro-Am. Last year he was paired up with PGA Tour professional Mike Heinen. This was Mekus’ first full summer on the MJGA circuit, and will be his first appearance in the Pro-Am.

“I’m probably going to be a little nervous at first but I think it will be a good experience,” Mekus said.

Neither Rutherford nor Mekus were sure who they’d be paired up with on Tuesday. Although the Pro-Am is supposed to be a fun exhibition, Rutherford admitted that some gamesmanship goes on once the golfers hit the course.

“You’re mostly trying to have fun. But being a competitive golfer, everybody is trying to get the pro’s attention by hitting good shots,” Rutherford said. “As a young golfer, one of the things you always want to do is impress a pro athlete.”

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Contact Ernest Bowker at ebowker@vicksburgpost.com