PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Jonathan is the younger McEwen brother from Churchland High School and for them, golf has always been a family affair.
“My Dad is the Assistant Golf Pro out here at Bide- A Wee so I’ve been having a club in my hand since I could walk,” said Jonathan. “I think one reason I enjoy golf so much is because it’s never been forced upon me. It’s always been if you want to play you can, and if you want to take a break you can but it’s never been like you have to play.”
His older brother Matthew had a head start on the links and since graduating two years ago, he’s passed the torch onto Jonathan.
“I think he laid out a pretty good sketch for me.”
As for Jonathan, he took that sketch and ran with it. Both brothers made the VSGA tournament all four years of high school but in September, Jonathan accomplished something Matthew never did, coming in first place at the Portsmouth City Amateur, a VSGA point earning event, beating six Division I golfers. He also played in the Eastern Amateur at Elizabeth Manor Country Club in August where he received the Joe Tusing Sportsmanship Award and to cap off the summer, Jonathan was selected to be a representative of Virginia in the Virginias- Carolinas Junior Boys Matches.
“With him being older and me wanting to beat him because he was older, it made me work harder. I wanted to beat so bad, and we pushed each other,” he said.
And part of being best friends is uplifting each other, something Jonathan needed after a bad tournament last winter. Luckily, his brother was returning home from his sophomore year at the University of Virginia at just the right time.
“I took a few weeks off and then came back. My brother came home from winter break, and I enjoyed playing with him,” Jonathan explained. “He kind of picked me back up.”
The senior hopes to continue his career in college and plans to study business administration.