Richmond Hill High School junior Tyler Steptoe has proved to be a force to be reckoned with on the golf course.

He led the RHHS golf team last year and is showing signs of continuing that trend after a strong season opening game this past Thursday at Lost Plantation in South Effingham. On top of that, Steptoe finished fourth in the open invitational Hilton Head Junior Shootout at Palmetto Dunes.

"Tyler has been golfing competitively for three years," his father Rick Steptoe said. "He works extreme hard at it and practices daily. He played football and baseball until he was five, but dropped everything else when he started doing so well at golf. He has really found his niche and he is hoping to take it to the collegiate level."

In addition to three years on the RHHS golf team, Steptoe has three years experience on the Georgia Junior PGA Tour and has started this year with the brand new Hurricane Junior Golf Tour.

The Hilton Head tournament was the year’s first major event on the Hurricane Junior Golf Tour.

Steptoe fired rounds of 79-78 on the challenging George Fazio design. He has posted three top tens in as many tournaments this year including a fifth place finish at the Southeast Georgia Junior Open at Coastal Pines and taking tenth at the Forest Heights Junior Classic in Statesboro.

First year RHHS head golf coach Alex Gray said he is banking on Steptoe’s leadership to lead his team to a successful season.

"Tyler is a talented young man," Gray said. "When I agreed to take over this program, his talent was one of the deciding factors. I look for him to make a huge impact on the local golf scene this year. If our first game was any indication, he’s well on his way."

Steptoe led the RHHS season opener with a 38, which put him in the top five for the competition.

Other top Wildcat scorers at South Effingham were Andrew Shoft 47, Zach Smith 51, Ryan Tillman 54, Sean Grimes 57 and Brittany Jarrell 62.