Skye Two Hawks Skenandore (Oneida): Tied for First in Girls PGA Junior Championship

By Dan Ninham

Parents make major commitments to their aspiring athletes progress. The Skenandore golfing family of northeastern Wisconsin uprooted their family and moved to South Carolina to be in a warm climate 24/7/365.

Skye Two Hawks Skenandore, 14, originally from De Pere, WI and her family moved to Aiken, SC in September 2020 to pursue her goal to become a professional golfer. Her parents are Shoney and Rhonda Skenandore.

“I am in ninth grade and I go to an online school called James Madison,” said Skye. “It allows me to practice during the day and do school work at night.”

“I am Oneida and Bear Clan,” said Skye. “I started golf at the age of 10. My brother Jamozzey started golfing and he was involved in tournaments. I always walked along and instead of watching the whole time I got involved and starting playing tournaments with him. That was when I started to really get involved and love the game.”

“I play competitive tournament golf,” said Skye. “We moved to South Carolina so I can play golf year round. My brother stayed in WI though, so it’s just my parents and me. On a daily practice, I usually get to the course at about 9:30 am and get done at around dark.”

Skye tied for first in the Girls PGA Junior Championship, placed first in the Sherri Steinhauer Invitational qualifying for the Wisconsin Minnesota Cup, placed first in the Golden Isles Junior Open qualifying for the Tournament of Champions for the Optimist International Tour and Hurricane Junior Golf Tour.  

Her PGA Wisconsin Section profile is located here: https://wiscpgajr.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/wiscpgajr16/profile/sskenandore4/tresults.htm

“My tribal core values help me in golf and pursuing my goal by making sure I stay who I am and not try to be like anyone else,” said Skye. “I put hours and hours of work into my game everyday and I have to make sure to trust the process and keep working hard. I have to remember that everything happens for a reason and the work I put in will get me the results.”

“Some of the mentors who really helped so far in my golfing career are of course my parents,” said Skye. “They picked up everything in WI and moved to SC for me to pursue my dream. My dad is my coach, fan, and in general my dad. He wears many different ‘hats’ to get my game better.”

“Ryan Champeau is an overall amazing person,” said Skye. “He has given me so many amazing opportunities to build my name and golf game.”

“Skye has been an amazing up and coming golfer for years,” said Ryan Champeau, Northeast Wisconsin Junior Golf Tour. “I first met her about five years ago when I started coaching with The First Tee of Northeast Wisconsin. She was a perfect example of what they are all about. She really took the core values of honesty, integrity, sportsmanship, respect, confidence, responsibility, perseverance, and courtesy seriously and you can tell to this day.”

“In sixth grade, not only was she the #1 player on the middle school team, she dominated while playing from tees farther back than all the other players because it was the only way we could make it fair. She was the player that would show up to practice an hour early and play until it was dark out. She would help out anyone who needed it, including me as the coach. There were plenty of times that we were short on coaches so I had her step in and help other player on the driving range,” added Ryan.

“In 2019, she won the Northeast Wisconsin Junior Golf Tour Girls 14-18 Division at 13 years old,” said Ryan. “In 2020, she won every tournament on that tour that she entered including a 2 under par 70 in the Green Bay Junior Championship.”

“It’s not that golf comes easy for Skye,” said Ryan. “She puts in the time. She will sit at the range or golf simulator hitting a 6 iron for two hours trying to get the shot she wants every time. There were plenty of times I made up impossible practice games and she will make them possible.”

“I cannot wait to see what is in store for her future, not only in golf but also in life. She has learned to set goals, reach them, and then set higher goals,” added Ryan.

“Julie Pyne created my swing and got my golf game better,” said Skye. 

“Skye is an outstanding young lady,” said Julie Pyne, the longtime instructor of brother Jamozzy and Skye, the former director of The First Tee of Northeast Wisconsin, and a former LPGA player. “I have been coaching her since she was young about seven years old and she has always been a hard worker. Even at a very young age she was very smart about the need to change her golf swing. She never questioned the thought that she might get a little worse before she got better and always pressed on to be the best and swing the best she was able. This is a very unusual quality in a youngster.”

“Skye’s got an ‘eye for the prize’ and a very competitive spirit. Skye doesn’t let her desire to win keep her from exhibiting good sportsmanship and courtesy on the golf course. Skye is a well-rounded athlete and I expect her to succeed in life and on the golf course. She has a very loving and supportive family that builds her up and prepared her well for the challenges ahead.”

“My brother Jamozzy has been a mentor for me,” said Skye. “He has pushed me to get better so I can beat him and he has always been a big brother to me so I look up to him as well.”

“Golf has really helped me during the pandemic,” said Skye. “I am really lucky that my sport has not been super affected by covid-19. While everything is closed down, I was still able to golf. It has not only kept me fit, but it has helped me mentally stronger. While other people can’t really do what they love or they are limited, I can! I always enjoy walking and golfing is a great way to social distance. It has kept my mind off of the pandemic and has given me a way to release any stress.” 

“My brother and I have golfed all around the U.S. in tournaments,” said Skye. “I currently have a handicap of a 2 and am working on getting it down lower. I have golfed at many large courses that the PGA play at and I have watched my brother at Pebble Beach.”

“Our timing moving into our new house on September 8 made things kind of awkward,” said dad Shoney. “The girls high school golf season already started in South Carolina and Skye wasn’t going to any particular high school, and we thought where would we go and how would that all work? We decided to not worry about all that and just do our own thing.”

“She won a Hurricane Tour event and also played in the Optimist International Tournament of Champions event in Florida. We are going back to Florida December 5 and 6 to play in the Hurricane Tour’s National Championship. The Optimist Tournament and Hurricane National Championship feature international fields, girls come from all over the world to play in these events. It really is another level of competition. Skye wants to play professionally someday and playing in these events lets us know where we stand and what we need to be doing to get better,” added Shoney. 

“Skye is a member at a course for $50 a month and can golf as much as she wants anytime she wants and she has access to unlimited range balls,” said Shoney. “There is also a course nearby that allows junior golfers to golf for free. We are not rich people so having these two courses at our disposal was a deciding factor in where we chose to move.”

Tournaments can range from $30 for a single day tournament up to $400 for a multiple day event. 

“We are financially limited in this area and have always had to be very smart and selective about what we choose to do,” said Shoney. “If we could do more we would. Skye has shown the ability to play at a very high level. She played in the Wisconsin Women’s State Amateur and the Wisconsin Women’s State Open last year with very respectable results for a 14 year old.”  

“The primary reason for moving to Aiken, SC was so Skye can golf year round,” said Shoney. “There was usually a period of at least four months in WI where she couldn’t play the game outside. Hitting balls into a screen simulator and not being able to practice putting on real greens definitely puts Wisconsin kids in a tough scenario if they want to pursue this game to a high level. Not that it cannot be done it just makes it more difficult. One’s environment plays a substantial role in who or what that person is meant to become.”  

“Skye’s game is getting better,” said Shoney. “Skye has a beautiful golf swing but so much of the game of golf is mental. Skye not only practices at the course but she also reads a lot. She is always searching for new golf tips to aid her game and she is beginning to see how important the mental game is. She has an excellent skill set but that will only take her so far if she is not mentally strong.”

“I am so proud of her and I have no doubt in my mind that she can go as far as she wants. She has an excellent work ethic and just needs to stay focused and remain patient and things are going to fall into place,” added Shoney. 

Mom Rhonda talked about her daughter the golfer: “Skye is an amazing person from her personality to her dedication. She loves the game of golf so much that she asked to uproot everything and leave everyone she knew to move to a whole new place just to pursue her dream. She practices every day often until it’s dark and even then if there is even a little bit of light out she will stay and practice more.”

“Her game has continued to improve and she continues to grow as a golfer,” said Rhonda. 

Photo Credit: Rhonda Skenandore