WHEELING — Tee it up, it’s time to golf.

The first Wheeling Country Club Junior Invitational is slated for Tuesday, Aug. 11, where young golfers will get the opportunity to showcase their skills on the beautiful 6,044 yard, 18-hole course at the Wheeling Country Club.

There will be four boys’ divisions for ages 10-12, 13-14, 15-16 and 17-18, along with two girls’ groups of ages 10-14 and 15-18 for the day-long event.

“This is the first year for it but we have talked about doing it previously and it’s something that we want to do to promote junior golf in Wheeling and the Ohio Valley,” Wheeling Country Club general manager Jason Robinson said. “It’s a good opportunity to showcase the new club and see what we’ve done with the clubhouse. The golf course is in good shape so we want to get new people here or people who haven’t been here in a while.”

Several local names already scheduled to tee off are Wheeling Central’s Justin Doerr, who is coming off a breakout freshman campaign where he earned OVAC runner-up honors and made a trip to the state tournament.

Linsly standout Dylan Dunlevy will also take aim at the title.

“We want to see the local kids,” Robinson said. “We open it to any junior golfer ages 10-18 but we want to see as many local kids as we can. Over the last few years we haven’t been involved with the Callaway Tour and we would like to have a Callaway event here.

“High school golf is already delayed and the junior tours just ended so there is a lull here and we want to give them some competition to help get them ready for the high school season if and when it starts.”

Having strong contenders from the high school level may also get younger kids interested in the event, which is the ultimate goal for not just the invitational but for the sport itself.

“It’s vitally important for the golf business,” Robinson said. “Twelve-year olds who play in this might play in high school and go on to play in college and that will also help grow potential members down the road.

“They might get hooked but won’t play in college so they will need somewhere to go later, so that is where the future of the game really is.”

The coronavirus has wreaked havoc on sports all over the world but Robinson is taking the precautions needed to help this event go on without a hitch.

“An event like this is usually a shotgun start,” Robinson said. “But, we will follow the Callaway Junior Tour and the West Virginia Golf Association. They have done tee times instead. So we will have three or four kids tee off at 8 a.m., then again at 8:15 a.m. to space them out, social distance and follow the guidelines. We don’t want too many people gathering in one area.”

The cost to play is $20, which includes a box lunch, range balls, golf and awards with lunches and drinks sponsored by Kalkreuth Roofing and Sheet Metal.

Spectator carts are $20 each and the deadline to sign up is Saturday at noon.