Take a deep breath and exhale.

Summer is over and fall is breathing down ournecks. The U.S. Kids Golf World Championships finished up a stellar week of golf with a scintillating World Cup final (see story at right).

And before we dive headlong into high school sports season, and while I had a breath, I wanted to mention a few things about the U.S. Kids golf.

First, a tip of the hat to all the winners and all the participants. And especially to our locals who again did the Home of American Golf proud.

A.J. Beechler. 9, posted a top five finish. He also was runner-up in the Hole in One contest. For his effort he won a Nintendo Wii.

Pinehurst's Josh Martin also recorded a strong finish in the Championship for the 12-year-old boys. Martin's three-round total of 214 earned him a tie for fourth, seven strokes behind Canada's Curtis Chan.

Pinehurst's Symon Balbin, 7, finished in a tie for 10th. Sean Chang, 10, of Aberdeen, finished 13th.

Second, congratulations to two golfers: Texie June Petchel, 12, and 10-year-old Ashley Zagers. Both recorded a hole-in-one during the tournament.

Petchel accomplished the feat during her first round from 148 yards out on the ninth hole of Pinehurst No. 3. Zagers' ace came during the third round on the fifth hole at Talamore from 95 yards away.

Complete results for all the championships can be found at www.uskidsgolf.com. Click on the tournament tab and scroll down to World Championships.

And finally, the funniest story I heard during the week come courtesy of my father, who was a volunteer this year.

One day dear ol' Dad was working as a shuttle driver on the 18th green at Pinehurst No. 8.

His job was to transport golfers who began their round on No. 10 from the 18th green to the first tee.

Well, if you aren't familiar with No. 8, the 18th green and 16th green are next to one another. To get from the 16th green to the 17th tee is a bit of a hike, especially for young kids on a hot day.

So during the afternoon round a young boy, who my father described as "the smallest kid he saw all day," approached him and politely asked him if he was the guy who was driving the shuttle from the 16th green to the 17th tee.

Dad, as he tells it, said, "No, I'm sorry young man, I am the shuttle driver who takes kids from the 18th green to the first tee."

The young golfer looked at him, and said, "Crap," then he trudged off on the long walk to the 17th tee.

It's been a long, fun summer filled with lots of world class golf, and I can't wait until next year.

But now, on to fall.

Student-athletes from four area high schools -- Pinecrest, North Moore, O'Neal and Union Pines -- are busy preparing for the fall seasons.

That means the fields across Moore County are alive with the sounds of fall -- grunting, groaning, whooping and hollering, the shrill pierce of coaches' whistles and many other echoes.

Since we know you probably can't get out to each practice for each team, the Pilot staff -- myself, Charlie Bergmann, F.W. Manning II, and photographers Holden Caviness, Donna Ford, Glenn M. Sides and Philip Taylor will be your eyes and ears.

We will be there when you can't.

As in past years, Moore County is buzzing with lots of strong teams, great individual athletes and coaches. 

This year there will be new conferences and new foes, new facilities and plenty of rivalries -- old and new.

And you can read all about it in the Football and Fall Sports Preview section in the Aug. 19 print edition.

We hope that the section will inform and entertain you, while whetting your sports appetite for the coming year.

Thanks to all the coaches, players and athletic directors who gave of their time and helped our staff provide our readers a great primer for the fall sports season.

We also have a few surprises in store for our readers, but I will save those for future columns.

For now, let's get the ball rolling on the the fall season, and best of luck to all the teams.

And you fans, get out there and cheer on your favorite teams.

Contact Tom Embrey at 693-2477 or by e-mail at sports@thepilot.com.