NATCHEZ — The 2012 Norman Puckett Natchez Junior Golf Championship at Duncan Park Monday morning saw a completely different format than in years past.

This year’s tournament had a three-hole format and a fourth hole as a playoff-only hole in case there were any ties among the top players in the boys’ and girls’ divisions.

In the boys’ division, 10-year-old Dedrick Harris won the overall championship with a three-hole score of 11, which included a 2 on hole No. 2.

“I played pretty good. I had a lot of fun,” said Harris, who practices almost every day. “(You learn) that it’s a one-man show, and you have to be disciplined and keep you mind straight.”

Harris also won a trophy for his 2 on the second hole. Five-year-old Caleb Holt, one of the youngest participants in the tournament, also received a trophy for having a 2 on the same hole.

Second, third and fourth places in the boys’ division went down to the playoff hole. Tripp Cotten (5-5-4 14) ended up in second place with a 4 on No. 4, while 7-year-old Noah Russ (5-5-4 14) came in third place with a 5, and 8-year-old Harper Jones, the great grandson of Norman Puckett, wound up in fourth place with a 7.

“Greg Brooking does a tremendous job with the junior golfers,” said Norma Lou Jones, who is the grandmother of Harper Jones. “I’m grateful that the Norman Puckett Junior Golf Foundation provides this opportunity for the area youth. And Pete Powell is a volunteer instructor for the Norman Puckett Junior Golf Clinic.”

In the girls’ division, 10-year-old Laura Grace Warren rallied from an early four-shot deficit to become the girls’ city junior golf champion with a three-hole score of 21 (10-4-7). Eight-year-old Sidney Holt, who recently won the state championship, finished second with a three-hole score of 25 (6-9-10).

“It feels great. I had a lot of fun,” Laura Grace Warren said. “You learn a lot during it.”

Will Warren, Laura Grace Warren’s grandfather, was another parent who liked the tournament.

“I think it’s a great tournament. Greg’s done a great job. The kids are having fun, and I think that’s the objective.”

“I think it’s great. It’s good for them,” said Hayden Kaiser, whose sons Matt, 6, and Chase, 9, played in the tournament. “The kids are having fun. They’re not feeling the same pressure most of us (adults) do.”

Matt Kaiser had a three-hole score of 15 (5-5-5) while Chase Kaiser finished with a three-hole score of 16 (6-4-6). Every participant in the tournament received a trophy, regardless of what their score was. Harris won the biggest trophy for being the overall champion.

Brooking, the golf course superintendent at Duncan Park, said of the 23 players in this year’s tournament, 21 of them participated in the Norman Puckett Junior Golf Clinic, which took place every Monday during the month of June.

Brooking siad the lowest scores from the back tees would determine a championship in the new format.

“The fourth hole is only a playoff hole if there’s a tie,” Brooking said.

Even though the tournament was open to junior golfers up to 17 years old, the oldest participant was 13-year-old John Elliot Ward. The youngest were Caleb Holt and Jackson Anderson at the age of 5.