"It is in these waning hours of light that dreams are formed," Chad Day wrote in an essay that helped clinch a coveted spot on the 12-member Junior All-American Golf Team playing in the Polo Golf Junior Classic this weekend at Sea Island, Georgia.

Day, a senior at Ravenscroft High School with a 3.676 grade point average, also finished in the top 10 this year at an American Junior Golf Association event in Georgia.

Day is an all-around athlete, playing soccer, football and basketball. But golf is his calling.

"I enjoy the independence of golf," he said. "It all comes down to you and your abilities in the end."

Day, 17, started playing golf with his father nine years ago. He is now a third generation golfer, following in his father's and grandfather's footsteps.

"Chad is one of the best junior golfers in the nation, among the top 150," his coach, Jimmy Cox, said. "He's a wonderful kid as well as a wonderful golfer, and that's what makes him special."

N.C. State University thinks Day is special, too. Last week he accepted a scholarship to play golf for the Wolfpack.