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| Anthony Barr plays his third shot on No. 9 (par 5, 516 yards). |
Raising the Barr: Blue Bell’s own tops 104th Junior Boys’ Qualifier
BLUE BELL, Pa. — On the 17th hole, Anthony Barr plopped onto the ground and smiled at the sky for a moment. The golf gods gave once again, and shock — the good kind, that is — overtook the Blue Bell Country Club member.
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Fortunate bounces, plus a sizzling putter, offered Barr plenty to smile about Tuesday. He carded a 4-under-par 67 to earn medalist honors in the 104th Junior Boys’ Championship Qualifier on his home course (par 71, 6,269 yards). The cut line stopped at 73.
Barr, as a result of his performance, is the tournament’s No. 1 seed. He will face Spring Ford Country Club's Ryan Tall, fresh off a semifinal appearance in the BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship, when the Round of 16 begins tomorrow at 7:30 a.m. The quarterfinals will follow.
“On the front nine, it felt like I couldn’t miss a putt. On the back nine, I got a lot of lucky breaks,” Barr, 18, of Harleysville, Pa., said. “It was a good day. I’ll take it for sure. Knowing I’m at my home course, it gave me a lot of confidence. I just wanted to see how low I could go. I knew I felt comfortable on the greens and had the reads.”
All the reads … and the feels Tuesday. It started on No. 3 (par 3, 153 yards) when Barr buried an uphill 20-footer following a smooth 8-iron. Barr, playing in the morning, then assembled a trio of birdies to charge up the leaderboard. On No. 5 (par 4, 359 yards), he hit a 58-degree wedge 65 yards to four feet. Barr stopped an 8-iron at three feet on the par 3, 164-yard No. 6. After sending a 6-iron into the front left bunker on the next hole (par 5, 508 yards), he splashed out to six feet and cleaned up the ensuing birdie putt. The putter provided peace on mind in the form of pars otherwise.
As for the fortuitous bounces and golf god gifts, look no further than the par 5, 516-yard No. 9, in addition to the aforementioned No. 17 (par 5, 484 yards). On the former, Barr swiftly swung a driver and consequently saw it drifting out-of-bounds right. He teed up a provisional, only to learn he didn’t need it. Barr’s drive careened off the cart path and remained in play. He walked away unscathed.
“I got very lucky. I’ve hit that tee shot before in member play while never actually trying to do it. I blocked it right and got scared, but it worked out,” Barr said.
As a member, Barr is keenly aware of Blue Bell’s demands: tee precision and strategic ball placement. With out-of-bounds right and hazard left, the 17th is no exception. Barr’s 3-wood breached the white stakes there. He played his third shot into the left rough and then hit a heavy pitching wedge from 170 yards. It hitched a ride on the downslope and settled eight feet from a front right hole location. Barr, who will attend McDaniel College in the fall, drained the par putt, sunk to his knees and laughed.
“I just hit some bad shots, and I just got lucky on the outcomes,” he said.
Sharing in the jovial spirts were playing partners Patrick Isztwan of Huntingdon Valley Country Club and Patrick Sheehan of Talamore Country Club. The two heaped praise and expressed their disbelief — in a good way — throughout the day.
“It calms you down. You’re not really thinking about a lot of stuff because you’re talking the whole time,” Barr, the 2015 men’s champion at Blue Bell, said.
Barr’s personal best at Blue Bell is a 65. He turned in his best Golf Association of Philadelphia finish Tuesday.
“It feels really good to be able to put myself in a position I was hoping to be in. There’s a lot of work to be done tomorrow still,” Barr said.
Woodcrest Country Club’s Noah Schwartz carded a 3-under-par 68 to finish a shot back. The incoming Cornell University freshman and recent Penn Charter graduate registered 16 greens in regulation and rarely faced a birdie opportunity outside of 20 feet.
“I was just steady. My caddie [and friend Joel Hark] was a big help. I don’t think I would’ve come close to 68 without him,” Schwartz, 18, of Cherry Hill, N.J., said.
The Junior Boys’ Championship is the premier Major in the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Junior Division. It is open to GAP Member Club golfers aged 14-18 who have not started their college education and who hold a handicap index of 14.4 or lower. Sixteen players qualify for match play; an additional 16 advancing into the event’s First Flight.
The Junior Boys’ Champion is awarded the Peg Burnett Trophy, named in honor of the Association’s Executive Secretary from 1951-76. Ms. Burnett was an ardent Junior golf supporter who emphasized sportsmanship and respect for the game. “I was very strict about checking the rule book. I didn’t make the rules, but since they are there, you have to abide by them.”
Golf Association of Philadelphia
Founded in 1897, the Golf Association of Philadelphia (GAP) is the oldest regional or state golf association in the United States. It serves as the principal ruling body of amateur golf in its region. The Association’s 260 Full Member Clubs and 75,000 individual members are spread across Eastern Pennsylvania and parts of New Jersey and Delaware. As Philadelphia’s Most Trusted Source of Golf Information, the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.
|
Qualifiers
|
|
Championship
Flight
|
|
Name,
club
|
Score
|
|
Anthony
Barr, Blue Bell Country Club
|
67
|
|
Noah
Schwartz, Woodcrest Country Club
|
68
|
|
William
Mirams, Shawnee Country Club
|
69
|
|
Andreas
Aivazoglou, Rolling Green Golf Club
|
71
|
|
Austin
Barbin, Junior Players Club
|
71
|
|
William
Bennink, Kennett Square Golf & Country Club
|
71
|
|
Kevin
Smith, The Springhaven Club
|
71
|
|
Charlie
Baker, Gulph Mills Golf Club
|
72
|
|
Andrew
Curran, Philadelphia Cricket Club
|
72
|
|
Nicholas
Gianelos, Radley Run Country Club
|
72
|
|
Nikita
Romanov, Junior Players Club
|
72
|
|
Patrick
Sheehan, Talamore Country Club
|
72
|
|
Patrick
Isztwan, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
|
73
|
|
Alex
Seelig, Reading Country Club
|
73
|
|
Ryan
Tall, Spring Ford Country Club
|
73
|
|
Andrew
Wallace, Green Valley Country Club
|
73
|
|
|
First
Flight
|
|
Liam
Hart, Spring Mill Country Club
|
74
|
|
Matthew
Lafond, Blue Bell Country Club
|
74
|
|
Benjamin
Pochet, Spring Ford Country Club
|
74
|
|
Jack
Sullivan, The Shore Club
|
74
|
|
Sam
Walker, St. Davids Golf Club
|
74
|
|
Ryan
D'Ariano, Penn Oaks Golf Club
|
75
|
|
Greg
DeLuca, Makefield Highlands Golf Club
|
75
|
|
Buddy
Hansen, IV, Blue Bell Country Club
|
75
|
|
Jack
Irons, Little Mill Country Club
|
75
|
|
Matthew
Law, Yardley Country Club
|
75
|
|
Morgan
Lofland, Phoenixville Country Club
|
75
|
|
Ryan
McCabe, The Springhaven Club
|
75
|
|
*Finnian
McGarry, Tavistock Country Club
|
76
|
|
*Nate
Pierce, Spring Ford Country Club
|
76
|
|
*Joshua
Ryan, Junior Players Club
|
76
|
|
*Christopher
Skean, Kennett Square Golf & Country Club
|
76
|
|
|
Failed
to qualify
|
|
Henry
Fish, Chester Valley Golf Club
|
76
|
|
Richie
Kline, Kennett Square Golf & Country Club
|
76
|
|
Andrew
Miller, Philadelphia Country Club
|
76
|
|
Conor McGrath,
Huntingdon Valley Country Club
|
76
|
|
Andrew
Catania, Blue Bell Country Club
|
77
|
|
Nicholas
Fioravante, LedgeRock
Golf Club
|
77
|
|
Jack
Habeeb, Country Club of Scranton
|
77
|
|
Jake
McCloskey, Radley Run Country Club
|
77
|
|
Hayden
Moffat, Lu Lu Country Club
|
77
|
|
Jacob
Zeng, Applecross Country Club
|
77
|
|
Connor
Bennink, Kennett Square Golf & Country Club
|
78
|
|
Nicholas
Hano, III, Aronimink Golf
Club
|
78
|
|
Axel
Kalbach, Spring Ford Country Club
|
78
|
|
Jack
Murray, Stonewall
|
78
|
|
Darren
Nolan, Talamore Country Club
|
78
|
|
Nick
Schnur, Whitemarsh Valley Country Club
|
78
|
|
J.T.
Spina, Spring Ford Country Club
|
78
|
|
Dylan
Williams, Bala Golf Club
|
78
|
|
Michael
Zeng, Applecross Country Club
|
78
|
|
Evan
Barbin, Junior Players Club
|
79
|
|
Jack
Cooley, Bidermann Golf Club
|
79
|
|
Jack
Davis, Aronimink Golf Club
|
79
|
|
Corey
Haydu, Commonwealth National Golf Club
|
79
|
|
Jake
Maddaloni, Aronimink Golf
Club
|
79
|
|
Caleb
Ryan, Junior Players Club
|
79
|
|
Drew
Stern, Yardley Country Club
|
79
|
|
Colin
Walsh, Commonwealth National Golf Club
|
79
|
|
John
Bradbeer, Merion Golf Club
|
80
|
|
Thomas
Butler, Indian Valley Country Club
|
80
|
|
Chase
Cohen, Blue Bell Country Club
|
80
|
|
Hayden
Greer, Laurel Creek Country Club
|
80
|
|
Case
Hummer, Aronimink Golf Club
|
80
|
|
Brian
Pelose, Tavistock Country
Club
|
80
|
|
Liam
Caspar, Running Deer Golf Club
|
81
|
|
David
Colleran, Jr., Overbrook Golf Club
|
81
|
|
Evan
Drummond, Applecross Country Club
|
81
|
|
Ryan
Kennedy, Applecross Country Club
|
81
|
|
Joseph
Morganti, Llanerch
Country Club
|
81
|
|
William
Pabst, Jr., Elmhurst Country Club
|
81
|
|
Kyle
Resuta, Spring Ford Country Club
|
81
|
|
Roy
Anderson, Kennett Square Golf & Country Club
|
82
|
|
Derek
Answini, Fox Hill Country Club
|
82
|
|
Simon
Asadoorian, Heidelberg Country Club
|
83
|
|
Joshua
Brauer, Spring Ford Country Club
|
83
|
|
Stevie
Eigenrauch, Laurel Creek Country Club
|
83
|
|
Jack
Fialko, Aronimink Golf
Club
|
83
|
|
Frankie
Gregor, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
|
83
|
|
Dylan
Lasecki, Blue Bell Country Club
|
83
|
|
Tyler
Tornoe, St. Davids Golf
Club
|
83
|
|
Joshua
Brown, The Shore Club
|
84
|
|
Stephen
Lorenzo, Manufacturers' Golf & Country Club
|
84
|
|
Simon
Miller, Woodcrest Country Club
|
84
|
|
Andrew
Ranaudo, Jr., Chester Valley Golf Club
|
84
|
|
Stephen
Butler, Indian Valley Country Club
|
85
|
|
Justin
Cinnamond, West Chester Golf & Country Club
|
85
|
|
John
Haley, Blue Bell Country Club
|
85
|
|
Chad
Kemmerer, Waynesborough Country Club
|
85
|
|
Nick
Martin, Blue Bell Country Club
|
85
|
|
Collin
McDonald, Cedarbrook Country Club
|
85
|
|
Justin
Panner, Indian Valley Country Club
|
85
|
|
Frank
Rauscher, IV, Union League Golf Club at Torresdale
|
85
|
|
A.J.
Thomas, Spring Ford Country Club
|
85
|
|
Matthew
Hanzel, Running Deer Golf Club
|
86
|
|
Mario
Ventresca, Cedarbrook Country Club
|
86
|
|
Will
Blatchford, St. Davids Golf Club
|
87
|
|
Robbie
Copit, Green Valley Country Club
|
87
|
|
Luke
Corcoran, Cedarbrook Country Club
|
87
|
|
Drew
Loughnane, Merion Golf Club
|
87
|
|
Henry
Pilliod, Reading Country Club
|
87
|
|
Alec
Ryden, Laurel Creek Country Club
|
87
|
|
Luke
Watson, Spring Ford Country Club
|
87
|
|
James
O'Malley, Junior Players Club
|
88
|
|
Zach
Sandler, Bluestone Country Club
|
88
|
|
Christopher
Buysse, Waynesborough
Country Club
|
89
|
|
Noah
Greenspun, Woodcrest Country Club
|
89
|
|
Christopher
Knox, Downingtown Country Club
|
89
|
|
Matt
Macbride, Moorestown Field Club
|
89
|
|
Drew
Steinmetz, Spring Ford Country Club
|
89
|
|
Ben
Lee, White Manor Country Club
|
90
|
|
Davis
Flannery, Overbrook Golf Club
|
91
|
|
Michael
Bednar, Rolling Green Golf Club
|
92
|
|
James
Gradisek, Philadelphia Country Club
|
92
|
|
Elias
Sulpizio, Riverton Country Club
|
92
|
|
Mason
Asadoorian, Heidelberg Country Club
|
93
|
|
Sean
Caspar, Running Deer Golf Club
|
93
|
|
Bryce
Fazio, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
|
93
|
|
Jason
Rieger, Sunnybrook Golf Club
|
93
|
|
Thomas
Larkin, Junior Players Club
|
94
|
|
Zach
Bruecks, Inniscrone Golf
Club
|
95
|
|
Martin
Cryan, Fox Hill Country Club
|
95
|
|
Jack
Dunsmore, The Bucks Club
|
95
|
|
Edward
Trumpbour, Philadelphia Country Club
|
96
|
|
Alec
Stern, Philadelphia Country Club
|
98
|
|
Jimmy
Mahon, Manufacturers' Golf & Country Club
|
103
|
|
Thomas
Newman, II, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
|
104
|
|
Michael
Fioravante, LedgeRock
Golf Club
|
108
|
|
Will
Mendez, Fieldstone Golf Club
|
109
|
|
Daniel
Bastian, Rolling Green Golf Club
|
NS
|
|
Tyler
Hawley, Towanda Country Club
|
NS
|
|
Joe
Dugery, Applebrook Golf
Club
|
WD
|
|
James
Quinn, III, St. Davids Golf Club
|
WD
|
|
|
*
— determined in playoff
|
|
NS
— no show; WD — withdrawal
|
|
Junior
Team Championship results
|
|
Blue Bell Country Club
|
216
|
|
|
Anthony
Barr
|
67
|
|
|
Matthew
Lafond
|
74
|
|
|
Buddy
Hansen, IV
|
75
|
|
|
Nick
Martin
|
85
|
|
|
|
|
|
Kennett Square Golf & Country Club
|
223
|
|
|
William
Bennink
|
71
|
|
|
Christopher
Skean
|
76
|
|
|
Richie
Kline
|
76
|
|
|
Connor
Bennink
|
78
|
|
|
|
|
|
Spring Ford Country Club
|
225
|
|
|
Ryan
Tall
|
73
|
|
|
Benjamin
Pochet
|
74
|
|
|
J.T.
Spina
|
78
|
|
|
Drew
Steinmetz
|
89
|
|
|
|
|
|
Huntingdon Valley Country Club
|
232
|
|
|
Patrick
Isztwan
|
73
|
|
|
Conor McGrath
|
76
|
|
|
Frankie
Gregor
|
83
|
|
|
Bryce
Fazio
|
93
|
|
|
|
|
|
Applecross Country Club
|
236
|
|
|
Jacob
Zeng
|
77
|
|
|
Michael
Zeng
|
78
|
|
|
Ryan
Kennedy
|
81
|
|
|
Evan
Drummond
|
81
|
|
|
|
|
|
Aronimink Golf Club
|
236
|
|
|
Nicholas
Hano, III
|
78
|
|
|
Jake
Maddaloni
|
79
|
|
|
Jack
Davis
|
79
|
|
|
Case
Hummer
|
80
|
|
|
|
|
|
Spring Ford Country Club 2
|
239
|
|
|
Nate
Pierce
|
76
|
|
|
Axel
Kalbach
|
78
|
|
|
A.J.
Thomas
|
85
|
|
|
Luke
Watson
|
87
|
|
|
|
|
|
Blue Bell Country Club 2
|
240
|
|
|
Andrew
Catania
|
77
|
|
|
Chase
Cohen
|
80
|
|
|
Dylan
Lasecki
|
83
|
|
|
John
Haley
|
85
|
|
|
|
|
|
Woodcrest Country Club
|
241
|
|
|
Noah
Schwartz
|
68
|
|
|
Simon
Miller
|
84
|
|
|
Noah
Greenspun
|
89
|
|
|
|
|
|
St. Davids
Golf Club
|
244
|
|
|
Sam
Walker
|
74
|
|
|
Tyler
Tornoe
|
83
|
|
|
Will
Blatchford
|
87
|
|
|
|
|
|
Indian Valley Country Club
|
250
|
|
|
Thomas
Butler
|
80
|
|
|
Stephen
Butler
|
85
|
|
|
Justin
Panner
|
85
|
|
|
|
|
|
Laurel Creek Country Club
|
250
|
|
|
Hayden
Greer
|
80
|
|
|
Stevie
Eigenrauch
|
83
|
|
|
Alec
Ryden
|
87
|
|
|
Andrew
Gallagher
|
WD
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cedarbrook Country Club
|
258
|
|
|
Collin
McDonald
|
85
|
|
|
Mario
Ventresca
|
86
|
|
|
Luke
Corcoran
|
87
|
|
|
Chris
LaRosa
|
WD
|
|
|
|
|
|
Running Deer Golf Club
|
260
|
|
|
Liam
Caspar
|
81
|
|
|
Matthew
Hanzel
|
86
|
|
|
Sean
Caspar
|
93
|
|
|
|
|
|
Philadelphia Country Club
|
264
|
|
|
Andrew
Miller
|
76
|
|
|
James
Gradisek
|
92
|
|
|
Edward
Trumpbour
|
96
|
|
|
Alec
Stern
|
98
|
|
|
|
|
|
*top
three scores count toward total*
|
|
