Berkshire CC's Kovach upsets No. 1 seed Guarino;
will face Berman in Junior-Junior Boys' Final

  CHERRY HILL, N.J.-Brock Kovach of Berkshire CC rallied late and unseated No. 1 seed Drew Guarino of Little Mill CC, 1-up, Wednesday to advance to the 61st Junior-Junior Boys’ Championship finals at Merchantville CC.

  “I’m really happy,” Kovach, of Reading, Pa., said. “I just never gave up. I just kept on fighting.”

  Guarino, of Burlington Township, N.J., established an early lead after draining an eight-footer for birdie on No. 2 (par 5, 523 yards). He two-putted for par on No. 3 (par 3, 132 yards) after reaching the green with a 6-iron. Kovach drilled his 7-iron into the right-side rough, chipped onto the green and two-putted.

  But after the two halved No. 5 (par 4, 306 yards), Guarino, a soon-to-be eighth grader at Burlington Township Middle School, failed to get up-and-down on No. 6 (par 3, 148 yards) as his tee shot came up short of the green. Kovach’s tee shot - a 6-iron – settled on the fringe of the green, and he two-putted for par.

  History repeated itself for Guarino on No. 7 (par 4, 284 yards) as he nuked his approach wedge behind the backside trees. After Kovach’s 3-wood found the fairway, he hammered his pitching wedge about 98 yards onto the green. Guarino picked up and conceded Kovach’s par. His drive found the left-side rough on No. 8 (par 4, 341 yards), and Guarino then tried to negotiate the landscape with a 4-iron from 140 yards out.

  “There was a tree in my way, so I had to punch it,” Guarino said. “I tried to play a punch-slice, but I over-sliced it out of bounds. I did it again, so I just picked up.”

  With Kovach, whose entering eighth grade at Wyomissing Junior/Senior School, 1-up, entering No. 9, he took 5-wood off the tee and snipped it into the left-side rough. From about 45 yards out, he chipped onto the green and two-putted for par. Guarino, however, left his approach 7-iron short and two-putted for par as well.

  “I kind of stumbled coming in today,” Guarino said.

  Kovach also let his fate rest in the hands of the ninth hole in the quarterfinals. He edged Jack Gregor of Huntingdon Valley CC, 1-up, to advance. After his drive settled in the right-side rough on No. 9 (par 4, 374 yards), Kovach stroked his 7-iron about 135 yards and two-putted for par. Gregor, meanwhile, struck his approach into the creek short of the green and bogeyed.

  “I felt bad for him, but I was just thinking two-putt,” Kovach said.

  Kovach will now face Cole Berman of Philadelphia Cricket Club, who defeated Eric Stafford of Philadelphia Publinks GA, 1-up, tomorrow at 8 a.m. Berman, of Rosemont, Pa., stood tall at 3-up heading into No. 7. Berman fired birdies on Nos. 1 (par 5, 430 yards) and 2 after sticking his 50-degree wedge to a foot and five feet, respectively. Meanwhile, Stafford, of Pitman, N.J., struggled on the greens.

  “A couple of times, I hit it a little too hard and the speeds were a little off,” Stafford said. “I feel like I struck the ball well. I feel like I could’ve made more putts and hit it closer to the pin. Today, my putts weren’t falling.”

  But Stafford managed to close the deficit by winning Nos. 7 and 8. He took advantage of an errant Berman tee shot by escaping the bunker from 110 yards out with a sand wedge and two-putting for par. On No. 8, he stuck his 5-iron about 140 yards to about 15-feet from the flagstick. Stafford, 13, again two-putted for par while Berman smoked his tee-shot into the water.

  But Berman, 13, didn’t entirely unravel on the final hole. Although his approach hybrid set up shop inside the bunker 35 yards from the flagstick, Berman put his 54-degree wedge to about eight feet and converted the ensuing par putt to seal victory.

  “I feel really good that I did it. This is my last year in the Junior-Junior Division, and I wanted to really do well,” Berman said. “I had a joke with one of the GAP staff (Intern J.D. Hall) that he wouldn’t be coming until Thursday, so I better see him on Thursday. Looks like I will be. I’m not cocky at all going into the match tomorrow because we’re both dead even.”

Championship Flight
Semifinals
5. Brock Kovach, Berkshire CC, d. 1. Drew Guarino, Little Mill CC, 1-up
2. Cole Berman, Philadelphia Cricket Club, d. 3. Eric Stafford, Philadelphia Publinks GA, 1-up
Quarterfinals
1. Guarino d. 8. Joseph Rueter, Jr., Torresdale-Frankford CC, 2&1
5. Kovach d. 4. Jack Gregor, Huntingdon Valley CC, 1-up
2. Berman d. 7. Quinn Dolan, Rolling Green GC, 4&3
3. Stafford d. 6. Connor Goodrich, Woodbury CC, 4&2

First Flight
Semifinals
1. Kevin Kramarski, Riverton CC, d. 5. Daniel Altieri, Hopewell Valley GC, 2&1
6. Robert Firth, Jr., Commonwealth National GC, d. 2. Matthew Ade, Riverton CC, 11 holes
Quarterfinals
1. Kramarski d. 8. Jacob Klaus, Tavistock CC, 4&2
5. Altieri d. 4. Brian Todaro, Rolling Green GC, 3&2
2. Ade d. 7. Jack McAleese, Aronimink GC, 3&2
6. Firth, Jr. d. 3. Jack Quirk, Huntingdon Valley CC, 1-up

Second Flight
Semifinals
8. Reilly Erdhardt, Trenton CC, d. 5. Jake McGlone, Overbrook GC, 4&2
7. Matthew Bastian, Jr., Rolling Green GC, d. 6. Nolan Dirienzi, Rolling Green GC, 4&3
Quarterfinals
8. Erdhardt d. 1. Nicholas Familetti, Rolling Green GC, 3&2
5. McGlone d. 4. Patrick McGrath, Philadelphia PGA Junior Tour, 11 holes
7. Bastian, Jr. d. 2. Cole Swiger, Huntingdon Valley CC, 3&2
6. Dirienzi d. 3. Cory Hunter, Commonwealth National GC, 1-up

Third Flight
Semifinals
5. John Buliga, Yardley CC, d. 1. John Rusbasan, Philadelphia PGA Junior Tour, 1-up
6. Jack Farris, Huntingdon Valley CC, d. 7. Jake Fazio, Huntingdon Valley CC, 3&2
Quarterfinals
1. Rusbasan d. 8. Reid Worster, Huntingdon Valley CC, 2-up
5. Buliga d. 4. Cullen Pina, Overbrook GC, 4&3
7. Fazio d. 2. Christian Ritondo, Yardley CC, 3&2
6. Farris d. 3. Max Siegfried, Philadelphia CC, 3&2