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Whitford's Conners, HVCC's Quirk gain Junior-Junior Boys' FinalWEST CHESTER, Pa. - Kevin Conners, Jr. of Whitford CC and Jack Quirk of Huntingdon Valley CC, a pair of resilient long-hitters, will square off in the Junior-Junior Boys’ Championship Final tomorrow at West Chester G&CC (par 36, 2,718 yards). Both players reeled off impressive victories Tuesday to claim their respective spots. Conners, of Downingtown, Pa., survived a 14-hole, semifinal marathon against Grant Schumaker of the Philadelphia PGA Junior Tour. He two-putted the decisive par 4, 222-yard No. 5 (par 4, 306 yards) after knocking his wedge 60 yards to 20-feet above the flagstick. Schumaker pushed his approach wedge right and then watched his six-footer to save par drift right of the cup. “I thought he was going to make his (par putt), so I was just trying to get my (birdie) putt close,” Conners said. Conners, 13, had a chance to close out Schumaker on No. 3 (par 3, 115 yards), the third extra hole. His pitching wedge landed 20-feet above the flagstick. Conners rolled his delicate downhill birdie try to within two-feet, but observed his par putt burn the left edge. “I was really nervous over that putt. I hit it too firm and pulled it,” Conners said. Another door opened for Conners on No. 4 (par 4, 366 yards). He watched Schumaker steer his approach 4-iron 155 yards into the right greenside bunker. But Conners then flew his 7-iron 140 yards into the left greenside bunker. Both players successfully escaped their sandy circumstances and halved the hole with respective pars. Schumaker successfully got up-and-down for par from the left greenside bunker on No. 9 (par 3, 152 yards) in regulation to force the extra session. Now, Conners, a soon-to-be eight grader at Saint Joseph’s School, stands one step away from the Junior-Junior Boys’ title. “My goal in this tournament was to get there. To win the tournament would be my best goal of the tournament,” he said. “I’ve been looking forward to this.” Quirk edged No. 8 seed Jacob Klaus of Tavistock CC, 2-up, in the semifinals. The Glenside, Pa. resident jumped out to an early lead by smashing his 3-wood just right of the No. 1 (par 5, 446 yards) green. He chipped up and two-putted from 20-feet. But Klaus bounced back with a safe par on No. 2 (par 5, 410 yards) while Quirk, 13, missed the green left with his approach lob wedge. Quirk also struggled on the straightaway par 4, 366-yard No. 4. His errant 4-wood drifted into the right-side trees. Quirk punched out with a pitching wedge and drilled his 7-iron 160 yards to 30-feet. Klaus then converted his under-par chance to win the hole. Klaus also posted a win on No. 5 (par 4, 306 yards) after Quirk’s 10-footer to save par lipped out of the jar. Quirk made a charge on No. 6 (par 4, 326 yards) after witnessing Klaus rip his drive into the right-side trees. Quirk’s safe 3-wood settled in the first cut of the right rough. He whacked his 52-degree wedge 115 yards to within 20 paces of the green, chipped up and two-putted. Klaus skulled his third shot over the green and couldn’t recover. Quirk nuked his 9-iron over the green and missed a six-footer for par on the par 3, 140-yard No. 7 to make the match All-Square. The seams quickly unraveled for Klaus on No. 8 (par 5, 457 yards). He veered his drive right and returned to the fairway, but pulverized his approach left. Quirk also went a bit long with his 5-wood, but rolled his birdie putt to within five-feet. Klaus, staring at a tough chip for four, conceded Quirk’s par. An 8-iron tee shot, followed by a two-putt from 20-feet, was all Quirk needed on No. 9 (par 3, 152 yards) after Klaus boosted his tee ball over the green. “I haven’t really had a good golf game over the summer, but it seems in tournament play, I’m playing better,” Quirk said. “It feels great. The past two years, I didn’t make it past the first round of match play. And now, making it to the championship feels really great.” The Championship Flight Final begins at 8:07 a.m. tomorrow. Quarterfinals Before falling to Quirk, Krauss ousted No. 1 seed John Foley of Spring Ford CC in 10 holes. Krauss forced overtime by posting victories on Nos. 8 (par) and 9. On the latter, he launched his 5-iron to the rear fringe and two-putted for par. Foley’s tee shot caught the right greenside bunker. He managed to extricate himself successfully, but couldn’t match Krauss’s score. On the decisive par 4, 444-yard No. 1, the first extra hole, Foley sprayed his drive into the left-side trees while Krauss barely cleared the right greenside bunker. Foley punched back onto the fairway, bumped his third shot onto green, 50-feet away from the hole location. Krauss’s rising 8-iron sailed to within 60 yards of the flagstick. He then stopped his wedge at 25-feet and two-putted to complete his rally. Conners upended Connor Goodrich of Merchantville CC in 10 holes. His sand wedge sailed 60 yards on No. 1, and Conners then sunk a six-footer for birdie.
Championship Flight
First Flight
Second Flight
Third Flight |
A Walk Through Time
GAP is the oldest state or regional golf association in the country. It started courtesy of a friendly competition – the Team Matches – and has grown into the preeminent golf association in the country. Along the way, golf history has been made.
