*Day One results
Junior Boys’ semis feature three titleholders and a home-club hopefulRINGOES, N.J. — What do you get when you have a tournament’s defending titleholder, a home-club hopeful and a pair of reigning Golf Association of Philadelphia champions? The 99th Junior Boys’ Championship semifinals that is. Fulfilling the aforementioned roles are, in order, Fox Hill Country Club’s Mariano Medico, The Ridge at Back Brook’s Michael Massimino, Talamore Country Club’s Jalen Griffin and Riverton Country Club’s Kevin Kramarski. All four advanced by posting two wins apiece Wednesday. Medico will face Massimino at 7:30 a.m., with Griffin against Kramarski to follow at 7:37 a.m. at The Ridge at Back Brook. “I knew there was going to be sort a target on my back since I won last year,” Medico, 17, of Shavertown, Pa. “I know people are going to be out for me. I was just trying to play steady, keep it down the middle, make a couple putts and see what happens. I played really well today.” Medico never trailed in either of his matches Wednesday; furthermore, he posted the stroke play equivalent of 5 under in a 3&2 quarterfinal victory over Radnor Valley Country Club’s Carey Bina. A birdie-birdie beginning gave Medico an immediate 2-up advantage. On No. 1 (par 4, 336 yards), he hit a pitching wedge 122 yards to five feet. Medico stopped a 6-iron at 15 feet on the par 3, 168-yard No. 2. He also played The Ridge at Back Brook’s par 5s in 3 under, which favored Medico against the long-hitting Bina. He moved to 3-up after converting a three-footer for birdie on No. 11 (par 5, 516 yards). Medico felt in full control of the contest on the par 5, 534-yard 14th hole. He and Bina reached the green on his second stroke — Medico’s a 6-iron from 206 yards. Both players then two-putted for 4s and a crucial halve. “Cary bombs it, and I knew if I can stay with him on the par 5s, then I’d have a good shot,” Medico said. He and Bina played together in yesterday’s stroke play qualifying round.
Medico is the first Junior Boys’ champion to attempt to defend his title since Robert Galbreath, Jr. did so in 2008. “It’s one of my favorite tournaments on the schedule after playing last year,” Medico, an incoming senior at Holy Redeemer High School, said. “It was a lot of fun. The competitiveness and history of this event is just incredible. To have my name on [the Peg Burnett Trophy] is really special. Hopefully I can play well tomorrow. You come to tournaments to win. If I play the game I played today, I think I have a good shot.” Like Medico, Massimino opened his quarterfinal contest with a birdie and never looked back en route to a 2&1 triumph over LedgeRock Golf Club’s Nate Menon, the 2012 GAP Junior-Junior Boys’ Champion. Massimino knocked a 56-degree wedge 111 yards to 12 feet on No. 1. He cited the 11th hole as the match’s turning point. After catching the lip of the right greenside bunker with a 4-iron from 214 yards, he lifted a chip out of a sidehill lie and two-putted for a 3-up edge. Course familiarity, and a dose of attention from a few club members, aided Massimino’s efforts so far this week. “Having experience on the greens and being able to know the green speeds, the breaks and the tricks is a good thing. It’s helped me,” Massimino, 16, of Lumberville, Pa., said. “I like the support. They all believe in me. It feels really good.” Clashing with the tournament’s defending champion won’t affect Massimino’s approach come sunrise. “I’m not going to really look at it any differently than any other match,” he said. “I’m going to play the way I’ve been playing.” Massimino is a soon-to-be junior New Hope-Solebury High School. In his match play debut, Griffin, 17, of Ambler, Pa., tested his nerves early before finding his rhythm in a 5&3 win over Huntingdon Valley Country Club’s Jack Quirk. Griffin, who set a scoring record in yesterday’s qualifying round en route to medalist honors, needed 19 holes to overcome Phoenixville Country Club’s Kyle Allan in the Round of 16. “It was definitely a very rough first experience in match play, but I was lucky enough to win that first match,” Griffin, an incoming senior at Wissahickon High School, said.
Kramarski’s day was as sensational as Medico’s in relation to par; the Moorestown, N.J. resident played 32 holes in 5 under. “My putting was good today,” Kramarski, who celebrates his 17th birthday tomorrow, said. “About a week ago, I changed my putting grip. I use to overlap my finger and just put my finger a little bit down the shaft. It helps with the line.” In a 4&2 victory over Makefield Highlands Golf Club’s Reilly Erhardt, Kramarski executed a 20-footer to save par on No. 13 (par 4, 368 yards) while Erhardt missed a 10-footer for birdie. Sensing a potential momentum swing, Kramarski, the reigning Jock MacKenzie Memorial titleholder, then smashed a 6-iron 207 yards to 20 feet on the next hole for a two-putt birdie and a 2-up advantage. He and Griffin, the reigning Christman Cup Champion, are quite familiar with one another. The two represented GAP in the 2012 Williamson Cup and competed alongside one another yesterday. “We’re good buds. That’ll be a fun match,” Kramarski, an incoming senior at St. Joe’s Prep, said. “It’s going to be a legendary match. I’ll be interested to see what outfit he wears,” Griffin added.
Results
Round of 16
Quarterfinals First Flight
Round of 16
Quarterfinals
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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.
