John Pak carded eight total birdies on Thursday, propeling him to medalist honors.

Pak packs medalist honors at Concord in U.S. Junior Amateur Qual.

  WEST CHESTER, Pa. – They say practice makes perfect, and John Pak of Royce Brook Golf Club proved that theory to be especially true on Thursday.

  Pak, who practices his game for six to seven hours a day, earned medalist honors in a U.S. Junior Amateur Qualifier at Concord Country Club (par 71, 6,777 yards). Pak carded a 36-hole score of 140 (70-70) to top a field of 72 players vying for three qualifying and two alternate spots for the USGA Championship to be played at the Colleton River Plantation Club in Bluffton, S.C on July 20-25.

  In his morning round, Pak hit a whopping 16 out of 18 greens in regulation and held a one-shot advantage heading into the afternoon.

  “I made a lot of good putts [on the back nine]. I made two 12-footers, I had a tap in and I made a bomb on one hole,” he said. “My putting was pretty aggressive, and I was making my putts.”

  Pak, of Scotch Plains, N.J., started right where he left off, and then some, to begin his second 18 of the day.

  The first of four birdies of Pak’s afternoon round came right out of the gate, where he birdied No. 1 (par 4, 391 yards) after sticking a gap wedge to five feet. He followed that up with another birdie on No. 3 (par 4, 334 yards), where he tapped in after knocking a nine iron to two feet. Pak also jarred birdies on Nos. 5 (par 4, 371 yards) and 6 (par 5, 560 yards), eventually leading to a 4-under 31 on the front.

  His closing nine didn’t tell the same story of success, even though it was enough to keep his name at the top of the leaderboard when all was said and done.

  “I thought I was in good position and I lost focus. I hit a bad shot on No. 10 (par 4, 360 yards) and still wasn’t really worried,” he said. “I came around on No. 13 (par 4, 437 yards) and thinned an 8 iron way short of the green, chipped up to 20 feet and two putted. After that, I just tried to two putt and make pars all the way in.”

  In last year’s U.S. Junior Amateur at The Club At Carlton Woods in The Woodlands, Texas, Pak fired back-to-back even-par rounds of 72 during stroke-play qualifying to earn the No. 24 seed. After winning his Round of 64 match, he fell to No. 56 seed Will Dickson, 2&1, in the Round of 32.

  This time around, he has aspirations exceeding one match-play victory.

  “It was my first appearance last year and I felt really nervous. I just want to try to do better than last year and make it to the Round of 16. You always want to try to win, but this is my goal. Anything past that would be awesome.”

  Although Pak doesn’t play high school golf, don’t be fooled. He has a battle-tested Junior golf résumé, along with a picture-perfect swing, to his name.

  “I’m homeschooled. I usually play a tournament once a month, mostly the AJGA Invitationals,” Pak said. “I’m hoping to play some amateur events down in Florida where I live for the winter. I might start playing in some State Amateur stuff to start competing at a higher level.”

  Pak played at the highest level at Concord on Thursday, and he was straight business when asked about his latest accomplishment.

  “It means I’m ready to compete at the U.S. Junior,” said Pak. “That really just sums it up. I’m ready.”

  Evan Brown of Hartefeld National Golf finished in the runner-up position with a 36-hole score of 142 (73-69).

  Brown, a rising junior at Kennett High School, improved his morning round score with the help of solid play with his driver.

  “In the morning, I was hitting my driver really well, but in the afternoon I was hitting my driver even better,” said the 16 year old.

  Brown has never appeared in a U.S. Junior Amateur, but says he looks forward to getting the opportunity to compete at Collection River Plantation.

  “It will mean the world to me. I’ve been working so hard on my game the past six to eight months, indoors, outdoors, all over,” said Brown.

  Jack Melville, of Lu Lu Country Club, claimed the final qualifying spot after a three-hole playoff with Billy Civitella and Spencer Shih.

  “The playoff was very nerve-racking,” said Melville, a rising senior at Upper Dublin High School. “Standing on the tee, my hands were a little wet. I wasn’t really sure what to expect.”

  Melville, a 17 year old from Maple Glen, Pa., birdied the 17th hole (par 4, 331 yards) in the playoff. After a drive to 89 yards, Melville knocked a hard 58-degree wedge to two feet.

  “I’m just going to try and play the best that I can,” said Melville on competing in his first U.S. Junior Amateur. “Qualifying for this event kind of opens some doors for me. I’m going to try and show my talent.”

  Claiming a spot today wraps up Melville’s hectic week in which he advanced to the semifinals of the 101st Junior Boys’ Championship at Indian Valley Country Club.

  “It was a very long week,” said Melville. “I had to wake up before six o'clock three days in a row, but that might have helped me because I was used to just playing a lot. It was just another day.”

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