Giovi, Isztwan advance to 67th Junior-Junior Boys’ FinalWEST CHESTER, Pa. — More than 1,000 miles of East Coast highway separates Louis John Giovi and Patrick Isztwan. That distance will change to arm’s length when the 12 year olds meet in the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Junior-Junior Boys’ Championship Final tomorrow at West Chester Golf & Country Club (par 35, 2,732 yards).
| Championship Flight match play bracket | First Flight match play bracket | Giovi, of Orlando, Fla., and Isztwan, of Huntingdon Valley, Pa., spoiled a Springhaven rendezvous by posting semifinal victories Tuesday. Giovi defeated the club’s Ryan McCabe; Isztwan ousted Kevin Smith, 3&2. The 18-hole final begins at 7:30 a.m. tomorrow. Giovi, formerly of Ewing, N.J., relocated to Florida late last summer. He still holds a membership at Mercer Oaks Golf Course and returned to the area this month to compete in a couple of U.S. Kids Golf tournaments as well as a PGA Junior League event. “I thought this would be a fun event for me because it’s match play and it’s my favorite format,” Giovi, a rising sixth grader at Bridgewater Middle School, said. “I don’t think I knew anybody this week. I made friends with Ryan [McCabe] and Ben [Stewart, No. 1 seed in the First Flight].” The field knows Giovi now. In the quarterfinals, he upset Jacob Zeng of Applecross Country Club, winner of the Junior-Junior title in the Jock MacKenzie Memorial, 1-up. Pars on the final two holes secured his semifinal spot. Against McCabe, Giovi moved ahead with a birdie on the par 4, 362-yard No. 5, knocking a 7-iron 140 yards to 10 feet. That 7-iron spearheaded a win on No. 7 (par 3, 138 yards); he landed it safely on the green and two-putted from 20 feet. Giovi closed McCabe out on the next hole after the latter deposited his tee shot into the water hazard.
While Giovi is a Junior-Junior Boys’ newcomer, Isztwan, a Huntingdon Valley Country Club member, is well familiar with the tournament. He gained match play in the Championship Flight last year and suffered a 2&1 loss at the hands of clubmate and eventual runner-up Frankie Gregor. “I remember wanting to play in the Final and playing someone that I knew I probably wasn’t going to beat, considering he was two years older than me,” Isztwan, a rising seventh grader at William Penn Charter School, said. “This year, it’s just all come together well. It feels good.” Isztwan also drew a valuable lesson — one that he’s applied at West Chester — from that defeat a year ago. “I learned to never count anyone out of it and to never count yourself out of it,” Isztwan said. “It’s match play. One blowup hole doesn’t end the match at all. It’s just one hole.” Isztwan hasn’t counted himself out yet. During his match against Smith, he seized a 1-up lead with a nifty up-and-down on No. 3 (par 3, 115 yards). Isztwan flew the green with a 7-iron but dropped an uphill eight-footer for par. A birdie on the par 4, 327-yard No. 5 extended that margin to 2-up. Isztwan, accounting for green conditions and a buffering bunker, hit a 5-iron 141 yards to 10 feet. He sealed victory with an unconventional 4 on No. 7. After spinning a 5-iron off the green’s front, Isztwan flubbed a chip into a batch of rough buttressing an air circulation fan behind the green. Isztwan, all smiles, removed his cap, set his stance and eased a wedge to five feet. He converted the putt. Smith, who lost the previous hole, totaled three putts from 20 feet. NOTES — Fog caused a 50-minute delay to the start of the quarterfinals … Now in its 67th year, the Junior-Junior Boys’ Championship is open to players from Member Clubs who are 10 to 13 years of age.
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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.
