|
 |
| J.T. Barker of Saucon Valley Country Club watches his birdie attempt on No. 15 (par 5, 541 yards). |
Saucon Valley’s Barker bites into 101st Junior Boys’ medal
TELFORD, Pa. — Senior Week is typically “a last hurrah” for students as they prepare to part ways and follow different life paths. For J.T. Barker, it provided much-needed downtime from golf.
| Scorecards | Photo gallery | Medalists history | Junior Team Championship history |
| Championship Flight match play bracket | First Flight match play bracket |
The Saucon Valley Country Club member returned from an Ocean City, Md. getaway ready and refocused for the 101st Junior Boys’ Championship at Indian Valley Country Club (par 72, 6,443 yards) Monday. Barker carded a 2-under-par 70 to earn medalist honors in the event’s stroke play qualifier.
The cut line stopped at 76. Barker will face Dawson Anders of the host club, who emerged from a seven-for-one sudden-death playoff to seize the final spot in the Championship Flight. Match play begins at 7:30 a.m. tomorrow.
“This is great for me,” Barker, 18, of Bethlehem, Pa., said. “Coming in, I wasn’t playing well. I tried to qualify for the [Pennsylvania Golf Association] Amateur and shot 78 and missed [the cut] by four. Then I took a week off and didn’t touch a club. I think I needed a break.”
Playing in his first Junior Boys’ Championship, Barker, a recent Bethlehem Catholic High School graduate, broke onto the scene with a pair of frontside eagles. After decimating a drive into the left rough on the downhill, dogleg left No. 3 par 5, 490 yards), Barker drilled a 6-iron 190 yards to 10 feet below the flagstick. He hammered a 3-wood 252 yards to the green’s front edge on No. 8 (par 5, 492 yards) and converted a 25-footer for his second eagle of the day.
“I had to come up over the false front and I just made it right in the middle. It was good,” Barker, who will take classes at Northampton Community College in the fall, said of the putt.
His putter proved temperamental, though. Barker missed a tap-in for par on No. 2 (par 4, 428 yards). Three-putt bogeys on Nos. 4 (par 3, 141 yards), 7 (par 4, 392 yards) and 10 (par 4, 357 yards) made Barker’s dual circles (eagles) seem like flukes. But the flatstick behaved in a big way on the par 4, 357-yard 14th hole. Barker lifted a gap wedge 105 yards to 45 feet below a back right hole location. He played the ensuing birdie putt two cups out and marveled as it dropped.
“I didn’t think I played it high enough in the beginning. I thought it was going to break off and it just stayed right there in the middle of the cup,” Barker said.
A bogey on the par 3, 146-yard 16th hole thanks to a pulled 6-iron knocked Barker back to even. He charged into the medalist’s circle by closing with consecutive birdies. Barker hit a pitching wedge 155 yards to seven feet on No. 17 (par 4, 383 yards), a sand wedge 105 yards to eight feet on No. 18 (par 4, 357 yards).
Last summer marked Barker’s first full-fledged foray into competitive golf. He intends to increase his workload this year.
“I’m trying to get a résumé up and play in as many tournaments as I can,” Barker said. “I played in the [BMW GAP] Team Matches for Saucon Valley’s team this year. The GAP is awesome: good tournaments, good competition.”
Spring Ford Country Club, represented by Connor Boham, John Foley, J.T. Spina and Drew Steinmetz, won the Junior Team Championship with a score of 227. The Junior Team Championship runs concurrently with the 18-hole qualifier on the event’s first day. Teams consist of three or four players with the low three scores counting toward the final total. Nineteen teams from 15 clubs competed at Indian Valley. Huntingdon Valley Country Club holds the most titles with nine.
NOTES — At age 19, Mariano Medico of Fox Hill Country Club, the tournament’s defending champion, is no longer eligible for the event. Applecross Country Club’s Cole McCook, runner-up a year ago, advanced into match play in the Championship Flight with a score of 74 … the host club was well-represented Monday. Six players who hail from Indian Valley competed Monday … Roland Massimino of Jericho National Golf Club is the lone former champion in the field. He qualified as the No. 3 seed in the Championship Flight.
The Junior Boys’ Championship is the premier Major in the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Junior Division. Now in its 101st year, it is open to GAP Member Club golfers aged 14-18 who have not started their college education and who hold a handicap index of 14.4 or lower. Sixteen players qualify for match play; an additional 16 advancing into the event’s First Flight.
The Junior Boys’ Champion is awarded the Peg Burnett Trophy, named in honor of the Association’s Executive Secretary from 1951-76. Mrs. Burnett was an ardent Junior golf supporter who emphasized sportsmanship and respect for the game. “I was very strict about checking the rule book. I didn’t make the rules, but since they are there, you have to abide by them.”
Golf Association of Philadelphia
Founded in 1897, the Golf Association of Philadelphia (GAP) is the oldest regional golf association in the United States and serves as the principal ruling body of amateur golf in its region. Its 151 Member Clubs and 57,000 individual members are spread across parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. As Philadelphia’s Most Trusted Source of Golf Information, the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.
|
Qualifiers
|
|
Championship
Flight
|
|
Name,
club
|
Score
|
|
J.T.
Barker, Saucon Valley Country Club
|
70
|
|
Kyle
Vance, GAP Junior Players Club
|
71
|
|
Roland
Massimino, Jericho National Golf Club
|
72
|
|
Cole
Berger, White Manor Country Club
|
74
|
|
Cole
McCook, Applecross Country Club
|
74
|
|
Kevin
Conners, Jr., Whitford Country Club
|
74
|
|
Mark
Benevento, Jr., Greate Bay Country Club
|
74
|
|
Jack
Melville, Lu Lu Country Club
|
75
|
|
Jacob
Hanzel, Running Deer Golf Club
|
75
|
|
John
Foley, Spring Ford Country Club
|
75
|
|
J.T.
Spina, Spring Ford Country Club
|
75
|
|
Max
Siegfried, Aronimink Golf Club
|
75
|
|
R.J.
Wren, Applecross Country Club
|
75
|
|
Robert
Welsh, Spring Mill Country Club
|
75
|
|
Ron
Robinson, Talamore Country Club
|
75
|
|
*Dawson
Anders, Indian Valley Country Club
|
76
|
| |
|
First
Flight
|
|
Name,
club
|
Score
|
|
*Conor
McGrath, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
|
76
|
|
*Andrew
Lombardo, Talamore Country Club
|
76
|
|
*Jack
Quirk, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
|
76
|
|
*Nat
Gallen, Berkshire Country Club
|
76
|
|
*Nicholas
Gianelos, Radley Run Country Club
|
76
|
|
*Trey
Croney, Overbrook Golf Club
|
76
|
|
*Adam
Lowe, Indian Valley Country Club
|
77
|
|
*Alex
Butler, Meadowlands Country Club
|
77
|
|
*Billy
Civitella, Radnor Valley Country Club
|
77
|
|
*Connor
Boham, Spring Ford Country Club
|
77
|
|
*Daniel
Rieger, Sunnybrook Golf Club
|
77
|
|
*David
Kim, Commonwealth National Golf Club
|
77
|
|
*Erik
Reisner, Philadelphia Publinks GA
|
77
|
|
*Greg
Welsh, Talamore Country Club
|
77
|
|
*Jake
Calamaro, Rolling Green Golf Club
|
77
|
|
*Nicky
Marrollo, Whitford Country Club
|
77
|
| |
|
Failed
to qualify
|
|
*Matt
Keim, Brookside Country Club
|
77
|
|
Andrew
Simpson, Indian Valley Country Club
|
78
|
|
Ben
Litt, Riverton Country Club
|
78
|
|
Christopher
Cerminaro, Glenmaura National Golf Club
|
78
|
|
Geoffrey
Rice, Applecross Country Club
|
78
|
|
Hayden
Moffat, Talamore Country Club
|
78
|
|
Jon
Nolan Perry, Waynesborough Country Club
|
78
|
|
Luca
Jezzeny, The Bucks Club
|
78
|
|
Lukas
Clark, Jericho National Golf Club
|
78
|
|
Marco
Nieto, Glenmaura National Golf Club
|
78
|
|
Matthew
Davis, Aronimink Golf Club
|
78
|
|
Michael
Limongelli, Phoenixville Country Club
|
78
|
|
Noah
Harrington, Cedarbrook Country Club
|
78
|
|
Brian
Isztwan, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
|
79
|
|
Dan
Dougherty, DuPont Country Club
|
79
|
|
John
Updike, Aronimink Golf Club
|
79
|
|
Quinn
Dolan, Rolling Green Golf Club
|
79
|
|
Wills
Montgomery, Whitford Country Club
|
79
|
|
Ben
Wiseman, The Bucks Club
|
80
|
|
Brian
Zinman, Saucon Valley Country Club
|
80
|
|
Daniel
Altieri, Hopewell Valley Golf Club
|
80
|
|
Drew
Petri, Jericho National Golf Club
|
80
|
|
Forrest
Swisher, Jericho National Golf Club
|
80
|
|
Jack
Henderson, Gulph Mills Golf Club
|
80
|
|
Luke
Sliwowski, Running Deer Golf Club
|
80
|
|
Ronald
Yanoski, III, Glen Oak Country Club
|
80
|
|
Blake
Vogdes, Wildwood Golf & Country Club
|
81
|
|
Brent
Schoeller, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
|
81
|
|
Eric
Carlidge, North Hills Country Club
|
81
|
|
Frankie
Brigidi, Philadelphia Cricket Club
|
81
|
|
Hugh
Farris, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
|
81
|
|
Logan
Fuglestad, Jericho National Golf Club
|
81
|
|
Matthew
Cleary, Wilmington Country Club
|
81
|
|
Sean
O'Sullivan, Riverton Country Club
|
81
|
|
Troy
Thierolf, Commonwealth National Golf Club
|
81
|
|
Bobby
Beck, Lehigh Country Club
|
82
|
|
Cory
Hunter, Commonwealth National Golf Club
|
82
|
|
Michael
Burns, Jr., Overbrook Golf Club
|
82
|
|
Michael
Reed-Price, Sunnybrook Golf Club
|
82
|
|
Michael
Zeng, Applecross Country Club
|
82
|
|
Nathan
Hess, Indian Valley Country Club
|
82
|
|
Otis
Baker, Gulph Mills Golf Club
|
82
|
|
Ryan
Bree, Fieldstone Golf Club
|
82
|
|
Andrew
Wallace, Meadowlands Country Club
|
83
|
|
D.J.
Colleran, Overbrook Golf Club
|
83
|
|
Gary
McCabe, Jr., RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve
|
83
|
|
Griffin
Smith, Jericho National Golf Club
|
83
|
|
Jake
Sitzler, Burlington Country Club
|
83
|
|
Marc
Groenhuysen, Radley Run Country Club
|
83
|
|
Matthew
Quirk, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
|
83
|
|
Seamus
Gibbons, Talamore Country Club
|
83
|
|
Billy
Matthews, North Hills Country Club
|
84
|
|
Daniel
Yahr, Talamore Country Club
|
84
|
|
Davis
Mitchell, Wilmington Country Club
|
84
|
|
Mac
Costin, Merion Golf Club
|
84
|
|
Ryan
O'Neill, Skippack Golf Club at Evansburg State Park
|
84
|
|
Ryan
Zinsky, Burlington Country Club
|
84
|
|
Shravann
Raja, Laurel Creek Country Club
|
84
|
|
Thomas
Clements, Cedarbrook Country Club
|
84
|
|
Brad
Ebersole, The Ridge at Back Brook
|
85
|
|
Cooper
Kronenberger, Penn Oaks Golf Club
|
85
|
|
Greg
Shiffer, Riverton Country Club
|
85
|
|
Jake
Fitts, Talamore Country Club
|
85
|
|
Jake
Niedosik, Blue Bell Country Club
|
85
|
|
Joseph
Kim, Commonwealth National Golf Club
|
85
|
|
Joshua
Elder, Riverton Country Club
|
85
|
|
Joshua
Madarang, Applecross Country Club
|
85
|
|
Marty
McGuckin, White Manor Country Club
|
85
|
|
Matt
Civitella, Waynesborough Country Club
|
85
|
|
Max
Harrington, Brookside CC of Allentown
|
85
|
|
Ryan
Conner, Jericho National Golf Club
|
85
|
|
Frankie
Gregor, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
|
86
|
|
Jake
Wiley, Indian Valley Country Club
|
86
|
|
Timothy
Jones, Riverton Country Club
|
86
|
|
Archie
Filshill, Jr., Huntingdon Valley Country Club
|
87
|
|
Brandon
Jensen, Sandy Run Country Club
|
87
|
|
Clay
Asplundh, The Ridge at Back Brook
|
87
|
|
Ryan
Brennan, Rolling Green Golf Club
|
87
|
|
Daniel
Galbreath, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
|
88
|
|
Francis
McVeigh, III, Llanerch Country Club
|
88
|
|
Matt
Graeff, Manufacturers Golf & Country Club
|
88
|
|
Michael
Barychewsky, Spring Mill Country Club
|
88
|
|
Oliver
Hanley, LedgeRock Golf Club
|
88
|
|
Philip
James, Cedarbrook Country Club
|
88
|
|
Vince
Burke, LedgeRock Golf Club
|
88
|
|
Billy
Edwards, Running Deer Golf Club
|
89
|
|
John
Buliga, Yardley Country Club
|
89
|
|
Jordan
Yahr, Talamore Country Club
|
89
|
|
Kyle
Kellenbenz, Whitemarsh Valley Country Club
|
89
|
|
Ryan
Conners, Whitford Country Club
|
89
|
|
Donald
Holton, Indian Valley Country Club
|
91
|
|
Jack
Hirsh, Philadelphia Cricket Club
|
91
|
|
Matthew
Becker, Commonwealth National Golf Club
|
91
|
|
Gavin
Sims, Overbrook Golf Club
|
92
|
|
Conner
Krzaczyk, Lookaway Golf Club
|
93
|
|
Jake
Fazio, Huntingdon Valley Country Club
|
93
|
|
Drew
Steinmetz, Spring Ford Country Club
|
95
|
|
Phillip
Held, Jr., Blue Bell Country Club
|
95
|
|
Michael
O'Neill, III, Overbrook Golf Club
|
97
|
|
Matthew
Brennan, Rolling Green Golf Club
|
103
|
|
Brandon
Cassidy, Commonwealth National Golf Club
|
104
|
|
Cole
White, Indian Valley Country Club
|
NS
|
|
Finn
McGarry, Tavistock Country Club
|
NS
|
|
Home
Miller, Overbrook Golf Club
|
WD
|
|
Jacob
Klaus, Tavistock Country Club
|
WD
|
|
Peter
Bradbeer, Merion Golf Club
|
WD
|
| |
|
*-determined
in playoff
|
|
NS-no
show; WD-withdrawal
|
| |
|
The
Junior Team Championship runs concurrently with the Junior Boys’ Championship
Qualifier. The low three of four team scores are used.
|
|
Junior
Team Championship
|
|
Team
|
Total
|
|
Spring
Ford Country Club
|
227
|
|
John
Foley
|
75*
|
|
J.T.
Spina
|
75*
|
|
Connor
Boham
|
77*
|
|
Drew
Steinmetz
|
95
|
| |
|
Jericho
National Golf Club
|
230
|
|
Roland
Massimino
|
72*
|
|
Drew
Petri
|
80*
|
|
Lukas
Clark
|
78*
|
|
Logan
Fuglestad
|
81
|
| |
|
Whitford
Country Club
|
230
|
|
Kevin
Conners, Jr.
|
74*
|
|
Wills
Montgomery
|
79*
|
|
Nicky
Marrollo
|
77*
|
|
Ryan
Conners
|
89
|
| |
|
Applecross
Country Club
|
231
|
|
Joshua
Madarang
|
85
|
|
Cole
McCook
|
74*
|
|
R.J.
Wren
|
75*
|
|
Michael
Zeng
|
82*
|
| |
|
Huntingdon
Valley Country Club
|
231
|
|
Jack
Quirk
|
76*
|
|
Brian
Isztwan
|
79*
|
|
Jake
Fazio
|
93
|
|
Conor
McGrath
|
76*
|
| |
|
Aronimink
Golf Club
|
232
|
|
Matthew
Davis
|
78*
|
|
Max
Siegfried
|
75*
|
|
John
Updike
|
79*
|
| |
|
Talamore
Country Club
|
234
|
|
Ron
Robinson
|
75*
|
|
Andrew
Lombardo
|
76*
|
|
Jake
Fitts
|
85
|
|
Seamus
Gibbons
|
83*
|
| |
|
Indian
Valley Country Club
|
236
|
|
Cole
White
|
NS
|
|
Andrew
Simpson
|
78*
|
|
Dawson
Anders
|
76*
|
|
Nathan
Hess
|
82*
|
| |
|
Talamore
Country Club (2)
|
239
|
|
Greg
Welsh
|
77*
|
|
Daniel
Yahr
|
84*
|
|
Jordan
Yahr
|
89
|
|
Hayden
Moffat
|
78*
|
| |
|
Commonwealth
National Golf Club
|
243
|
|
Matthew
Becker
|
91
|
|
David
Kim
|
77*
|
|
Joseph
Kim
|
85*
|
|
Troy
Thierolf
|
81*
|
| |
|
Rolling
Green Golf Club
|
243
|
|
Quinn
Dolan
|
79*
|
|
Jake
Calamaro
|
77*
|
|
Ryan
Brennan
|
87*
|
|
Matthew
Brennan
|
103
|
| |
|
Riverton
Country Club
|
244
|
|
Ben
Litt
|
78*
|
|
Greg
Shiffer
|
85*
|
|
Timothy
Jones
|
86
|
|
Sean
O'Sullivan
|
81*
|
| |
|
Running
Deer Golf Club
|
244
|
|
Jacob
Hanzel
|
75*
|
|
Luke
Sliwowski
|
80*
|
|
Billy
Edwards
|
89*
|
| |
|
Jericho
National Golf Club (2)
|
248
|
|
Griffin
Smith
|
83*
|
|
Ryan
Conner
|
85*
|
|
Forrest
Swisher
|
80*
|
| |
|
Huntingdon
Valley Country Club (2)
|
249
|
|
Brent
Schoeller
|
81*
|
|
Hugh
Farris
|
81*
|
|
Archie
Filshill, Jr.
|
87*
|
|
Daniel
Galbreath
|
88
|
| |
|
Cedarbrook
Country Club
|
250
|
|
Thomas
Clements
|
84*
|
|
Noah
Harrington
|
78*
|
|
Philip
James
|
88*
|
| |
|
Overbrook
Golf Club
|
250
|
|
Trey
Croney
|
76*
|
|
Michael
Burns, Jr.
|
82*
|
|
Home
Miller
|
WD
|
|
Gavin
Sims
|
92*
|
| |
|
LedgeRock
Golf Club
|
252
|
|
Nat
Gallen
|
76*
|
|
Oliver
Hanley
|
88*
|
|
Vince
Burke
|
88*
|
|
|
Indian
Valley Country Club (2)
|
254
|
|
Donald
Holton
|
91*
|
|
Adam
Lowe
|
77*
|
|
Jake
Wiley
|
86*
|
| |
|
*-counted
toward team total
|
|
NS-no
show; WD-withdrawal
|
|
