Team New Jersey Third In PGA Junior League Championship
Team New Jersey, which included junior golfers from Royce Brook Golf Club in Hillsborough, did themselves proud by finishing third in the PGA Junior League Golf Championship in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
It was the third time in the four-year history of the event that Royce Brook golfers competed and their highest finish by far.
The state champion squad from Royce Brook was among the eight finalist teams from around the United States when the competition was conducted Nov. 5-8, at Disney’s Palm Course at the Walt Disney Resort in Florida.
In the third place match, Team New Jersey (Hillsborough) edged Team Ohio (Cleveland) 6.5-5.5.
Team California (San Diego) defeated Team Georgia (Alpharetta) in a playoff for the championship, with the Golden State winning for a third time and for the second year in a row.
Team South Carolina (Columbia) captured fifth place over Team Illinois (Chicago) 9-3. Team Connecticut (Hartford) took seventh place over Team Oklahoma (Tulsa) 7.5-4.5.
“Our match was very close,” said Team New Jersey Captain Anthony Latham, PGA Director of Junior Player Development at Royce Brook. “We were way down early, but we were a scrappy bunch and won three-and-a-half of the last four flags.”
The PGA Junior League Golf Championship features nine-hole matches played in a popular two-person scramble format, with points awarded based on number of holes won. Final scoring is based on the record of matches won, tied and lost. Each team played three matches between Friday and Saturday to determine a winner in the East and West Division, who competed for the Championship title.
Royce Brook’s team included Louis Giovi, 11, of Ewing; Jeffrey Li, 13, of Basking Ridge; Egan McDermott, 13, of East Brunswick; Owen Rossman, 2, of Summit; Joshua Ryan, 12, of Philadelphia; Calen Sanderson, 11, of Princeton; Ethan Trinh, 10, of West Windsor; Hannah Trinh, 10, of East Windsor; and Franklin Zhu, 11, of Basking Ridge. Alternates are Katie Li 10, of Basking Ridge, and Logan Paczewski, 11, of Yardley, Pa. Team captain and coach Tony Latham and instructor Bill Blash also accompanied the team.
After shooting a combined 63-under par to win the state championship among 60 teams at Fiddler’s Elbow, the Royce Brook squad advanced to the PGA Junior League Golf Mid-Atlantic Regional Sept. 12-13 at Hampshire Greens Golf Course in Silver Spring, Md.
Of the 108 holes played in the regional, Royce Brook had zero bogeys, which included teams from Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina.
Team New Jersey, sponsored by the New Jersey Golf Foundation of the NJPGA, won all three matches in the regional to defeat two teams from Virginia and one from Philadelphia.
PGA Junior Golf is a part of PGA Outreach headed by former NJPGA executive director Scott Kmiec, recent winner of the NJSGA/NJPGA Distinguished Service Award.
The team was given a key to the city by the Township of Hillsborough on Tuesday, October 27.
“It’s more difficult to qualify for the finals of the PGA Junior League than it is to the U.S. Open. There are 2,500 teams with 25,000 players throughout the United States and only eight make it to the finals,” said Royce Brook’s Latham, the coach and Director of Junior Player Development there. “We’re very proud of our kids, especially to make it for a third time in four years.”
Participants wear numbered jerseys and play on teams in a popular scramble format.
