Event Recaps

Select events below to view press releases and photos.

A Tale of Two Nines

Baltimore Junior Open


Aberdeen, MD – May 13th, 2019 — Buckeye Junior Golf Tour held its first ever event in Maryland this weekend at The Wetlands Golf Club in Aberdeen, Maryland. This course features a plethora of hazards from long fescue, water hazard carries and numerous wasteland bunkers to make for a challenging course layout. The front 9 out at the Wetlands has a much higher rating than the back 9 which added difficulty to a competitive weekend.

Round 1 – Saturday May 11th — Round 1 was a beautiful day that was partly cloudy and featured temperatures in the low 70s. Weather was not much of a factor, for once, with the real challenge coming from the vast wasteland bunkers throughout the course along with the tall grass that comes into play on almost every hole. The Boys were having the most trouble with the 9th hole on the weekend. This long dog-leg right takes strategic placement for a par. The tee shot must be long enough to reach the very edge of the dog-leg to have a clear shot at the green. Players also had to be accurate off the tee, for even the slightest bit right and you will find yourself in jail in a small forest, left in hazard or a bunker. The Boys found the 14th hole to be playing the easiest on the day. The tee shot is over a hazard and anything left would go Out of Bounds, so an accurate tee shot with some loft is needed to find a birdie on this hole. The rather short yardage of 452-yards rewarded those players that stayed in the fairway. 3 Local Maryland players that included Patrick Rowland, E. Brooks and Daniel Kibe played this hole to perfection and earned birdies. Jack Bissonnette, our youngest competitor in the division, had a great highlight of the tournament sinking a super deep putt on 18 to save par. Jeremy Bershak from Sykesville, Maryland came in as the Round 1 Leader and eventual Champion. This is Jeremy’s 4th-Top 10 Finish and 1st Win on tour this year as he continues to improve every tournament. As an ongoing theme of Winners on tour this year, Jeremy had the most Pars in the tournament. Jeremy also dominated on the much harder Front-9 and played the Par-3’s and Par-4’s the best in the tournament. Jeremy is one of the most positive members on tour and it was great to see him earn his first victory! Congrats Jeremy! Patrick Rowland from Monkton, Maryland came in as the tournament Runner-Up for the Boys. This is Patrick’s second Runner-Up finish in as many tournaments. Patrick is an extremely consistent golfer, with his cool, calm and confident demeanor Patrick never seems to let his bad holes, which are few and far between, bother him. Patrick was the only player to have a birdie or better streak and was one of three players to have a Back-9 score of 37. Patrick’s High School Team, St. Paul, will be playing in the Maryland State Semi-Finals on Wednesday. We want to wish him good luck and we hope they make it to the State Finals! Congratulations Patrick!

The Girls on the other hand were finding the most trouble on the tough 358-yard, par-4, 13th-hole. You must be extremely accurate on your tee shot for this hole as it features a wasteland bunker stretching the entire length of the fairway. Finding yourself in one of these bunkers will surely lead to a bogey or worse because a shot must be wasted hitting a wedge out of the bunker. On the other hand, the Girls found Hole-15 to be playing the easiest in the tournament. This hole is almost identical to Hole-13 except it is shorter and the bunkers are guarding the green instead of the fairways. Erica Honadel from Bel Air, Maryland came in as the Round 1 Leader and Champion. This is Erica’s 2nd win in 3 tournaments on tour this year. Just like almost all of our other Tout Champions, Erica had the most pars in the tournament. She also dominated the Par-4s. You may have seen Erica’s name from our Gettysburg Junior Championship press release where she broke the BJGT Girls 14-19, 18-hole and 36-hole scoring records. Congratulations Erica! Kirstyn Collins from Olney, Maryland came in as our Division Runner-Up. Kirstyn played the Par-3s and Par-5s very close to Erica in the tournament. Kirstyn played the much harder Front-9 better than the Back-9, something not many were able to do. Kirstyn also has great course knowledge playing the easier holes on the course extremely well. Congratulations on your Runner-Up Finish Kirstyn!

Round 2 – Sunday April 7th — Round 2 was cancelled due to over an inch of rain falling within 12 hours, resulting in saturated course conditions and flooded greens. BJGT wants to thank all of the parents and spectators for a great first tournament in Maryland. Thank you to all of our participants as well who braved the weather for a few holes in Round 2 as the heavy rain came down. BJGT staff wants to wish all the Mom’s that are part of our tour a Happy Mother’s Day! Special thanks to Randi Bershak, Lynn Rowland, Cassandra Crawford, Natalie Bissonnette and Elizabeth Brooks for spending their Mother’s Day weekend at the course and supporting their junior golfers. We also want to thank the wonderful and helpful staff at The Wetlands for their help and support throughout the tournament. A special thanks to Bruce Densmore, Owner Sam Smedley and Beth Boyson for their help and for letting us host a tournament at their beautiful course. We hope to see you at some of the upcoming events in the area this season!

 

Player Of the Week

Jeremy Bershak, 2021, Sykesville, Maryland

This week's Player of the Week is Jeremy Bershak. Jeremy is a Sophomore at McDonogh School in Owings Mills, Maryland. Jeremy had the most Pars in the tournament. Jeremy also shot Even on the Par-3s and shot the best on the Front-9. Jeremy now has 4 Top-10 finishes on Tour this year. Congratulations Jeremy!

Birdies Galore at Twin Lakes

Fairfax Junior Championship


Fairfax, VA – April 29th, 2019— Buckeye Junior Golf Tour held it’s second event ever in Virginia this weekend. Playing the more forgiving, open Lakes Course at Twin Lakes Golf Courses in Clifton, Virginia this tournament featured a plethora of Birdies from the Field.

Round 1 – Saturday April 27th—An otherwise beautiful Saturday afternoon brought tough golfing conditions with strong winds howling at 25 MPH to start Round 1. The wind would only increase throughout the early afternoon tee times with gusts reaching 35-40 MPH. This however, didn’t stop some great shots from happening throughout the Round. In Round 1 our Boys 14-19 Division found the 2nd-handicap, 408-yard, Par-4, 2nd-hole to be playing the toughest on the day. Not many of our participants chose to try and fly the center water hazard because of the wind. It made for a tough club choice with your ball in the landing zone as the uphill green had a strong cross-wind that was not making it easy to land on well protected bunker-lined green. Tanner Koons, a local from Centreville, Virginia was the only player to tame the wind and find Par on this extremely difficult hole. On the contrary, the Boys found the Par-5, 13th-Hole to be playing the easiest on the day. This hole has a tight tee shot but rewards the long-ball players who are able to shoot the gap and play out the rest of the 527-yard hole. 3 Birdies were found on the hole from Aung Tha, Jordan Frost and Brad Freyberger. Speaking of birdies, Esteban Knorr had an impressive chip-in from over 40 feet on the 14thhandicap, 171-yard par-3 Hole-8 to save one of three birdies on the day. Tanner Koons would eventually come in as our Round 1 Leader shooting the only sub-80 score of Round 1.

Round 2-Sunday, April 28th– Round 2 featured another beautiful day with sunny skies and nothing to talk about weather-wise. This would eventually change, as the heavy winds once again picked up for the field on the Back 9. With clouds starting to roll in and the winds picking up the Boys found the long 199-yard, par-3, 11th hole to be playing the toughest on the day. This par-3 rewards extreme accuracy with a water hazard running down the middle and tree-lined lateral hazard covering both sides. A tough club choice for any player as the hole plays slightly downhill and had an extreme tailwind. Most of our players were finding the hazard and taking drops, a lesson not learned from the previous day. The easiest hole was the short par-5, 9th hole in Round 2. Most of our players this weekend are great ball strikers with a lot of distance off the tee. Finding this wide-open Par-5 was dream for most of these players as the hole featured 3 Birdies from all the local participants in Tanner Koons, Aung Tha and Oliver Spiller. Tanner Koons held on to his lead and came in as our Champion! Tanner’s win was a result of having the most pars in the Tournament and playing the Front-9 the best. Tanner also had some recognizable highlights playing the final 3 holes to -1 in the tournament, having a Round 2 score of 75 and going Even on the Front-9 in Round 2. Congratulations on your first tour win Tanner! Aryan Vuradi from Brambleton, Virginia and Esteban Knorr from Arlington, Virginia came in as Tournament Runner-Ups. Esteban had 5 birdies in the tournament, dominated on the Par-3’s and like mentioned before, had a 40-foot chip in for Birdie on Hole-8. Congratulations Esteban! Aryan the second highest nationally ranked player in the tournament’s runner-up finish came by playing the Par-4’s the best and played the last 3-holes to one over Par on the weekend. Congratulations Aryan! A Player of the Year update: Brad Freyberger just barely moved into First Place for our Player of the Year Standings with his 2nd Place finish at Brambleton, 8th Place Finish at Gettysburg and his 4th Place Finish this weekend.

The BJGT staff wants to thank all of our participants and parents for braving the strong winds in Round 1 and Round 2. We also want to thank the wonderful staff at Twin Lakes Golf Course for allowing us to play their beautiful course with a special thanks to Events Coordinator Kara Spain and Director of Golf Kirk Mason for the behind the scenes work that made this a special event. Please feel free to talk to Dan or I about any suggestions for the tour or any recommendations you have for us. This being the 2nd year of the tour, we are open to any and all of your suggestions and are learning each and every week on things we can do to improve the tour and experience for all juniors. Please view some of the other events coming up in the area below and we hope to see you all out on tour again this year, Thank You!

Upcoming Tournaments in the Area

May 11th-12: The Wetlands: Baltimore, MD

May 18th-19th: Clustered Spires Golf Course: Frederick, MD

May 25th-26th: Briarwood Golf Clubs-East Course: York, PA

June 22nd-23rd: The Timbers @ Troy: Elkridge, MD

*For this event and all future events, we have created a [email protected] account for you to send in photos from the event that you would like to see posted on our website homepage after events. We can only take so many, so please send more our way!*

For More Information

BJGT Staff

937-802-0816

[email protected]

For our entire 2019 Schedule visit www.buckeyejuniorgolftour.com or click here

Player of the Week

Tanner Koons, 2019, Centreville, VA

Tanner Koons is BJGT's Player of the Week. Tanner finished the last 3 Holes this weekend at -1. In Round 2 he went Even par on the Front 9. Tanner ended Round 2 with a 75 propelling him to his first win on Tour. Great Job Tanner!

The (Golf) Battle of Gettysburg

Gettysburg Junior Championship


Gettysburg, PA – April 21st, 2019— Buckeye Junior Golf Tour headed East again this weekend to play the beautiful Links at Gettysburg. It was a weekend filled with great players, parents, spectators, history, course conditions and of course Easter! The Links of Gettysburg proved to be one of the toughest courses our players have ever played, with the highest slope rating in BJGT history, 141. This course featured only one sub-80 round throughout the tournament.

Round 1 – Saturday April 20th—Once again we had some great weather for our first round. With temperatures hovering in the mid 70’s and the sun shining, it was a perfect day for golf. Before we knew it however, major wind on this links style course picked up with gusts whipping in at the top of some of the hills at over 20 MPH. With this already tough course guarded by water, bunkers and plenty of hazard, the wind proved to out-do all of those difficulties. Ours Boys 14-19 Division found the semi-island, 174-yard, par-3 12th-hole to be playing the toughest on the day. With a relatively high handicap of 10, for a par-3, the strong winds were causing an array of shots on the hole. The only Par of the day on the hole came from Patrick Rowland from Monkton, MD who finished Round 1 tied for 2nd Place. The Boys found the easiest hole to be the 17th-handicap short Par-5 4th Hole. The hole was playing to minus par on the day, with a huge help from Clay Breidenstine’s Eagle (one inch away from Albatross is worth adding)! Nick Caggiano from Herndon, Virginia was able to tame the wind consistently and come in is our Round 1 Leader. Our Girls 14-19 Division found the short but low handicap 2nd hole to be playing the hardest on the day. The Girls found the short Par-4 8th-hole to be playing the easiest on the day. Erica Honadel from Bel, Air, Maryland found Birdie on Hole-8 and eventually come in as the Round 1 Leader. Our Girls 10-13 found Hole-7 to be playing the hardest on the day. This is a brutal hole that not only holds the #1 Handicap out at Links of Gettysburg but is one of the hardest holes ever featured in a BJGT tournament. With water hazard on both sides, an undulating green and the farthest distance of any of the Par-5s, there is no easy way to play the hole. The Girls found Hole 3 to be playing the easiest, as this was a beautiful hole cut into a natural hill on the course. There is exposed clay rock that encircles the green and can be found on 3 other holes that created an almost back-board look to the greens. Alli Hucke all the way from Dayton, Ohio was able to find Par on the hole. Elaina Seeley was able to stay consistent on the front-9 and grab two pars on this challenging course to come in as Round 1 Leader for the Division. Jackson Hucke, aka Jacks, from Dayton, Ohio in our Boys 10-13 Division and our youngest competitor of the weekend scored a Bogey on Hole 9, one of the hardest holes at the Links. Great job!

Round 2-Sunday, April 21st– Round two featured almost the exact same weather as Round 1, sans the wind. Without the wind guarding most of the holes, every Division was able to come in with lower scores than Round 1. With 7 players within 5 strokes of the lead heading into Round 2 of the Boys 14-19 Division, a sub-80 Round was what most of our participants were eyeing for a win. Hole-7 once again show its teeth as the number 1 handicap and play the hardest on the day for the Boys. The Boys again found Hole-4 to be playing the easiest on the day, with the hole playing below par on the day. A new face on tour, E. Brooks from Adelphi, MD finished the day strong shooting +1 on the last three holes but it wouldn’t be enough. Peter Meehan coming all the way from Fairfield, Connecticut posted a Round 2 score of 75 and came in as the Boys 14-19 Champion. Peter said it best when asked about his win, “I was able to tame the beast.” Well said Peter, a win at The Links does not come easy. Peter’s win comes on top of what we have seen from Division Winners all year on the Tour. He had the most Pars of the weekend and played the Par-4’s the best. Peter is the 6th Winner on tour this year to combine both of these stats to eventually become Champion. Great Job Peter! Patrick Rowland continued his great play and finished as Division Runner-Up. Patrick’s Runner-Up finish came by playing the Par-3’s the best in the Division as well as the much longer Back-9 the best. Patrick also was Runner-Up in best dressed right behind Jackson Hucke. Great Job Patrick! The Girls 14-19 Division had to wait a hole before getting into a groove as they found Hole-1 to be playing the hardest on the day. The Girls once again found Hole-8 to be playing the easiest in Round 2. The hole featured two birdies from Ella Seeley from and Megan Brandt from Fayetteville, Pennsylvania. Erica Honadel just had too much in the tank and eventually came in as our Girls 14-19 Champion. Erica had a dominate Round 2 featuring 4 Birdies. Erica held down almost every major stats category for the Girls Division. Erica is also Buckeye Junior Golf Tour’s Player of the Week. Just an 8th Grader, Erica is showing great potential for her future golfing career. Great Job Erica! Ella Seeley all the way from Circleville, Ohio came in as our Division Runner-up. Ella’s pin point accuracy put her just behind Erica on the Par-3s and she also was just slightly behind Erica on the Front-9. Great job Ella! Once again Hole-7 proved to be too tough with it playing the toughest for our Girls 10-13 Division in Round 2. The Girls followed suit on the 4th-Hole and found it to be playing the easiest in Round 2. Elaina Seeley with her extreme distance off the tee for her age was able to find a Birdie on this hole! Elaina came in as our Girls 10-13 Division Champion. This is Elaina’s 2nd win on tour this year and she is leading the Girls 10-13 Division Player of the Year by a wide margin. Elaina had the most pars in the division and held the lead in almost every major statistical category. Elaina can absolutely crush a golf ball for her age, watching her off the tee is one of the most impressive things to watch on Buckeye Junior Golf Tour. Elaina actually drove the green on a Par-4 in our first tournament of the year. Great job Elaina! Alli Hucke came in as Division Runner-Up. Alli has an extremely different type of game than Elaina. Alli is extremely accurate and always plays the Par-3’s extremely well. Alli finished behind Elaina on the Par-3’s by just .1 of a stroke. Great job Alli! Jackson Hucke from Dayton, Ohio came in as our Champion for the Boys 10-13 Division. Jackson is an interesting player always seeming to play his best golf on some of the hardest holes on the course. When Jackson zones in with his putter, it is fun to watch. Jackson being our youngest player has trucked through our 2 hardest courses to date and always comes to the clubhouse with a smile and positive attitude. Great job Jackson!

Buckeye Junior Golf Tour wants to thank all of our players, spectators and the wonderful staff at The Links of Gettysburg, specifically Jason Pandoli and Craig Walker for their hospitality. Our parents this weekend were fantastic as well. We can’t thank you all enough for helping to look for golf balls, keeping the juniors on pace and supporting not only your junior golfers, but everyone else on the course. We have a ton of other events coming up in the Gettysburg/Baltimore/Fairfax Metro and we hope to see all of you at many more events this year!

 

Player Of the Week

Erica Honadel

Erica Honadel, Bel Air, MD, 2023

This week’s Player of the Week is Erica Honadel. Erica had several highlights this week to earn her Player of the Week Honors. Erica was 6 inches from a Hole in 1. Erica finished Holes 16, 17 and 18 at +2 throughout the tournament. In Round 2 she dominated the course with 4 Birdies. Congratulations on your Player of the Week honors Erica! 

Buckeye Junior Golf Tour Goes Back to Cedarbrook

College Prep Series @ Cedarbrook (Gold)

Belle Vernon, PA – April 15th, 2019— Buckeye Junior Golf Tour headed back to Pittsburgh this weekend to play the Championship Gold Course at Cedarbrook Golf Club. Round 1 made for some great competition in all of our Divisions, while Round 2 was cancelled because of weather.

Round 1 – Saturday April 13th—Round 1 brought the second Saturday in a row of great weather. With temperatures reaching into the high 70’s with a small amount of wind, it was a drastic change from two weekends ago when we were in Pittsburgh for our first event at Cedarbrook. The Boys 15-19 Division found the tricky 11th hole to be playing the toughest on the day. This down sloping par-3 over a water hazard made for one of the most interesting holes in BJGT history. Jake Caldwell, a previous winner on tour, from Rostraver Township, Pennsylvania and Joseph Nypaver, a newcomer to BJGT, from Venetia, Pennsylvania were the only players to find this hole playing to its true par-3 form on the day. The Older Boys found the short 360-yard, par-4, 17th-Handicap, 17th Hole to be playing the easiest on the day. Over half the field was able to find Par on this hole. Colin McKinney from Canonsburg, Pennsylvania came in as our Round 1 Leader and eventual Tournament Champion. Colin shot an amazing 79 at a Championship level College Course. Colin entered the Winner’s Circle by having the most par’s or better and playing the par 4’s the best on the weekend. Colin’s consistent play has been a staple to Winner’s on tour this season and is something to admire. Congratulations Colin! Jake Caldwell and Tim Fitzgerald from Sewickley, Pennsylvania came in as Runner-Ups in the Division. Tim used a combination of accuracy and distance to play the Par-3’s and Par-5’s the best on the weekend and Jake utilized his local course knowledge to collect par’s on over half the holes. Great job Jake and Tim! Our Boys 10-14 Division found the most trouble on the long par-5, 12th hole. This 501-yard bear of a hole had just too much distance for the younger Boys. The Boys found the short 132-yard, par-3, 2nd-hole to be playing the easiest on the day with half the field getting pars on the hole. Patrick Bush from Rostraver Township, Pennsylvania had a dominate performance, winning the Division by 10 strokes. Patrick’s championship performance came from excellence on all parts of the course, having the most birdies and playing the par-3’s, par-4’s and par-5’s the best. Congratulations Patrick! Logan Voytish from Farmington, Pennsylvania and the youngest player in the tournament would come in as the Boys 10-14 Division Runner-Up. Logan Tied Patrick with the most pars in the Division to help secure his Runner-Up finish. Great job Logan! The Girls followed the younger Boys lead and found Hole-12 to play the hardest on the day. The Buckeye-White Tees played long on the weekend, making it difficult to post low scores but that didn’t stop out-of-stater Paige Zolciak from getting a couple strokes on the competition by getting the only par on the hole. The Girls found the easiest hole on the course, the 18th-handicap, par-4, 202-yard, 5th-hole to be playing the easiest on the day. This peninsula green rewards short game accuracy with Paige Zolciak and Maggie Frank from Irwin, Pennsylvania both getting pars on the hole. Paige Zolciak from Perrysburg, Ohio would come in as our Round 1 Leader and Champion. Paige’s victory was claimed by having the most birdies in the Division and playing the Par-4’s and Par-5’s the best. Paige is a Sophomore at St. Ursula Academy in Toledo, Ohio and now has now claimed Champion and Runner-Up in her 2 Buckeye Junior Golf Tour events this season. Congratulations Paige! Tara Loughran from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania would come in as our Division Runner-Up. Tara’s accuracy and consistency were keys to her Runner-Up finish. Tara played the Par-3’s the best and had the most Pars in the Division. Great Job Tara!

Buckeye Junior Golf Tour wants to thank all of our players, spectators and the wonderful staff at Cedarbrook Golf Club. We appreciate everyone’s cooperation both days but most importantly, with the weather in Round 2. We hope to see all of you out at more BJGT tournaments this season! Click on the links below to see our upcoming events in and near Pittsburgh!

June 8th-9th: Tannenhauf Golf Club: Akron, Ohio

June 19th-20th: Tam O'Shanter Golf Course: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

July 13th-14th: Stonecrest Golf Course: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

*For this event and all future events, we have created a [email protected] account for you to send in photos from the event that you would like to see posted on our website homepage after events. We can only take so many, so please send more our way!* 

For More Information

BJGT Staff

937-802-0816

[email protected]

For our entire 2019 Schedule visit www.buckeyejuniorgolftour.comor click here

 

Player Of the Week

Paige Zolciak

Paige Zolciak, 2020, Perrysburg, Ohio

This week’s player of the week is Paige Zolciak. Paige is a Junior at St. Ursula Academy in Toledo, Ohio. Paige finished the final 3 holes 1 over on Saturday. She was also the only player in the entire tournament to birdie the 17th hole. Congrats on your first tour win Paige!

Buckeye Junior Golf Tour’s First Ever Event in Virginia

Washington DC Junior Championship

Ashburn, VA – April 8th, 2019— Buckeye Junior Golf Tour held its first ever event in Virginia this past weekend. Playing from deep yardage did not stop the Boy’s Division from great scores and a close finish. Brambleton Golf Course is subtly tricky. With little to no elevation changes, with the exception of the greens, the course features several large water hazards and tree lined fairways. Accuracy off the tee and reading the ever-changing green speeds are the keys to success at Brambleton.

Round 1 – Saturday April 6th—Spring has finally arrived, at least in Virginia anyway. Saturday was a perfect day for golf. With temperatures hovering in the high 60’s and almost no wind to battle, the sun was shining on our players as they took to the course. The Boys Division started off a little slow, finding the most trouble on the tree-lined 1st hole. Garnet Manley III from Lynchburg, Virginia was the only player in the field to find par on this hole in Round 1. With a couple of long ball players, the Boys turned it up on the 515-Yard, 4th-handicap, par-5 13th Hole. This hole plays straight as an arrow but watch your tee shots, anything left or right will surely end in a wasted shot to get back on the fairway. The Boys played this hole to par on the day and it produced nothing higher than a Bogey. Brad Freyberger, a local from Ashburn, Virginia would come in as our Round 1 leader for the Boys posting an amazing 75! Just like the Boys, the Girls had some First-Round jitters off Hole 1, with it playing the hardest for them on the day. The Girls continued to follow suit finding Hole 13 to be playing the easiest on the day as well. Mailiis Simovart all the way from West Liberty, Ohio would come in as our Round 1 leader in the Girl’s Division.

Round 2 – Sunday April 7th— Another beautiful day for golf! Those that have been with our tour for a while know just how crazy it is to have two great days of weather, so we were very thankful and took it all in. Slightly warmer than Saturday but with a slight breeze, Sunday made for an extremely close race and came down to the wire in our Boy’s Division. Changing it up the Boys found one of the harder holes on the course to be playing true to its low handicap on the day. The 397-Yard, Par-4, 3rd handicap 6th hole played a stroke and half higher relative to par on Sunday. The Boys were able to get some strokes back on the Front 9 by playing the middle-level handicap 9th hole the best on the day. Producing 3 birdies this 525-yard Par-5 was playing slightly below par on the day for the Boys! In one of the closest finishes in BJGT history Sam Carollo, another local from Ashburn, Virginia was our eventual Division Champion. Sam played an amazing Round 2 to come into the clubhouse with an early lead. Sam’s victory came by playing the tough par 3’s out at Brambleton the best on the weekend. Sam also played the much harder Front 9 better than the entire rest of the field. Sam is a Sophomore at Broad Run High School. Congratulations Sam! We had a tie for our Division Runner-Ups with Round 1 Leader Brad Freyberger and Jordan Frost from Bethesda, Maryland coming in 2 strokes behind Sam. Brad can absolutely crush the ball off the tee and played the Par-5’s the best in the tournament and had the most birdies in the tournament. Jordan plays a more consistent game and had the most Pars in the tournament. Congratulations Brad and Jordan! It is also worth mentioning that Aung Tha from Centreville, VA made an incredible 40 plus foot putt on Hole-5 to save birdie! Great job Aung!

The Girls once again followed suit and found Hole 6 to be playing the hardest on the day. Mailiis Simovart, our Round 1 leader, was able to sink a deep 30-foot putt for par on the hole. The Girls found the second easiest hole on the course to be playing the easiest on the day. The 125-Yard, Par-3 8th Hole played to a par average on Sunday. Mailiis Simovart was able to hold on to her Round 1 lead and come in as our Girls Champion. Mailiis did this by having the Most Pars and playing the Par-3’s, Par-4’s and Par-5’s the best on the weekend. Mailiis is a Junior at Benjamin Logan High School in Bellefontaine, Ohio and is hoping to continue her golf career into college. Congratulations Mailiis! Erica Honadel from Bel Air, Maryland would come in our Girls Division Runner-Up. Erica’s Runner-Up Finish came by playing the Back 9 slightly behind Mailiis and her distance off the tee lead her to playing the Par-5’s slightly above Par. Congratulations Erica!

Buckeye Junior Golf Tour wants to thank all the players, spectators and staff out at Brambleton Golf Course for making this a weekend a fantastic tournament. We appreciate the Virginia hospitality for our first ever event in the state and look forward to holding many more not only this year, but for years to come. Other tournaments in the Fairfax/Washington DC/Baltimore area are listed below!

April 27th-28th: Twin Lakes Golf Course: Clifton, Virginia

May 4th-5th: Laurel Hill Golf Club: Lorton, Virginia

June 22nd-23rd: The Timbers @ Troy: Elkridge, Maryland

For More Information

BJGT Staff

937-802-0816

For our entire 2019 Scheduleclick the link or visit www.buckeyejuniorgolftour.com

*For this event and all future events, we have created a [email protected] account for you to send in photos from the event that you would like to see posted on our website homepage after events. We can only take so many, so please send more our way!*

 

For More Information

BJGT Staff

937-802-0816

[email protected]

For our entire 2019 Schedule visit www.buckeyejuniorgolftour.comor click here

 

Player Of the Week

Sam Carollo

Sam Carollo, 2021, Ashburn, Virginia

This week's Player of the Week is Sam Carollo. Sam is Sophomore at Broad Run High School in Ashburn. Virginia. Sam had several highlights this week including finishing Holes 16-18 at -1 for the tournament, having a Round 2 (75) and finishing the Front 9 1 over par in Round 2. Great job Sam and Congratulations on a strong finish!

Buckeye Junior Golf Tour’s PA Opener

Pittsburgh Junior Shootout

Belle Vernon, PA March 31st, 2019— Buckeye Junior Golf Tour headed East this past weekend for a great tournament at Cedarbrook Golf Course-Red. Our PA season opener brought another record-breaking week from the Girl’s Division and a large field from our Boys Divisions.

Round 1 – Saturday March 30th—The temperatures were great on Saturday, starting the day off in the low 60’s. Spring is here! Our participants didn’t have to fight the temperatures on Saturday but did have to deal with the whirling wind gusts of over 20 MPH, making accuracy the key to Round 1. Due to the large field size for the Boys Division, we were able to split them into 2 different Divisions and still offer them those much sought after JGS Rankings. The Boys 15-19 Division were finding the 5th-handicap, Par-5, 545-yard down sloping 2nd hole to be playing the toughest on the day. Only about half of the field were able to find par on this hole. Making the turn, the Boys found the easiest hole to be Hole-12. This straight uphill but short Par-4 held true to it’s 18th ranked handicap by playing slightly above par for the day. Most of the field was able to find par on the hole but Seth Callaway from Monongahela, PA was able to get a stroke on the entire field by sinking one of his two Round 1 Birdies on this hole. Jake Caldwell from Rostraver Township, PA came in as our Round 1 Leader for the Boys 15-19 Division. Jake was consistent all-day playing both 9’s with 38-strokes with a Round 1 score of 76. Our Boys 13-14 Division was filled with heavy competition Round 1. The Boys found the hardest hole on the course to be holding to it’s 1-handicap. The long Par-4 6th-hole did not produce anything better than a bogey on the day. The Boys once again found the Red course’s handicaps to be playing true, finding the 17-handicap 3rd hole to be playing the easiest on the day. This short 90-yard Par-3 over water almost produced an ace from McMuray, PA native Nick Wetzel. Nick would come in as our Round 1 Leader with a blistering hot back-9, parring 4 straight as he made the turn. The Girls 14-19 Division also found the course to be playing true to it’s handicaps. The Girls found the long Par-4 6th-hole to be playing the toughest just like the Boys 13-14 Division. Danae Rugola from Uniontown, PA, who will be playing her college golf at Youngstown State, was able to get a stroke on the entire field on this hole by getting a par. The Girls also found the 18th-handicap 12th-hole to be playing the easiest just like the Boys 15-19 Division. Danae Rugola would once again get a stroke on the entire field by birdieing this hole. Danae eventually came in as our Round 1 Leader for the Division playing the front-9 at nothing higher than a bogey all day and even saved Par on the 18thhole with a solid 15 foot putt.

Round 2 – Sunday March 31st—Most will remember Sunday’s round as the complete opposite of Saturday’s. March reminded us it was still March by changing from 70s and sunny to cold and overcast. A slight wintery mix added to Sunday’s crazy weather but that didn’t deter any of the players, as they were able to produce lower scores than the day before. Once again, Hole-6 showed its toughness by playing the most difficult for the 15-19 Division in Round 2, as no pars were found the entire day on this hole. The Boys overcame the adversity of the chilly weather by showing their ability with some great short game. They changed it up by finding the 128-yard, par-3, 15th-handicap 5th-hole to be playing the easiest on the day. Jake Caldwell and Seth Callaway would continue their battle for the division lead by both birdieing the hole. Jake Caldwell apparently had a lot left in the tank because he held on to his lead and came in as Champion for the Boys 15-19 Division. Jake’s key stat was the number of holes he parred, including a 20 foot chip-in on Hole 2 . Staying consistent throughout the entire tournament while also playing the Par-4s and Par-5s the best allowed Jake to hoist the Division Champ trophy at the end of Round 2. Congratulations Jake! Mark Moran from Silver Spring, MD would come in as Runner-Up in the Division. Mark went on a Bogey-Free-Streak of 5 straight holes guiding him to his Runner-up Finish. Great job Mark! The Boys 13-14 Division once again found Hole-6 to be the most difficult hole. Surprisingly, Nick Wetzel was able to further his lead on this hole with a bogey, as the entire rest of the field wasn’t able to get lower than a double bogey on the day. The Boys stayed consistent and once again found Hole-3 to be playing the easiest on the day. Seth Bockman from McMurray, PA played a great front 9 and beat out Nick Wetzel to become our Division Champion. Seth came in as champion by having the most par-breakers, most birdies, played the par-4s the best and played the Front-9 on average 4 strokes better than the rest of the field. Congratulations Seth! The Girls 14-19 Division changed it up in Round 2 finding the long Par-3, 166-yard, 6th handicap 15thhole to be playing the toughest in Round 2. This long par 3 has a tee shot over water and the green is guarded by 3 tough front bunkers. Accuracy is key to a good score on 15. The Girls found Hole-5, another par-3, to be playing the easiest on the day producing nothing higher than a Bogey from the Girl’s in Round 2. Danae Rugola held on to her lead and came in as our Division Champion. Danae’s consistency and short game were working the entire tournament, finishing with the most par’s and playing the par-3’s and par 4’s the best on the weekend. Danae also broke BJGT’s 9-hole scoring record (38), 18-hole scoring record (77) and 36-Hole scoring record (155) for the Girls 15-19 Division this weekend! Congratulations Danae!  Vileska Gelpi from Markleton, PA came in as Division Runner-Up. Her driving ability helped her to a Runner-Up finish by playing the Par-5’s the best and having the most birdies from the Girls in the tournament. Great Job Vileska!

We want to give a huge Thank You to all of our participants and spectators this past weekend. We know Round 2 was cold to say the least, so we really appreciate everyone sticking it out and making it a great tournament! Danae, we wish you the best of luck at Youngstown State next year! We will be coming back to Cedarbrook in two weeks to play their Championship Gold Course for our College Prep Series @ California University (PA). We hope to see many of you out there for that event! Go to our website, BlueGolf.com or click the link to Register! College Prep Series @ Cal U. (PA) Registration Link

*For this event and all future events, we have created a [email protected] account for you to send in photos from the event that you would like to see posted on our website homepage after events. We can only take so many, so please send more our way!* 

For More Information

BJGT Staff

937-802-0816

[email protected]

For our entire 2019 Schedule visit www.buckeyejuniorgolftour.comor click here

Player Of the Week

Danae Rugola, Uniontown, PA 2019

This week's Player of the Week goes to Danae Rugola. Danae will be playing college golf at Youngstown State next year. Danae set 3 All-Time BJGT scoring records this week for our Girls 14-19 Division. Her 38 in Round 1 on the Front 9 set the 9 Hole record by 1 stroke, her Round 1 77 set the 18-Hole scoring record and her 155 total through 36-holes set the tournament scoring record. Danae's 23 pars or better led to consistency throughout the tournament and led her to be BJGT's Player of the Week!

Buckeye Junior Golf Tour’s 2019 Season Opener

College Prep Series at Beavercreek Golf Club

Beavercreek, Ohio— March 25th, 2019Buckeye Junior Golf Tour started its 2019 season this weekend at Beavercreek Golf Club in Beavercreek, Ohio. Playing our first College Prep Series event ever at Beavercreek Golf Club. We had participants showcased from Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan and Maryland at this year’s season opener. This weekend brought record breaking attendance, scores and weather.

Round 1-Saturday March 23rd- Saturday started off with a half hour frost delay. We saw typical Ohio weather reaching down into the mid 20’s and then climbing up into the mid-50’s with little to no wind all day. Starting on the back, our 14-19 Boys Division seemed to have the most trouble on the 521-yard, par-5, 11thhole. The Boys made the turn in style playing the short and flat Hole #1 to par on the day. Rylan Wotherspoon from Florence, Kentucky led the charge for the Boys 14-19 Division on Saturday shooting a new 18-Hole Scoring Record for BJGT by posting a First Round 71. Rylan’s Record score came with 4 Birdies, 3 Bogeys and 11 Pars. Hole #11 gave the girls trouble as well, as none of them were able to par the hole. The Girl’s stormed back and made the most of the 18th-handicap, par-3, 13thhole. Paige Zolciak from Perrysburg, Ohio, Elizabeth Chamberlin from Cincinnati, Ohio and Samantha DeSpain from Englewood, Ohio were all able to grab pars on the hole. Brooke Devolld from Ashville, Ohio came in as our Girls 14-19 Leader in Round 1. Brooke seemed to have everything working for her as she was able to put in pars on each a par 3, 4 and 5. Our Boys 10-13 Division, much like their older counterparts, also found trouble on Hole #11. The Boys were able to take advantage of the Par-3 8th-Hole and play it the best on the day. Eain Atisha from Lathrup Village, Michigan came in as our Round 1 Leader for the Boys 10-13 Division. Big shout out to our youngest participant Jackson Hucke from Dayton, Ohio on playing in his first 36-hole tournament and making two 20 ft plus putts on the day! The Girls 10-13 Division featured some great talent this weekend. The Girls agreed with the consensus by finding the 1-Handicap, Par-4 5thHole to be playing the hardest. The tight gap and water hazard running across this hole make it a sight to see but one of the hardest holes in the Dayton area. The Girls once again agreed with the majority by finding the 18th-handicap, par-3 13thHole to be play the easiest. Round 1 Leader Sata Kertpet from Cincinnati, Ohio and Round 1 2ndplace Maureen Burns from Cincinnati, Ohio were both able to find par on the hole. Sata Kertpet was the Round 1 Leader for the Girls 10-13 with an amazing Round 1 95. Congratulations to Alli Hucke from Dayton, Ohio and Alexis Peterson on playing in their first 36-Hole tournaments! Great job ladies!

Round 2-Sunday, March 24th - The March weather was kind once again to us on Sunday. Starting tee times in the High 40’s with a slight breeze, made for a beautiful day for golf. Once again, the pesky 5thhole was showing why it is one of the hardest holes in the Dayton area. The Older Boys played it 1 stroke above par and found it to be the hardest hole of the day. In a BJGT first, the Boys played the short 148-yard par-3 13thhole to below par on the day! With Birdies from Jackson Miller of Cincinnati, Ohio and Peyton Vanderhoff of Otsego, Michigan it was a good hole to get some strokes back on Rylan Wotherspoon but he would not let his lead up and eventually came in Champion. Rylan broke another record setting the 36-hole BJGT scoring record with a 144. Rylan got his victory by having the most Pars, playing the par 3’s, 4’s and 5’s the best on the weekend and playing both 9’s the best. Congratulations on your first BJGT Victory Rylan! Rylan is a Freshman at Cooper High School in Florence, Kentucky and placed 14thin the State Tournament. Jackson Miller was our Runner-Up. Jackson was able to rival Rylan with his 5 Par-Breakers having at least one on each a par 3, 4 and 5. The Girls 14-19 Division once again found Hole-11 to be playing the hardest. It did produce a couple of pars though from Mailiis Simovart from West Liberty, Ohio and Samantha DeSpain from Englewood, Ohio. The Girls once again found Hole-13 to be playing the easiest in Round 2. Over half the field was able to Par this downhill Par-3. Brooke Devolld held strong with the lead and would not give it up. Brooke was able to keep her lead by having the most pars and playing the tournament a half stroke better on the Par-5’s than her competitors. Great job Brooke! Paige Zolciak our Division Runner-Up was able to keep her 2ndplace finish by playing great on the Par-4’s and Par-5’s all weekend. Our Boys 10-13 Division set the standard for Pace of Play in Round 2. Eain Atisha our Division winner was able to hold is victory by playing the Par-5’s great. Great job Eain! Jackson Hucke our Division Runner-Up was able to improve by 10 strokes in just his second round of tournament play. Our Girls 10-13 had some great competition all weekend. The Girls changed it up a bit and found Hole-6 the longest of the Par 3’s to be playing the easiest. Maureen Burns from Cincinnati, Ohio and Elaina Seeley from Circleville, Ohio were both able to grab pars on this whole. Sata Kertpet from Cincinnati, Ohio was able to hold on to be the Division Champion and finished strong with a 30 ft chip in for Birdie! Sata’s consistency on the Par-4’s helped her to become Division Champ, playing them over a half stroke better than her nearest competition. Way to go Sata! Maureen Burns was the Runner-Up in the Division. Maureen set a personal best and broke 90 for the first time at one of the hardest courses in Dayton! Maureen’s Runner-Up finish came by having the most Par’s on the weekend and playing the Par-5’s almost an entire stroke better than her competition.

We want to thank all of our participants, parents, spectators and the entire staff at Beavercreek Golf Club for such a great start to the season. With such a record setting tournament it was extremely rewarding for the BJGT staff to be a part of this with our players. We hope to see all of you in the near future at some of our other events for the 2019 season!

Player Of the Week

Rylan Wotherspoon

Rylan Wotherspoon - Florence, Kentucky , 2022

Rylan set BJGT's all-time score record this weekend with a 71 on Saturday. He also set the all-time tournament record with a 144 (71-73) after Sunday's Round. Rylan is a Freshman at Cooper High School in Florence, Kentucky. Congratulations Rylan!

*For this event and all future events, we have created a [email protected]email account for you to send in photos from the event that you would like to see posted on our website. We can only take so many during the event so the more the better!*

For More Information

BJGT Staff

937-802-0816

[email protected]

For our entire 2019 Schedule visit www.buckeyejuniorgolftour.com

Photos from the event
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