Going for Gold @ Cedarbrook Gold
Pittsburgh Junior Golf Championship
York, PA, August 22nd, 2022 — Buckeye Junior Golf Tour was back at Cedarbrook-Golf course for the 4th year in a row. This is the home course for California University of (PA). It features iconic Pittsburgh rolling hills and an American-style course. Let’s dive into the press release to see who came out on top!
Round 1 – Saturday, August 20th — A nice day in Belle Vernon for Saturday’s Round 1.
The hardest hole for the Boys 15-19 in Round 1 was the extremely difficult Par-4, 15th-Hole. Sitting at 463-Yards and featuring 6 Bunkers you are going to need power and accuracy to be able to come out on top of this hole. The two fairway bunkers sit to the right and left sitting at about the 230-yard mark, right where most drives tend to land. Another extremely long approach shot is needed after that to land near the green. Landing short or on either side of the green will land you in some deep bunkers. Less than 25% of the field were able to pick up a Par on the hole. A strong start from this group as they played Hole-1 the best in Round 1. Hole-1 is a decently easy hole if you play it in the fairway. As you approach the green don’t club up as there is a very large bunker that sits on the back right of the green. Almost 25% of the field was able to pick up a Birdie on this hole and no one scored higher than a Bogey. Great start Boys! JP Tusai from South Park, Pennsylvania was our Round 1 Leader with a score of 75. Connor McKenzie a local from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania followed JP closely behind with his 76. It was going to be a great finish for this group with how close the scores were.
Staying true to its #1 Handicap the Boys 10-14 were having the most trouble with Hole-16. This hole is a doozie in so many ways. First of all the hole plays extremely hard from the Buckeye-White Tees as you will more than likely need 2 shots just to get past the dog-leg that sits at the 225-yard mark. You can land there on your drive but control would need to be key. There are also 5 bunkers that sit on either side of the green. You may want to club up because the bunkers sit mostly at the front of the green, landing on the back or over would not be a huge deal. No one scored better than a Bogey for the Boys 10-14. The Boys 10-14 started the Back-9 well by the entire field Parring Hole-11. This short 114-Yard, Par-3 sits in the medium for difficulty with the 9-handicap. The only obstacle is to hit the ball over the creek that sits in front of the green. An easy task for the Boys 10-14. Seth Tomalski from right there in his hometown of Belle Vernon led the Field with a fantastic 78. Henry Manciu from Canonsburg, Pennsylvania followed Seth closely with an 85.
The hardest for the Girls in Round 1 was the toughest hole on the Front-9. The long 476-yard, Par-5, 6th-hole. This hole is extremely hard in all facets. There is a pond that sits to the right side off the fairway. It is pretty far off right but still a possibility to land in there. As you approach the green bunkers galore are sprinkled around the approach and near the green. The hardest one probably being the one that sits right in front of the green on the right side, especially depending on the pin location. There is also some woods that sit off to the left side of the green. The Girls 14-19 took advantage of one of the easiest holes on the course the short, 279-yard, Par-4, 3rd-Hole. There are 2 bunkers that are sitting in the middle of the fairway but they are easily clearable from the Buckeye-White Tees. There is a large bunker on the left side of the green as you approach so make sure that you watch out for that by aiming to the right side. The green is very large from Back to Front. Cassidy Miksich from Tyrone, Pennsylvania was able to pick up a Birdie on the hole. Great job to the Girls on their amazing pace throughout the entire tournament!
Round 2 – August 21st – Periodic rain and thunderstorms were around most of the day but we got everyone in all 18-holes and it ended up being a great day once the sunshine come out!
The Boys 15-19 started off a little rough in Round 2 finding the 2nd-hole to be playing the hardest. This is a long Par-3, sitting at 203-yards and is surprisingly the 2nd-hardest hole on the Front-9. You must hit the green on your tee shot if not there is a high chance that you would go into 1 of the 4 bunkers that surround the green. If anything, you are going to want play your shot to the right as that is the only area that there is not a bunker. Aaron Didjunas from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania led the Field by picking up a Birdie and at least a stroke on the rest of the field. The Boys played the easiest hole on the course the best in Round 2. The Par-4, 5th-hole. This short Par-4 does feature a ton of bunkers. One is specifically hard that sits at the 200-yard mark in the fairway. Easily clearable for most of the Boys 15-19. Playing this hole in the fairway is especially key. There is also a ton of water that sits behind the green so make sure that you play your shot into the green short so that you do not roll off the back. Almost 25% of the field picked up Birdies on the hole in Round 2. Connor McKenzie shot a 2nd Round Even Par to come in as our Champion. Connor was an absolute Birdie machine throughout the tournament leading the Field with 7. Consistency is key out at Cedarbrook and Connor was a great example of the playing the Par-4;s the best in the tournament with his +2 on those holes. Congratulations to Connor on his first BJGT Victory! Aaron Didjunas also shot a 2nd Round Even Par to come in as our Runner-Up. It looks like Round 2 was really the key to being at the top of the leaderboard. Bad weather play is always important and Connor and Aaron really impressed by showing that they could do that. Aaron led the Division with the Most Pars or Better an important stat for going low and once again that consistency that is needed. Aaron’s most important stat though was his domination of the much easier Front-9 out at Cedarbrook-Gold. He shot an amazing -1 throughout the tournament on those. Congratulations to Aaron on a fantastic tournament!
Hole-6 must have been playing very hard from the Buckeye-White Tees because the Boys 10-14 were having the most trouble with it in Round 2. Ethan Bobonski from Clinton, Pennsylvania led the Field with his Par on the hole. The Boys 15-19 should have been watching the Boys 10-14 play Hole-2 in Round 2 because they absolutely crushed the hole, taking it under Par as a field. Seth Tomalski and Ethan Bobonski’s Birdies were the main reason this hole went under Par for the Boys 10-14. In the end Seth Tomalski with his 2 Rounds in the 70’s was just to good to be beat. Seth led all the major statistical categories for the Division. Some of the main categories though were his consistency where he really excelled on the Par-4’s. He also went on a Birdie streak from holes 2-4 in Round 2 that really sealed the deal for him. Congratulations Seth on your first BJGT Victory! Ethan Bobonski came in as our Runner-Up. Ethan had his short game working throughout the tournament playing the Par-3’s extremely well. Ethan also played really well on the much harder Back-9 at Cedarbrook. Congratulations to Ethan on a fantastic tournament!
The Girls 14-19 were extremely consistent in Round 2. They were also having the most trouble with Hole-2 as it was just a tough overall Hole on the day. It possibly could have been the early morning rain showers that came down before the Round started. The Girls ended the Front-9 in fantastic fashion by playing the Hole to an even Par. Hole-9 is a medium tough hole. The main aspect here is to play the ball in the fairway. You really do not want to find yourself off to the left side on this hole. There are woods and a large hill that could land you way far away from the hole and make it extremely hard to get back up and onto the fairway. The green has 2 very large bunkers one behind the hole and one in front of the hole. The front one is the main one you have to watch out for as most of the time it is guarding the flagstick. In the end it was Cassidy Miksich, who played her best tournament ever on BJGT, that got the victory. Cassidy picks up her 2nd win on Tour in 2022 after winning the Baltimore Junior Golf Shootout, a month ago, at PB Dye. Cassidy will be a key player for the Western PA Buckeye Cup Team in November, just like she was last year. Congratulations on another great tournament Cassidy! Sydney Fluhrer from Wexford, Pennsylvania came in as the Division Runner-Up. Sydney had her short game working this weekend play the Par-3’s extremely well out at the tournament. Not an easy feat considering how tough those holes were playing throughout the event. Congratulations on a great Runner-Up finish Sydney.
We want to thank everyone for coming out to the tournament this weekend. We know Round 2 had some weather and our players like always persevered through the tough conditions. We will be playing at the absolutely beautiful Bulle Rock Golf Course in our next tournament. First Ballot Buckeye Cup invites have been sent out to those players that received that, Make sure you register by August 30th as Second Round Ballots will be coming out after that.
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