Heritage Thrills
Gettysburg Junior Golf Championship
York, PA, August 15th, 2022 — Buckeye Junior Golf Tour was back at Heritage Hills this weekend for the second year in a row playing our Gettysburg Junior Golf Championship. This is a beautiful resort course located in York and plays host to the state tournament for Pennsylvania High School Golf. Our players from Pennsylvania were able to get some much needed practice out here before the high school season begins and our players from other parts of the Mid-Atlantic were able to challenge themselves with a beautiful tough course.
Round 1 – Saturday, August 13th — Could we have asked for a more perfect weather weekend in Mid-August. I doubt it! Our players were treated to cool morning temperatures and some nice warming afternoon sun.
The hardest hole for the Boys 15-19 in Round 1 was the very difficult 18th-hole at Heritage. Maybe the courses iconic hole it leads right up to a gallery for cheering (maybe sometimes heckling) fans that are relaxing after their round in the resort clubhouse. This dog-leg Par-4 features a whomping 5 ponds! 4 out fo 5 of the ponds sit on the left side of the hole so make sure you hit your drive with the perfect amount of draw. The approach shot into the green is where things get a little dicey. The last pond on the hole sits right in front of the green. There are also 2 bunkers that sit in front of the green on either side. A deep shot is probably your best option. A little more than 25% of the field picked up a Par on the hole. The Boys absolutely dominated the Par-5, 2nd-hole. Going a combined almost quarter stroke under-par as a Field. This hole is just straight away and rewards the long ball hitters. Watch your approach though for the 2 bunkers sitting on front side of the green on either side. Almost half the field picked up a Birdie on the hole. Tyler Fortney from Waynesboro, PA and Braden DeCapite from Baltimore, MD both played amazing Round 1’s going 1-Under with a pair of 70’s. Aidan Farkas from Ardmore, Pennsylvania was close behind with a +1, 72.
The tees must have been playing very similar because the Girls 14-19 also had the most trouble with Hole-18 in Round 1. In another weird occurrence the Girls also played Hole-2 the best in Round 1. Led by local Olivia Kury’s Birdie this hole was played to an Even Par average for the Girls. The Birdie helped Olivia to lead the pack in Round 1 with a great score of +5, 76. Taylor Hicks from Dallastown, Pennsylvania followed Olivia closely with a great score of 79.
Round 2 was shaping up to be extremely fun to watch!
Round 2 – August 14th – Another absolutely beautiful day for Round 2.
Finally, a different hole to feature. The Boys were having the most trouble with Hole-16 in Round 2. This is actually one of the easier holes on the course but it does have a lot of trouble. A 200-yard drive is needed to at least land in the fairway. If you go off left however you might land in the pond that is sitting off the side of the fairway. There are also woods up and down the right side of the hole. As you approach the green there are 2 very large bunkers that sit on either side. The one on the left side is especially large and can be extremely hard to get out of. Play it safe and club down on your approach. Less than a third of the field were able to pick up a Par on this hole in Round 2. The Boys completely dominated the Par-5’s in the tournament. The 2nd-easiest Hole on the course, the Par-5, 7th-hole was playing the easiest for the Boys in Round 2. The slight dog leg right where drives land is one of the main defenses that the hole has. Once again there are also 2 bunkers sitting on either side of the green and once again the one on the left is especially large. Ryan Thomas from Shrewsbury, PA helped really lower the average on the hole with his Eagle. This Eagle propelled Ryan to shoot an Even Par in Round 2 and go on to make the comeback for the Champion Flag. Ryan was the co-leader for the Most Par Breakers with his 6 Birdies and 1 Eagle. Ryan used his power off the tee as a main way to win this tournament. His amazing -4 scores on Par-5’s was a huge advantage for him. Ryan was also the leader on the easier Front-9 taking his strokes where he could get them. Congratulations Ryan on your first BJGT victory! Tyler Fortney completes another fantastic tournament coming in as our Runner-Up. Tyler continues to impress at his young age. He picks up his first trophy flag of the season but can add it to his trophy shelf of the many he picked up last year and in 2020.Tyler’s 10-Hole Bogey Free Streak to start the tournament was a huge advantage for him as he catapulted up the Leaderboard. Congratulations to Tyler on another fantastic and the great year he is having overall on Tour!
Hole-8 was the toughest hole for the Girls in Round 2. This tough little Par-3 is ranked as the 7th hardest hole out on the course. A pond sits in the back and a bunker sit on the front right of the green. There is also a very distracting bathroom building sitting on the left side of the hole. Nisachon Sillence from Finksburg, Maryland helped to lead the group with her Par on the hole. The Girls took major advantage of one of the medium difficulty holes in Round 2. Hole-17’s main defense is the huge water hazard that sits in front of you on the drive. Clearing this water hazard on the first try makes the hole relatively easy the rest of the way. The Girls actually took this hole below Par, being led by Taylor Hick’s Birdie. In the end Olivia Kury was just to on point the entire weekend to lose the tournament. She led all the major stat categories for the Girls. A main reason for Olivia’s win was her amazing play on the Back-9 out at Heritage. The Back-9 plays so much harder than the front so this is no easy feat. Congratulations to Olivia on her first win on Tour! Taylor Hicks came in as our Runner-Up. Taylor was the Co-Leader in Par Breakers for the tournament with 4 Birdies. Congratulations to Taylor on a great tournament!
Heritage Hills is a really great place to run a tournament and we love being able to offer our players top notch courses like this. Our year is winding down but Buckeye Cup invites are just now starting to be sent out. The Double Player of the Year Points tournaments are huge boosts for those looking to receive their Buckeye Cup invites. Looking forward to seeing everyone at some more tournaments in the area soon including Bulle Rock, Greystone and Hershey.
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