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Heritage Thrills

Gettysburg Junior Golf Open

              York, PA, May 24th, 2021 —BJGT held its first annual tournament at the Heritage Hills Golf Resort in York, PA. This pristine course was one that many people recommended we play in the York area and it did not disappoint. Many of our local Pennsylvania players were able to get some practice on a State Championship courses and others were able to take in the great course conditions and even better golf. Let’s so who was able to get their names in the record books in a course that we will come back to for many years!

               Round 1 – Saturday, May 22nd — It was a hot one folks. It finally looks like Spring is turning into Summer as pools start to open and the golf balls are flying further than ever.

               The Boys got pretty fatigued as our late afternoon tee times left everyone in some relentless heat for the entire round. By the end, you could tell everyone was getting tired and that was no exception on Hole-18 because it played the toughest for the Boy 15-19 in Round 1. The number 1 handicap hole played true to its toughness. There is trouble absolutely everywhere on this 461-yard, Par-4. 5 Ponds, a creek and front greenside bunkers. Staying out of trouble is tough enough, so carding a Birdie on this hole is absolutely amazing, so congrats to Colin Chen from Potomac, MD for being the only one to do so on the day! Making the move to the Back-9 was an easy challenge for our Boys 15-19. They found Hole-10 to play the easiest in Round 1. Sitting at the 17th-handicap, this hole shows players that the Back-9 is going to be much easier than the front. A left fairway bunker sitting 220-Yards out is the only trouble that can really be found on the hole. Long hitting “LL” Landon Leatherman from Middletown, MD gained a stroke on the rest of the field by Birdieing the hole. We want to wish Landon, our Washington DC Junior Golf Classic Champion this year, the best of luck as he makes the move down to IMG Academy in Florida after the season to pursue his golf career full-time. A familiar sight at the top of the Leaderboard, Benjamin Chamberlin from Germantown, MD was our RD 1 leader (and our current Player of the Year points leader in Boys 15-19) leading the division with an outstanding +1 (72)! He was followed closely behind by another familiar face at the top of the leaderboard, Horace Pennix III from Clinton, MD with a Round 1 +7 (78)!

                   The Boys 10-14 surprisingly had the most trouble with the easiest hole on the golf course, Hole-8. There is a brutal right greenside bunker that sits in front of the hole, but that’s pretty much it. Tyler Fortney from Waynesboro, PA and Andrew Hwang from McLean, VA were both able to pick up a stroke on the rest of the competition by simply picking up Pars. Right before the mighty eighth hole though, the Boys were playing some excellent golf on one of the harder holes on the course, Hole-7. A 475-Yard, Par-5 with a major dogleg, this hole features a slew of 3 bunkers on the right side and one on the left. With that being said, the bunkers come a fair distance after the dog-leg, so the long hitters were able to avoid them and have some great scores. Aidan Tudor from Mt. Airy, MD and Colin Ford from Burke, VA both played the long ball and picked up some much-deserved Birdies. Round 1 continued the trend of familiar faces at the top of the leaderboard with Tyler Fortney leading the charge for the Boys 10-14 with a +7 (78). Aidan Tudor used that great Birdie on Hole-7 to propel himself into 2nd-place with a +10 (81).

                   Hole-8 must have been a bear from the Buckeye-White’s this weekend because the Girls were having just as much trouble with it as the Boys 10-14 Division. Elle Overly from Lititz, PA and the winner of our York Junior Golf Classic earlier this year picked up at least a stroke on the rest of the field by simply having a Bogey. The Girls, just like the Boys 15-19, also thought Hole-10 was a cool breeze on this hot day because they played this hole the best in Round 1. Lillian McNally, a local from York, PA, Grace Rygelski from Aspinwall, PA and Elle Overly all picked up well-deserved Pars to start the Back-9. Let the trends continue as a familiar face in Elle Overly was at the top of leaderboard in Round 1 for the Girls shooting a 96. She was followed super closely behind by both Lillian and Grace who shot Round 1, 97’s.

               Round 2 – Sunday, May 23rd – Another hot one, but at least we had some earlier tee times!

           Hole-8 haunted everyone this weekend, The Older Boys 15-19 were not able to escape its wraith as they found it to be playing the hardest in Round 2, we’ll leave it at that. The Boys 15-19 once again put in a dominating performance on Hole-10. This hole was extremely easy for them throughout the weekend. Minh Le from Frederick, MD, Evan Tengwall from Grasonville, MD and Ryan Durborow from Sykesville, MD showed everyone that Maryland is more than just crab cakes and football. They all carded birdies on this hole and are proving that team Maryland might be tough to beat come the Buckeye Cup this Fall at Oglebay Resort. Benjamin Saggers from West Chester, PA and a newcomer on tour came out of the gate hot in Round 2 and found himself with the Champion flag after 36-Holes. Benjamin shot a Round 2 +1 (72). Benjamin’s win was mostly carried by his tremendous play on the much-harder Front-9 out at Heritage Hills. His +2 throughout those holes was better by at least 4-strokes than the entire rest of the field. Congratulations on your first tour win in your first BJGT tournament Benjamin! It was all about the Benjamin’s this weekend in our Boys 15-19 Division as Benjamin Chamberlin caps off another great tournament to end with his 2nd Runner-Up finish of the year and 3 out of 4 BJGT tournaments in the Top 5. Benjamin was led by his usual consistent play leading his division with 23 Pars. He had the right mix that usually earns a win on tour by having the best scores on the Par-4’s as well. Congratulations on another fantastic tournament Benjamin and great job on moving into 1st-place in the Player of the Year Standings!

                   Hole-11, an extremely difficult Par-5, surprisingly played the easiest for the Girls in Round 2. The trees are the real problem on this hole. The fairway is lined with them so if you end up our off the first or 2nd cut, you are looking at a high score. The Girls said not so fast as the entire field was able to get Pars. Hole-18 once again showed its teeth as the 1-handicap and just like the boys, the Girls struggled with this hole in Round 2. A double bogey from Lillian McNally not only led the division, it sealed her victory. Lillian’s victory was earned by playing some tremendous golf on the Par-4’s. This will usually get you the win in a BJGT tournament and Lillian did just that. Lillian has run the gauntlet in her BJGT events getting a 2nd, 3rd and 4th and this weekend earned herself that much deserved Champion trophy. Congratulations on a fantastic tournament Lillian, way to represent York well! Grace Rygelski earned herself Runner-Up honors. Grace was extremely consistent as well, leading her division in Pars with 9. Grace’s iron game was also on point as she led the division on the extremely difficult Par-3’s out at Heritage Hills. Congratulations on a fantastic finish Grace! Have fun in BeaUtah!    

                    It was the old switcheroo as the Boys 10-14 struggled with the pesky 18th-hole in Round 2. Bogeys from Player of the Year Leader Jesse Shue from Columbia, PA and Andrew Hwang led the way on the hole. The Boys 10-14 played the best on a forgettable hole out at Heritage. The 465-Yard, 8th-handicap, Par-5 2nd-Hole. Straight as an arrow but major OB sits on the left-side. Don’t ding one of those houses on your left or you’re going to have to ding your score. Andrew Hwang once again gets featured leading his division with a Birdie. Tyler Fortney would not let his lead slip away though. He came in as our Champion, winning his first tournament of 2021, almost 1 year after his last win on tour at the Baltimore Junior Golf Shootout in 2020. The staff can’t say enough about Tyler. He’s always willing to do live scoring, he’s always in a great mood before every round but keeps his competitive edge and is always at the top of the leaderboard. Little fact about Tyler, he was in the most epic tournament finish in BJGT history at last year’s Tour Championship at Penn State. Tyler had it all working for him this weekend, especially his drive. Using the heat and the roll that the course was giving him allowed him to add some distance to his already consistent drive leading him to victories in almost every statistical category. Congratulations Tyler, great to see you leave with a much-deserved Champion Flag! Jesse Shue came in as our Runner-Up. Jesse is starting to run-away with the Player of the Year standings. If he holds on to it the rest of the year, he will earn that honor for the 2nd-year in a row. Jesse was a Birdie machine this weekend finding them at a 17% rate throughout the tournament. Jesse’s trophy case is starting to fill up with his 3rd flag in 4 tournaments this year and 8th flag in 15 tournaments with Buckeye. Congratulations on another fantastic finish Jesse!  

            Our first year out at Heritage Hills was a great success. We want to extend a huge thank you to their staff as the course was in pristine shape and their love for junior golf really let this tournament reach great potential. We will continue going back to give our PA kids practice at this state championship course and offer some great golf to our members! The BJGT Tour Championship at Penn State is rapidly approaching! We highly encourage anyone that wants to play in our Tour Championship to register early. We are going to be capping the registrations for this tournament this year so it will be first-come first-served. With Taylormade joining us to Sponsor the event and earning AJGA PBE Stars for Girls 14-19 and Boys 15-19, spots are already going fast. Hope to see everyone in a couple of weeks out at South Hills Golf Course-North/West | June 12th-13th!

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