Sweet Scores at Hershey
Hershey Junior Golf Classic
Hershey, PA August 30th, 2021 — BJGT was at Hershey Country Club-East Course for the first time this weekend. This American Icon held the 1940 PGA Championship and countless other PGA and LPGA tournaments throughout its storied history. The American style course features a plethora of dangerous sand traps and dime-sized quick greens that challenges even the best of short games. Let’s see who was able to be crowned Chocolate King and Queen at this weekend’s tournament!
Round 1 – Saturday, August 28th — Overcast and some much-needed cooler weather moved into the area for Saturday’s Round 1 after a scorcher of a week surrounded most of the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic.
Hole-15 stayed true to its 2-Ranked Handicap as the Boys 15-19 were having the most trouble with it in the 1st Round. You may as well close your eyes on this tee box as the hole is completely blind from all tee boxes. Throw in a 20-yard dog-leg and the 399-Yard Par-4 distance looks a little harder. A large pond sits right at about 230-yards off to the left and can swallow up any ball that goes that way. A fight back up-hill to a green surrounded by 3 large bunkers and you can see why this hole is the 2nd-hardest on the East Course. The hole played to a Bogey Average in Round 1. The Boys took advantage on one of the middle tier holes on the course. The 506-yard, Par-5, 11th-handicap 6th-hole. Bunkers Galore on this hole as 10 of them are strategically placed around the fairway and green. Play your green shot long as there is no trouble on the back side of the green. Birdied from a pair of younger players in Ryan Durborow from Sykesville, MD and Dallas Inch from York, PA made this the easiest hole of the day for the Boys 15-19. Sawyer Marten from East Petersburg, PA continued his string of strong performances on Tour he led the Division after Round 1 with a 75. Sawyer was followed closely behind by weekly top of the pack player Dylan Ramsey from Lebanon, PA.
The Girls 14-19 were having trouble with the final hole of the day. The 4th-handicap, 18th-hole. Another 6 large sand traps are placed throughout this hole with 5 of them sitting by the green. Already a tough shot in over water the sand traps make for an extra challenge. Placement on the back left side of the green is crucial. Bogeys from Olivia Kury from York, PA and Jillian Fidler from Lebanon, PA led the pack. The Girls also dominated the 6th-hole in Round 1 playing it the best. The low average on the hole was helped by a Birdie from Jillian Fidler. Elle Overly from Lititz, PA continued her extremely strong 2021 Season with her 10-stroke lead in Round 1. Jillian Fidler and Olivia Kury both shot 92’s. respectively to follow Elle’s fantastic Round 1.
The Boys 10-14 were having the most trouble with one of the easier holes on the course the 16th-handicap, 17th-hole. Once again, 5 bunkers come into play as you fight uphill on this hole. The 2 bunkers sitting at the front of the green are placed in a very tough spot as you may wants to club up an extra 10-20 yards to make sure you don’t land in these deep sand traps. Bogeys from usual suspects Jesse Shue from Columbia, PA and Jamesson “JP” Radwanski from Mohnton, PA led the Division. The Boys also were taking advantage of the 6th-hole, playing it the best out of any of the players in Round 1 with an under-par score. This hole was letting the big dogs eat all day as players were launching their drives right up the middle. A Birdie from Jesse Shue and Patrick Carl from Mount Airy, MD helped get the field to that under-par score. Jesse Shue shot his usual number leading the Division with a 77. He was followed closely behind by JP Radwanski with an 81.
Round 2 – Sunday, August 29th – It was early morning tee times for our Round 2. This offered significantly cooler weather than the afternoon with overcast skies.
Hole-15, once again, showed just how difficult it is playing the hardest for the Boys in Round 2 just like in Round 1. Just under 33% of the field were able to find Pars on the hole. Hole-11 was playing the easiest for the Boys 15-19 in Round 2. Ranked as one of the harder holes on the course it was a surprise to see such a difficult hole rank as the easiest. Featuring 6 sand traps and a slew of trees that line the fairway to score low hear you need to hit it long and straight. Many of the players were able to find Pars but it was Tyler Swartz from just down the road in Hummelstown, PA who picked up the lone Birdie to lead the Division. Ryan Durborow charged up the Leaderboard in Round 2 shooting an amazing 2-over-par 73 to come in as the Boys 15-19 Champion. This is Ryan’s first Champion Flag trophy on BJGT and it was extremely well-deserved. Ryan led the division with 7 Par-Breaking, Birdies. Ryan also really had the driver working going an outstanding -3 on the Par-5’s for tops in the Boys 15-19. Ryan’s 33 on the Back-9 in Round 2 and -1 overall on the Back-9 just missed making BJGT history by a stroke for Best-9 ever on Tour. Congratulations on a great win Ryan! Sawyer Marten continues his strong performances earning himself back-to-back Runner-Up finishes on Tour. Sawyer recently committed to play golf at York College in 2022 and we are extremely happy that yet another BJGT player will be playing college golf. Congratulations on another fantastic tournament Sawyer!
Hole-17 must have been deceivingly tough from the Buckeye-White tees as the Girls also found it to be playing the toughest in Round 2. Olivia Kury’s Bogey led the pack. The Girls started off Round 2 extremely strong playing the 2nd-easiest hole on the course, the short 120-yard, Par-3 2nd-hole the best in the Round. Hitting a top a hill and surrounded in the front by 4 extremely large bunkers you may want to club up on this hole, as going long will not be the end of the world. 75% of the field picked up Pars. It was Elle Overly, earning her 2nd victory of the 2021 season out at Hershey. Elle is a mainstay atop of the Leaderboard and she played some fantastic golf this weekend. Elle had her short game working playing the Par-3’s the best by 4-strokes to lead her division. Just like Ryan, Elle, dominated the Back-9 leading her division by 5 strokes. Elle also finish Round 1 off extremely strong going on a Bogey free streak of 5 hole from Holes 13-17. Congratulations, on your 4th win on tour Elle! Jillian Fidler shot an outstanding 79 in Round 2 and came in as the Division Runner-Up. Jillian led her division in Birdies and Pars a great recipe to landing at the top of any Leaderboard. She had the complete opposite approach as Elle over the weekend but both strategies worked as Jillian was the leader on the Par-4’s and the Front-9 in the tournament. Congratulations on your first trophy flag on tour Jillian
The Boys 15-19 were having the most trouble with one of the hardest holes on the course in Round 2, the dreaded 8th-hole. Sitting at 440-yards for a Par-4 this long stretching hole offers up trouble the entire left side. With woods and a huge bunker sitting on the left staying in the fairway or maybe slightly off to the right is the only option here. Mixed in with the distance and a small green there’s no wonder this is the 3rd hardest hole out at Mannitto. Blake Bertolo and Collin Chen continued their strong performances leading the Division on the 8th with Pars. The Boys 15-19 started the Back-9 off right playing the 10th-hole the best in Round 2. This hole is no cake walk as it once again features a slight dog-leg. The hardest part about this hole, however, is the 12-yard deep and 12-yard wide Bunker that sits right in front of the green. If you don’t clear this monster you are going to need a nice Sand Save to reach Par. 30% of the field snagged Birdies on this one. Blake Bertolo started making his charge on the 7th-hole in Round 2 and never looked back. Blake led the tournament with 7 Birdies, scoring one on almost 20% of the holes in the tournament. Blake had his drive working as he was able to take advantage of the long Par-5’s leading his division with a -2 on them in the tournament. Blake’s Bogey Free Streak of 8-holes, from holes 7-14 in Round 2, propelled him to victory as he was able to charge up the leaderboard and take home his 2nd Champion Flag of the 2021 Season. Great Job Blake! Collin Chen was the Division Runner-Up. Collin had a remarkable 24 Pars in 36 Holes to lead the group. Collin threw in a Birdie for good measure to end with 25 Pars or Better. Great Job Collin!
The Buckeye-White tees were playing funky all weekend. The Boys 10-14 were having the most trouble with the easiest hole on the course in Round 2. Hole-13 plays at 168-yards and is surrounded on all 4 corners by bunkers. Patrick Carl’s Par saved the Division from a disastrous hole average. Once again, it was Hole-6 playing the easiest for the Boys 10-14 in Round 2. Birdies from JP Radwanski and Patrick Carl led the Division. Jesse Shue picks up his 2nd win of the year and his 4th Win on Tour. Jesse led his division with 6 Birdies. He was also extremely consistent and had the driver working playing the Par-4’s and Par-5’s the best. He further solidified his lead in Round 2 by Birdieing Holes 14 and 15. Congratulations on another trophy flag Jesse! JP Radwanski continues his strong form earning himself a Runner-Up finish by just 1 stroke over Patrick Carl. That makes 3 trophy flags in the 2021 season for JP and back-to-back Runner-Up finishes. Great finish Jamesson!
Our final tournament in Southeastern PA of the year and it was a great one. We want to thank all the players and spectators for an extremely good tournament. We also want to thank the wonderful staff out at Hershey Country Club for letting us play such a prestigious course and their fantastic course conditions. The Buckeye Cup teams are really starting to come together. You can check our website for updated team lists. Some players have already clinched their spot in this Ryder Cup Team format tournament. Invites will start being sent out to those players who have clinched but we still have 2 tournaments left to start earning points!
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