Tons of Birdies at Reston National

Washington DC Junior Golf Open

Reston, VA, May 8th, 2023 — Buckeye Junior Golf Tour was out at Reston National for the 3rd year in a row. Reston is a very American style golf course. The Front-9 plays in a pretty tight residential area around the town of Reston. The Back-9 is where you really get to see the beauty of this course. The more open park setting comes into play as you wind your way around the natural areas of Reston. Let’s see who was able to run-down Reston in this week’s press release.

                Round 1 – Saturday, May 6th —What a beautiful day for some golf. We are going to take any nice weather we can get after having some rough weekends of weather since the start of the season.

                The Boys 15-19 had a rough time right after the turn. Hole-10 the hardest hole on the golf course was playing the toughest for them in Round 1. This hole is extremely difficult and has been a constant nemesis out at Reston over the years. Sitting at 460-Yards this is one of the longest Par-4’s you will see. This hole is extremely tight. The main defense is just the length of the hole, thankfully it does play downhill which will add some extra yardage to your shots. There is a part of this hole that I have deemed the “2nd clubhouse”. The house sits 270-yards off the tee and to the right. Its backyard trees poke out onto the course funneling tee shots into the tree, creek and backyard of the house. This is a prime spot to lose a ball. The green is extremely large making it easy to land on once you get there but it is surrounded by two large front side bunkers. Only 15% of the field were able to pick up Pars on this hole. The Boys took advantage of the first Par-5 of the course. The 5th-Hole with its medium 10-handicap, that sits at 517-yards is good spot to get a Birdie on. The slight dog-log in the middle of the hole adds about 12-yards of distance. There is a large fairway on this hole so cutting off the dog-leg is relatively easy. Watch out for the creek that sits 385-yards up. Thankfully, it is in a pretty awkward spot and is pretty easy to miss. As you approach another large green there is once again two front-side bunkers that guard it. An amazing 25% of the field picked up Birdies on the 5th-Hole. Nick Baum from Roaring Springs, Pennsylvania sits in his usual spot atop the leaderboard after Round 1. Nick had his 76 matched by previous winner on Tour Ryan Durborow from Sykesville, MD. Durborow and Baum were followed by just a single stroke by Declan Gustavson from Purcellville, Virginia.

                The Boys 10-14 were struggling the most with the medium 11th-handicap 4th-Hole. Sitting at 355-Yards the distance is does not really cause any major problems for this Par-4. Wow, this hole is extremely tight. Tree-lined all the way down on the left and right staying in the fairway is main goal here. There is also a small bunker guarding the very large green. Vyom Shukla continues his strong play in the 2023 Season and picked up a much-deserved Par on the hole. Just a couple holes later, Hole-8, was playing the easiest for the Boys 10-14 in Round 1. Sitting at 310-Yards this is an extremely short 310-Yard, Par-4. There are some difficulties on the 7th-handicap hole. Who the heck made this hole? Did they notice that the put the fairway way off to the right-side from where the actual tee box is? I guess the architect was nice enough to hint that playing this hole anywhere on the right side will most likely lead to some trouble. Once again, watch out for the 2 front greenside bunkers, the only catch being that this is an extremely small green. This hole was no problem at all for certified on fire Mickey Battista from Fulton, Maryland, who picked up a well-deserved Par. Vyom Shukla led the Division after Round 1. Vyom was followed closely behind by Mickey Battista.

                      The handicaps are pretty different from the Buckeye-Blacks to the Buckeye-White’s. The 5th-Hole is the hardest hole on the course from the Buckeye-White’s and it showed for the Girls 14-19. With the Boys 15-19 playing this hole the best and the Girls finding it the most troublesome hole Hole-5 can be quite the difference maker for a round. Cassidy Miksich from Tyrone, Pennsylvania continues her surge of strong play by picking up a Par on this extremely tough hole. In a very surprising turn of events the Girls played the 2nd-hardest hole on the course the best in Round 1. They actually took it under-par to be exact! The 412-Yard., Par-5, 15th-Hole again features another dog-leg. The dog-leg adds about 25-Yards of extra distance. Reston forces you to play from certain parts of the fairway and the 15th is no difference. Going anywhere near the left side of the hole can pose major trouble or cut-off a lot of the dog-leg making it a relatively easy hole. The choice is yours if you want to gamble or not on this tough decision. As you approach the green there is once again two front greenside bunkers. The green is relatively large and is to land on if you add some extra distance to your approach. Cassidy Miksich is on absolute fire as well picking up a well-deserved Birdie on the hole. Cassidy sat at the top of the leaderboard after Round 1. She was followed by just a single stroke from Lauren Wood from McLean, Virginia.

Round 2 – Sunday, May 7th– The threat for some rain was in the air but we finally escaped the poor weather and ended up with a beautiful Round 2!
The Boys 15-19 were having the most trouble with one of the hardest holes on the course in Round 2. The 3rd-handicap, 427-yard, Par-4, 13th-hole. Man, these Par-4’s out at Reston can be really brutal. Once again, we have another dog-leg. This dog-leg adds just 10-Yards so it isn’t at brutal as some of the other ones on the course but still the extra yardage is not welcomed. Once again, we have a hole that forces you to play from a certain side of the hole this time it is the left side. Watch out for the bunker that sits 240-Yards off the tee. Landing in the fairway is extremely tough but is needed for a good score. Also once again, we have 2 frontside bunker guarding a very large green. Only around 30% of the field were able to pick up a Par on this tough hole in Round 2. The Boys 15-19 started Round 2 off in amazing fashion playing the 1st-Hole the best. Sitting at 399-Yards, we finally have a Par-4 that is under 400-Yards. Being the 14th-handicap this a medium tough hole but can be conquered with the right play. The fairway is relatively skinny, but hey at least you can hit on either side of it and play the hole this time. Anndddddd once again, we have 2 front greenside bunkers guarding the hole. About 18% of the field were able to pick up Birdies on the first hole to really squeeze the top of the leaderboard to start Round 2. Ryan Durborow and Nick Baum were going back and forth the entire tournament but it was Ryan who was able to come in as our Champion. Ryan picks up his 2nd Tour Win and first since his 2021 awesome win at Hershey Country Club. Ryan Durborow is this week’s Player of the Week. Ryan was extremely consistent this week and took his chances when he got them. He was 2nd in Most Pars + Birdies with an awesome 23/36. Ryan’s consistency could also be seen by the way he attacked the Par-4’s throughout the tournament. He was the Co-Leader on those holes in the tournament. Congratulations to Ryan on his 1st Champion Flag of the 2023 Season and 2nd Champion Flag Overall on BJGT! Michael Valerio and Nick Baum came in as our Co-Runner-Ups. Michael really shot up the leaderboard in Round 2. Michael from Mount Airy, Maryland really showed off his skill and talent in this event as he played the much harder Back-9 the best of anyone in the event. His Birdie Streak to start off Round 2, on Holes 1-2, was a great way to move him up the Leaderboard to early and put some pressure on the leaders. Michael just got into a real groove later in the tournament as he went on an 8-Hole Bogey-Free-Streak from Hole-14 in Round 1 all the way to Hole-3 in Round. Michael has been a Buckeye Cup staple the past 2 years and what a great job he did putting his name back at the top of the list for that even in this tournament! Nick Baum continues his extremely strong 2023 Season. Nick has the following finishes at tournaments in the 2023 Season, 2, T3, T2. That Champion flag is coming very soon for Nick, we just know it. Nick put the hammer down on the easier Front-9, going +1 on those 18-Holes in the tournament. Congratulations to Nick another fantastic tournament!
The Boys 10-14 were struggling the most with Hole-9 in Round 2. Once again, we have another dog-legged hole. Thankfully, this dog-leg only adds about 10-yards since the hole is already playing 380-yards, which can be rather tough for the Boys 10-14. A huge bunker sits on the left side of the fairway 200-yards up, right in striking distance to swallow up some tee shots. For the 100th time it seems like I am saying this but we feature 2 front greenside bunkers. With how many holes have the front greenside bunkers you may as well just club up on every approach shot because even if you miss you are probably going to be sitting just off the green on the backside and have an easy up and down for Par. The Boys 10-14 took the easiest hole on the course, the 16th-hole, under-par in Round 2! This is a 143-yard, Par-3, with you guessed it 2 frontside bunkers. Thankfully, the green is enormous and landing anywhere on it will surely treat you to a nice Par or better. Vyom Shukla continued his extremely strong play by picking up a Birdie on the hole. This hole helped Vyom to come in as our Champion. Vyom played an absolutely awesome tournament and takes home his first Champion Flag of the 2023 Season. Vyom was extremely consistent and took his chances when they were there leading the Division in Most Pars or Better hitting one of those scores 35% of the time. Where you really see players shine at Reston is the much-harder Back-9. Vyom did not shy away from these holes absolutely cruising on them in the tournament. Congratulation to Vyom on his first Champion flag of the season, I am sure there will be many more to come. Mickey Battista continues his strong early and mid-season play to come in as our Runner-Up. Mickey has finished Top-2 in 3 out of his 5 tournaments this season. He is shooting up the Player of the Year leaderboard. Mickey played his well-known consistency game picking up a ton of Pars out at Reston. He is one of the most consistent players on tour and his never getting rattled attitude is something for all of us to admire out on the course. Congratulations to Mickey on yet another trophy flag and great tournament!
Once again, the Girls 14-19 were struggling the most with Hole-5. It is such a tough hole with is 1-handicap. However, Lauren Wood was able to lead the Division with her Par on the hole, an extremely impressive feat. Once again, the Girls shocked the whole tournament by owning the 2nd-hardest hole on the course, Hole-15. This is a beast of hole and to play it the best 2 Round in a row, while taking it under Par both days is such a great accomplishment. Big round of applause for the Girls. Cassidy Miksich came in as our Champion! I am running out of accolades for Cassidy. She is in such a groove right now and is playing the best golf of her BJGT career. She continues to get better each and every week which is great for her as she is going to be playing college golf. Cassidy picks up her 4th Win!!!!! Of the 2023 Season already and just broke her own record for Career Wins on BJGT. Just an awesome job for a girl that works her tail off. Congratulations Cassidy! Lauren Wood earns the Runner-Up flag in her first ever BJGT tournament. Lauren knew that consistency was the game our at Reston leading the division with 16 Pars. Lauren also had her short-game working playing the Par-3’s the best in the tournament. Always a great combo to have when you have the Most Pars and your short game is working extremely well. Congratulations to Lauren on a fantastic tournament!
We want to thank all the players, parents and spectators for coming out and joining us at Reston. We finally had some beautiful weather to work with and it showed with some really impressive scores. Up next, we have our Baltimore Junior Golf Classic at Oakmont Green Golf Course. This will feature an AJGA PBE Star for the Boys 15-19 Champion so the field is going to be fantastic. We also are extremely close to having the Girls 14-19 Division Ranked. If any parents or spectators want to volunteer to help with this tournament please reach out to us at [email protected] and you can earn $100 in credit for working both Rounds or $50 in credit to work one Round.