108th #GAPJunior: Day One

Ryan, Werner share Junior medal at Bala

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — A Junior Boys’ Championship sophomore and the event’s two-time defending titleholder shared medalist honors in stroke-play qualifying Monday at Bala Golf Club (par 68, 5,306 yards).

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Huntsville Golf Club’s Nick Werner, who missed the match-play cut a year ago, and The 1912 Club’s Joshua Ryan, chasing history in his final year of Junior eligibility, carded respective even-par 68s in the event’s 108^th edition. Ryan, as defending champion, already assumed the No. 1 seed. Warner will be seeded No. 2.

The cut line stopped at 73 by day’s end. A five-for-three playoff determined the Championship Flight’s remaining entrants. Chesapeake Bay Golf Club’s Evan Barbin, McCall Golf Club’s Seiji Sako and Penn Oaks Golf Club’s Eli Shah advanced.

The Round of 16 begins at 7:30 a.m. tomorrow.

Both Werner and Ryan did their homework en route to co-medalist honors. They placed a premium on tee positioning to tackle Bala’s miniature yet muscular green complexes. Werner reviewed Google Earth images of Bala. The lessons learned?

“Small greens and don’t hit driver. I only hit driver three times today. With all of my other clubs, I was lucky I was hitting them pretty straight,” Werner, 15, of Wilkes-Barre, Pa., said. “Getting to know the golf course [is what I learned from last year]. I’ve got to study a course before I come out here. I think studying it and being prepared is the most important part.”

Ryan used Monday as a study session.

Josh Ryan

“I know Bala is a little bit of an interesting course, so I thought it would be good to see it under tournament conditions. Just to see which clubs work, so I tried some different stuff today,” Ryan, 18, of Norristown, Pa., said. “I wanted to look at the greens and see everything I need for the next few days.”

When the long-hitting Ryan did decide to pull driver, it paid off. He birdied No. 12 (par 4, 306 yards) after his drive grabbed the apron. Two putts from 40 feet did the trick. Ryan buried a 20-footer for eagle on the par 4, 293-yard 17^th hole after splitting the green with a pinpoint drive.

“Once I saw [the clubhouse lead] was 1 over, I was like, ‘I’ve got to try and beat that.’ There was a little pressure down the stretch. I took a really aggressive line, but I hit it perfect,” Ryan, who will attend Liberty University in the fall, said.

Ryan, who played in the morning, preserved co-medalist honors by executing a laudable par save on No. 18 (par 4, 362 yards). After finding the adjacent 14^th fairway (par 4, 333 yards), Ryan steered a 9-iron from 135 yards around a tree. However, it flew the green and left Ryan with a tedious lie. The ball below his feet, Ryan nurtured a chip into gimme territory.

The 18^th hole, coincidentally, denied Werner outright medalist honors. A wayward hybrid off the tee forced a punch-out. Werner then lifted a wedge to nine feet, but his par putt snapped left at the cup.

“Just getting off the tee and hitting it straight was key today. As soon as I was in the fairway, I was pretty confident with my wedge game,” Werner, a rising sophomore at Wyoming Seminary, said. “I decided to make some putts after that.”

Werner, who played in the afternoon, turned in 1 over, the lone miscue occurring on No. 7 (par 4, 380 yards). His hybrid kicked into a penalty area. His stance essentially in a ditch, only a pitchout seemed probable. Werner played onto the green and missed a 20-footer to save par. A pair of back-nine birdies allowed the lefty to match Ryan. He nearly holed a 60-degree wedge from 87 yards on No. 11 (par 4, 385 yards). Werner drained an uphill 10-footer on No. 12 (par 4, 306 yards) after hitting a 60-degree wedge from 48 yards.

A day off did wonders for Werner. He didn’t pick up a golf club yesterday. Instead, Werner celebrated his 15^th birthday by hanging out with family members and playing backyard games such as cornhole.

Ryan decided not to take Monday off, even though his defending champion moniker afforded such relaxation. He’s conquered the Junior Boys’ Championship mountain twice; Another climb is firmly on his radar. In 2021, Ryan became the ninth player in event history to successfully defend his title. Only Meredith M. Jack (1914-16) won the Junior Boys’ in three consecutive years.

“I love the event. I love match play. Anytime I can play match play, I love to play it,” Ryan, who reached the Round of 16 in the BMW Philadelphia Amateur Championship a week ago, said. “It’s also good to not expect to win, but always trying to win is always a good thing. The more you win, the more confidence you can get. So if I can do that this week, that would be awesome. I’m going to take it the same way I always take it. One match at a time. One hole at a time. Not get ahead of myself.”

NOTES
Wilmington Country Club, represented by the Homer brothers (Jack, Jeffrey and Matthew) and Kristof Kopecky, retained the Junior Team Championship. It filed an 18-over-par 222 to prevail by two strokes over Cedarbrook Country Club. The Junior Team Championship runs concurrently with Junior Boys’ Championship Qualifying. Three of four scores count toward the team total … Brookside Country Club of Allentown’s Matthew Zerfass aced No. 16 (par 3, 97 yards) with a lob wedge. It marked his first career hole-in-one. Zerfass, 18, of Macungie, Pa., is a recent Emmaus High School graduate. He will attend Saint Joseph’s University in the fall.

Junior Boys’ Championship
The Junior Boys’ Championship is the premier Major in the GAP Junior Division. It is open to members of a GAP Member Club 14-18 years of age who have not started their college education and who hold a handicap index of 14.4 or lower. Sixteen players qualify for match play; an additional 16 advance into the event’s First Flight.

The Junior Boys’ Champion is awarded the Peg Burnett Trophy, named in honor of the Association’s Executive Secretary from 1951-76. Ms. Burnett was an ardent Junior golf supporter who emphasized sportsmanship and respect for the game. “I was very strict about checking the rule book. I didn’t make the rules, but since they are there, you have to abide by them.”

GAP
Celebrating Amateur Golf since 1897, GAP, also known as the Golf Association of Philadelphia, is the oldest regional or state golf association in the United States. It serves as the principal ruling body of amateur golf in its region. The Association’s 300 Member Clubs and 80,000 individual members are spread across the Eastern half of Pennsylvania and parts of Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey. The GAP’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.