109th #GAPJunior: Day One

Fieldstone’s Conaway captures medal at LuLu

GLENSIDE, Pa. — Davis Conaway didn’t have to con his way into a Junior Boys’ Championship Round of 16 match play spot. Instead, the Fieldstone Golf Club member tricked a field of 119 players with steady golf during Stroke-Play Qualifying at LuLu Country Club (par 71, 6,191 yards) on Tuesday. Conaway finished at 2-under 69, two shots better than any other competitor.

| History | Medalist History | Junior Team History | Scoring portal | Video recap | Photos |

“I played well,” Conaway, 15, of West Chester, Pa., said. “I just played solid. [I] didn’t make a ton of putts coming in, but I just made a lot of pars.”

Conaway isn’t fooling anyone; 13 pars embellished his card along with two birdies and an eagle. Conaway started on No. 8 (par 4, 400 yards) (for logistical purposes). On No. 9 (par 4, 311 yards), Conaway’s second hole, his tee shot found the left side of the fairway, trickled up to the green and settled eight feet from the hole. Conaway capitalized on the putt for a red figure early. On the par 4, 327 yard, 16th hole, Conaway laced a driver up the right side, leaving himself 30 yards into the green. A 58-degree wedge to three feet allowed for an easy birdie. On No. 1 (par 5, 486 yards), a well-struck drive led Conaway to thump a 5-iron to 13 feet. The eagle putt lipped out, but he converted the tap-in birdie.

No mind games here.

The cut line stopped at 75 by day’s end. A five-for-three playoff decided the Championship Flight’s final contestants: Jack Homer of Wilmington Country Club, Aidan Farkas of Llanerch Country Club and Charlie Ferrise of RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve. As medalist, Conaway will assume the No. 1 seed heading into match play and will face the No. 16 seeded Homer.

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

In 2021, Conaway won the 73rd #GAPJrJr after facing Merion Golf Club’s Sean Curran in the Final (20 holes). In last year’s edition of the Junior Boys’ Championship, the Malvern Preparatory School rising sophomore lost to Brookside Country Club of Allentown’s Matthew Zerfass in the Round of 16 (3&1). With this experience under his belt, Conaway has has his mind set on winning.

“Typically, I play well in match play cause it’s just me against somebody else,” Conaway said. “I didn’t play my best golf in the Round of 16 last year, [but] I’ve gotten a lot better.”

Short game, wedge shots and overall distance are areas of his game that have improved from last year.

No cons for Conaway today.

NOTES
In the Junior Team Championship, the Wilmington Country Club team was its usual family affair. The Homer brothers (Jeffrey, Matthew and Jack) combined for 10-over-par 223 to edge the Overbrook Golf Club squad by five shots. Wilmington Country Club becomes the third team to capture the Junior Team title three consecutive years. The last team to accomplish this feat was Saucon Valley Country Club (1982-84). The Junior Team Championship runs concurrently with Junior Boys’ Championship Qualifying. Three of four scores count toward the team total … Last year, The 1912 Club’s Josh Ryan became the second individual in the 108-year history of the Junior Boys’ Championship to win the event three consecutive times. The last to do so was Meredith M. Jack (1914-16). In 2023, Ryan exhausted his eligibility due to age.

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 organization’s 340 Member Clubs and 100,000 individual members are spread across Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey and Maryland. The GAP’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.