2024 Delaware Junior Championships: Round Two

Ramsey sets course record in Boys’ win, Finger grabs second Girls’ title

MIDDLETOWN, Del. – Dylan Ramsey can set a golf course ablaze. In fact, he’s lit two courses on fire within the last two months.

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He torched his home course of Royal Oaks Golf Club in Lebanon, Pa. in June with a course-record 58. 

Wednesday at St. Anne’s Golf Links, Ramsey brought out his blowtorch once again for an unexpected campfire. A course-record 65 erased a seven-shot deficit and put him atop the flames. He is the 73rd Delaware Junior Boys’ Champion.

“Waking up today, I didn’t think I would be the champion,” Ramsey, 16, of Lebanon, Pa., said. “Not even for a second. I just wanted to put together a good round of golf. I felt like my game has been improving in practice but hasn’t been showing up in tournaments. Today it definitely did.”

His two-day total of even-par 142 was good enough for a one-shot victory over Saucon Valley Country Club’s Caleb Walsh who fired the second-best round of the tournament with a 69.

“I just got into a rhythm today,” Ramsey said. “I have been focusing a lot on my swing plane. When I am focused on that, my swing feels automatic. I could just aim at every flag and expect the ball to fly in its direction. I am not trying to shoot a score specifically. I didn’t look at the leaderboard. I knew I had to be close.”

A 12-shot difference left Ramsey confused, in a good way.

“Tuesday, I started off with six pars and then made a double bogey and for some reason my confidence was shot,” Ramsey, a rising junior at Cedar Crest High School, said. “I made a couple of silly mistakes and they compounded.”

His frustrations bled into Wednesday’s final round. He was 2 over through four holes and 8 over for the tournament. He played the last 15 holes in 8 under.

Ramsey’s heater kicked into gear with four consecutive birdies on Nos. 5 (par 5, 526 yards), 6 (par 4, 363 yards), 7 (par 4, 422 yards) and 8 (par 3, 139 yards). A sloppy bogey on No. 9 (par 5, 537 yards) put him at 1 under for his round at the halfway mark.

The GAP Youth on Course member’s championship nine began with a 30-footer for birdie on No. 10 (par 4, 340 yards). An exquisite elevated pitch on No. 12 (par 4, 330 yards) from 57 yards to five feet kept the momentum going. An approach wedge from 130 yards to 15 feet on No. 14 (par 4, 417 yards) got him thinking about where he stood. 

He closed it out by reaching No. 17 (par 5, 487 yards) in two after firing a 6-iron from 190 yards to 30 feet and getting down in two. On the last (par 4, 399 yards) Ramsey judged a flier lie correctly. He flew it from 135 yards with his trusty approach wedge to five feet. Buckets. Course record number two solidified. The previous mark was 68.

“It’s awesome to have the course record here at St. Anne’s,” Ramsey said. “To have two course records is crazy. I’ve been trying to figure out why I can shoot rounds like this and ones like I shot in the first round of this tournament. I just have to keep my confidence up. I can’t let bad shots get me down.” 

Ramsey, who won the PIAA State Championship in AAA class as a freshman in 2022, had strong support two-and-a-half hours from home with his mother Danielle following him the whole round. 

“I am thankful for my family and to have a parent out here watching me,” Ramsey said. “It is nice to look into the crowd after a hole and see her smile. She drove me here. I can’t drive myself just yet. It means a lot for her to be here. Today is her birthday, so I tried to give her a good present.”

Ramsey is entering that crucial part of his collegiate recruiting journey, his junior year. Colleges are calling and he is seeing his future flash right in front of his eyes. But for the talented record holder, he sees his life the same as golf. One shot and one day at a time.

“My ultimate goal is to play on the PGA TOUR and at the very least college golf,” Ramsey said. “I want to see where the game takes me but if it all doesn’t work out, I really enjoy playing golf. I want to ride it out as long as I can.”

Girls’ Division

Meredith Finger couldn’t help but smile when noting her progress in golf since she won the 2022 Delaware Junior Girls’ title at Chesapeake Bay Golf Club.

Wednesday at St. Anne’s Golf Links (par 71, 5,407 yards), Finger found out that twice is nice. 

Finger, aided by a stellar front nine and past experiences, claimed the 41st Junior Girls’ title by two shots over GAP Youth on Course member Savannah Laverty after a final round of 73.

“Winning this tournament means a lot to me,” Finger, 16, of Wilmington, Del., said. “I’ve worked so hard the last couple of years to get where I am today in golf. None of this is possible without the support of my family and friends. It’s nice to hoist this nice trophy again.”

Finger blitzed the front nine at St. Anne’s and went out in 2 under. She birdied Nos. 2 (par 3, 138 yards), 5 (par 5, 480 yards) and 9 (par 5, 482 yards).

She knocked her 48-degree wedge to five feet on No. 2, two-putted for birdie from 35 feet on No. 5 and used her trusty 48-degree from 115 yards to eight feet on No. 9.

The birdie on No. 9 was huge because Laverty made triple bogey, putting Finger in the lead by three.

“I haven’t been in a position to win in a while so it was nice to feel the nerves coming down the stretch,” Finger said. “I definitely started to notice the nerves on my short game and putting coming in. I needed to make sure that I was taking any opportunities I was given to give myself a cushion.”

She played her back nine in 4 over but rallied with two pars to close out the round. Finger and Reagan Garnsey, the defending champion and a close friend of Finger’s, have dominated this event the last four years. They’ve taken turns each year since 2021 with Garnsey taking the odd years and Finger taking the even years.

“I’ve played in a ton of tournaments the last couple of years and realized that my chipping and putting needed to improve,” Finger said. “Savannah and Reagan putted extremely well so you have to be able to keep up.”

Finger has had some team success in Delaware this season as well. Archmere Academy, where she will be a rising junior this fall, claimed the DIAA State Team Championships in May.

“We are a really close team and a lot of my friends are on the team,” Finger said. “This year in the state tournament everyone contributed to the final score which was awesome. That isn’t normal.”

When Finger isn’t locked in on the golf course you can find her with her friends and locked in on her academics. If she keeps it up, her biggest goal won’t be too far out of her reach.

“I am just starting to get recruited by colleges,” Finger said. “Winning this tournament goes a long way in the steps towards my goal of playing Division I golf. I am more confident in myself and my game since I won the first time. Seeing how much I have grown in golf the last couple of years is amazing.”

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 345 Member Clubs and 110,000 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.