2026 Delaware Junior Championships: Round Two

Johnson, Danby take titles

WYOMING, Del. – Will Johnson began his summer in the opposite way of what a college golf hopeful would want.

| Scoring | Junior Boys’ History | Junior Girls’ History |

Heading into his junior year at Conestoga High School, Johnson said he was struggling with his game at the early part of the summer. Those ails forced him to take a break and reevaluate. 

Johnson’s break and rejuvenation worked. After rounds of 68 and 67, he claimed the 75th Delaware Junior Boys’ Championship Thursday at Wild Quail Golf & Country Club (par 72, 6,522 yards) with a 9 under total.

Quinn Marshall of McCall Golf Club and Luca Kleinschmidt of The Springhaven Club tied for second at 8 under. Kleinschmidt fired the round of the tournament with a 65.

“This win means a lot,” Johnson, 16, of Berwyn, Pa., said. “I haven’t been playing well at all since May. I had a stretch of tournaments where I just kept shooting 75. It wasn’t because it was bad golf. My game just wasn’t where it needed to be. Right now is a crucial time for me with trying to get recruited. You need to play well to get attention. I am glad I was able to win this tournament.”

The reigning White Manor Country Club club champion busted onto the scene at last year’s Patterson Cup where he was inside the Top 10 after the first round. He then shot 77-85 the final day at Waynesborough Country Club to finish last for those who made the cut.

“For me, the mindset was to not worry what my score was at any point in the round,” Johnson said. “I wasn’t thinking I had to get to a certain number. I was focused on hitting good shots. I struggled after my solid first round at the Patterson Cup last year. I just didn’t have a good day of golf. I learned a lot from that.”

Johnson said Wild Quail sets up well for him. It required hitting the ball long, in play and having a strong wedge game.

“Last year I made a big leap with my wedges,” Johnson said. “I was working hard on improving my proximity and being better with my numbers. Having confidence in distances with wedges is huge. Here at Wild Quail, if you hit good wedges you will have a lot of good birdie looks. I knew being a couple shots back, the course would give you birdies. I needed to stay patient and know they would be there.”

Johnson grabbed a share of the lead with Kleinschmidt at 6 under as he made the turn. Johnson’s back nine of 3 under came with some serious clutch shots.

On No. 12 (par 4, 312 yards) he scraped a lob wedge from 85 yards to four feet. A 22-footer for a chirp on No. 16 (par 4, 372 yards) put him in a tie with Kleinschmidt who had just posted 8 under.

The dagger came with a stone-dead 8-iron on No. 17 (par 3, 160 yards) to three feet. He had a 10-footer at the last (par 5, 518 yards) to complete the closing trifecta but it just slid by.

“Winning this tournament is a huge confidence boost for me,” Johnson said. “I have a good amount of AJGA tournaments as well as the Christman Cup on the GAP Junior circuit remaining this summer. To play some good golf leading up to those events is important.”

Coincidentally Kleinschmidt and Johnson drove to Wild Quail together both days. The buddies will be sure to share some tales about what could’ve been and was on the ride back to Philadelphia.

“Luca and I are good friends and he’s on the way to Wild Quail,” Johnson said. “He has had a great summer thus far. I didn’t mind being his driver the last two days. I joked with him saying I didn’t want to be driving him home after he won. I am glad that’s not the case.”

Girls’ Division

Valerie Danby took the 44th Delaware Junior Girls’ Championship with a vicious final 10 holes. 

The eighth grader at Sanford School played her final 10 holes in 5 under. She played her first eight holes in 2 over.

Her rounds of 73-69 (2 under) were good enough for a two-shot victory over Nicolette Bottos of Rolling Green Golf Club, Savannah Laverty of GAP Youth on Course and two-time past champion Meredith Finger of DuPont Country Club.

“Winning this tournament is awesome,” Danby, 12, of Avondale, Pa., said. “I am very happy. I have been playing well in a lot of tournaments this summer and haven’t been able to win, but I am excited that I was able to now.”

The Fieldstone Golf Club member headed into her final three holes tied with that triumvirate and needing some separation. She said she needed two birdies on her last three holes and she did.

On No. 17 (par 3, 128 yards), she speared an 8-iron to 15 feet. On the closer (par 5, 419 yards), she executed a savvy pitch and putt to win easily. She canned another 15-footer to close it out in style. 

“I knew that it had to be close coming down the stretch,” Danby said. “I saw Meredith [Finger] roll in a putt on the last and give a big fist pump. I told myself that it was for an eagle and that I needed to make a birdie. I was looking at her putt through my rangefinder from the fairway so I got a little glimpse into how the putt broke. I knew it was moving a little left and fast. I was happy to make it.”

Danby won her age category at the Philadelphia Girls Junior PGA Championship at DuPont on Monday. Her game continues to trend in the right direction.

“Being able to pull this off under pressure gives me a ton of confidence,” Danby said. “This teaches me that if I am struggling, I can pull myself out of it. My mom was out there all day supporting me giving thumbs ups and cheering me on. She also helped me find some of my wayward shots. My family has been so supportive of me playing golf. It makes this win so special.

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 140,000 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.